We had some playtime upon arriving at the cabin. We figured letting Everly stretch out on the bed would be a nice change from being cramped in the carseat all day. E had fun playing as you can see in the above photos.

We learned that an increase in humidity impacts a baby’s bottom. Poor Everly got kind of rashy while we were in Tennessee so we put a potty pad (left over from the birth kit) under her and let her go naked for a bit. She liked being free but was also startling much more without clothes on. The fresh air and sunlight did help with the rash though.

The checkup went well and Pamela was very excited to spend time with Everly as you can see. You can read more about how the checkup went in this post.

We had a great time on our trip, it was a time for us to reflect on Everly’s birth and we also made some good memories while we were there.

The post Wordless Wednesday: E's 6 week checkup with our midwife appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Now that I am taking over 100 photos of E a week Ive got lots of material to share. Here we go!

She slept in her crib for the first time ever over the weekend. It was just a tiny nap in the crib on her tummy while N and I worked on stuff in the office but it was a milestone since she isn’t to crazy about independent sleep.

It turns out we picked the perfect bedding set because she is crazy about animal print for some reason. There is zebra print on her playmat that she loves to look at. On our couch I have a tiger striped throw that she stares at and now she’s got the bedding set that is full of animal print!

She’s been much more alert and is getting so strong now. She’s just over 5 weeks as of yesterday and we are constantly amazed at how much she is growing. You can see in her eyes how she is starting to understand and analyze the world around her.

She is still so adorable and is sporting the red hair still. I can’t believe she is ours and the we have actually become parents. We love her so much.

She is almost always in cloth diapers but she isn’t too good at signaling me when she needs a change. They say babies will let you know when they need to be changed or fed right? Well, I am not so convinced of this with her.

When she is on her side she’ll have a “blowout” if she naps for many hours straight. At night when we are expecting her to sleep for several hours straight I double up the diaper inserts to prevent diaper leakage and it works well.

When I am not expecting a long nap, like in this photo, and she sleeps for a long time she’s bound to leak. Can you see the pee ring on the sheets around her bum? Those sheets were just changed too, LOL.

Last night she was all diapered, fed and ready for sleep but she wasn’t feeling secure or independent so daddy comforted her all night. She likes to sit and watch him while he is talking to her, it gives me a nice break from her and it gives them good bonding time.

She’s also surprisingly good at holding her head up. When we are burping her or when she is sitting looking at us she insists on lifting her head or she’ll lean back away from our support. She likes to be in control of her own head it seems and she is very strong and good at it. Like I said we love her, she is amazing!

The post Less-words Wednesday: Baby Everly is 5 weeks old appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Felt good to be adjusted and all put back in place. Here’s hoping all stays that way for the delivery. With chiropractic care labor and delivery are supposed to be quicker and easier. Yesterdays adjustment was my last before heading off to The Farm.

Before I head off I’ve been sure to write many advance posts and get them all scheduled here to tide you over while we all wait to meet Tater. I’ll also be live blogging via text message (and twitter) while I am at The Farm and through labor/ delivery if conditions permit (subscribe and follow me so you don’t miss a thing).

I’ve also documented all the baby stuff you all have sent and I’ve got many belly shots that will be showcased here via slideshow and whatnot while I am away. Some will even be guest posting here too. So, rest assured you’ll have something to sink your teeth in to while I am having Tater. And now here are some belly shots for you.

Over two weeks ago at 35 weeks pregnant:

More than one week ago at 36 weeks 6 days pregnant:

Then there was a few days ago at 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant:

Tomorrow I am 38 weeks pregnant and ready to blow any second. Being at this stage of the pregnancy totally makes me appreciate and understand why so many ladies agree to labor induction. I mean this is crazy uncomfortable (even more so that all the previous 35 weeks combined) and when you’ve got a doc that wants to get things going via induction it just means that your discomfort and anxiety can end sooner. What is not to like about that?

No, I am not hoping for an induction though. Just saying I totally get it now, if that makes sense.

For more of my Wordless Wednesday posts throughout the years click here.

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Perhaps it is because he is apparently swallowing whole pieces of food as opposed to chewing them like every other animal in the world. Yep, those whole bits came right from his stomach!

Nothing like the sound of a cat preparing to vomit waking you from your afternoon pregnancy nap and when you try to quicky move him from the carpet to a vomit safe tiled area. BAM, explosive vomit stream shoots from his mouth and splatters the white carpet. AND, there is not carpet cleaner here for me to clean the mess up with. Double WTF!

Called N and told him to either pick me up so orange dye for the carpet or to bring home some damn carpet cleaner for the explosive vomit mess.

And now I present you with the view of our recently cleaned out basement at the old place.The stuff has been moved out, the carpets are vacuumed and we are just about done cleaning the place-

Wait! WTF is that in the corner? Is the wall leaking again and flooding the basement? I thought it was a dry day today…

Oh, wait. We shouldn’t be surprised. It is just mold, like I’ve been saying all along. Except now we can actually see evidence of it with our own eyes. Big shocker huh?

Notice how it is all pretty and furry it is growing on top of the carpet and up the wood siding? There are black, green and even some gray types all mixed together. Ooo, so enchanting – NOPE!

More like effing disgusting and super bad for the body! Sure mold isn’t a big deal if you can clean it up with some bleach or something. Too bad the mold is growing under and now right on top of totally finished areas that if bleached will look severely destroyed.

It is no wonder N has been draining some major crap from his sinuses since we’ve moved to our new, not toxic house! Now if the slumloards don’t set up a freaking move out inspection with us and take back possession of this shit-hole of a house I am going to get really nasty!

I am talking having all neighbors come over to walk through the house and observe it’s current state, while we video tape the whole thing. Then we’ll call the sheriff and give them the keys to the house with a copy of our video or something. Heck I might even put the walk through video online for the world to see and perhaps I’ll share the address of the house, to warn any future tenants…

Seriously! All I can say is WTF? Okay, I am done now. Happy wordless Wednesday everyone.

The post Wordless Wednesday: WTF? Edition!! appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Right now it seems there are more products I love and can’t find to buy these days than ever before. Since leaving Arizona we’ve found ourselves unable to find so many items we’ve become attached to.

Please send groceries!

We’ve been looking at the local pet stores like crazy for this litter. It is amazing and we love it because it is natural and super absorbent! No stinky kitty urine smell, no clay stuck to the tub, less litter box changes… Too bad it hasn’t been in stock for 2 months!

The clay litter makes me crazy and we have had to resort back to using it since being unable to buy Arm & Hammer Essentials litter around here. Stinky!

Then there is this yummy tea that makes my pregnancy bloat go away, it is the Orange Ginger Mint tea by Republic of Tea and we’ve looked in every grocery store we can think of for it…

Then there is the bulk strawberry hemp granola we would buy at New Frontiers back in Flagstaff that is also apparently sold at Whole Foods. We have neither of those stores here and have tried the bulk strawberry granola sold by the local natural food store, it stinks!

Lastly there is the Nature’s Gate Hemp lotion we just ran out of… It seems Evansville, IN is just not as natural product oriented as Arizona cities were. It is sad and kind of inconvenient because once you get hooked on those natural products it is impossible to go back!

Do you have any products you are hooked on that ruin your routine when they are out of stock or unavailable? What products are they and why?

For more of my Wordless Wednesday posts throughout the years click here.

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