Lynda R.  I'm sending an e-mail your way and you have 48 hours to reply with the formula you'd like to try (you forgot to tell me what one you'd prefer)

Thanks everyone for entering my first giveaway!

This is it everyone, it's Christmas eve!  We're just about to get everything ready for the big thing tomorrow.  Hannah's all tucked into bed, Everett is napping on Daddy's lap, Santa's milk and cookies are awaiting his big arrival and all the presents are wrapped!  I am SO excited this year to see Hannah's face on Christmas morning as she walks down the stairs.  She's going to be so blown away!

Anyway, the reason for this was to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that has taken the time to stop by my little space on the interwebs and read my ramblings daily, weekly, monthly.... I'm hoping this new year brings lots of new, fun and exciting things to my blog and I hope you stick around to see it all happen!

So Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Oh yeah and my Rockin' Green giveaway is done tonight, you have until 12pm to enter it for your chance to win a 45/90 load of scent and formula of your choice!  Good luck!

I LOVE having a clothes line.  The past two days it's been way below freezing (more like minus 25 ish with windchill) and I've still put our diapers on the line.  I've left them out there for the day and when I bring them back in...TOTALLY stain FREE!!

I kid you not, there is next to no sun and when I take them off the line they are frozen ice bricks but they have ZERO poop stains!  Amazing!

I know there haven't been many baby updates but I have a good excuse, trust me!  I know that people aren't really interested in the in's and out's of a baby each week, no one really cares that you baby gains 2 pounds in 2 weeks (mine did it in a week), or that he/she is eating every couple of hours and breastfeeding is going amazingly (which it is), people want pictures!!  I know this because I love pictures of babies.

The problem with this is my card reader is broken.  I don't know how it got broken but it won't read my memory cards anymore so I can't upload my pictures!  So now I'm waiting for Christmas before I can upload (I think someone is putting one under my tree!)

I've been taking lots of pictures I promise!

Anyway for now here are a couple we've taken over the past couple of weeks via my computer web cam!

Disclaimer - I was provided samples of Rockin' Green Soap to do this review.  No other compensation was given.  These are 100% my opinions about this product.


Are you sick and tired of battling with stinky diapers?

 If so head on over to my sister's site Krystal's Stellar Book Blog for her very first giveaway! She's giving away a copy of Becca Fitzpatrick's book Hush Hush (it's open to Canada an the US)!  All you need to do is follow her and leave a comment!

Looks like a good one!  Check it out, you might be a winner! :)

Misty from Baby Sign Language contacted me a while back asking if I'd be interested in a guest post to help my readers learn a little more about baby sign language.  I was intrigued!  I had heard so many moms when I had my daughter in 2008 talk about doing baby sign language, they were taking different classes at the EYC and reading different books to help their children communicate. I thought it sounded interesting but never actually looked into it.  I had a few sign language books at home that I got in a box of books at a garage sale and Hannah enjoyed looking though them but never went any further than that.


Now that Everett is here and Hannah has been showing an interest in learning different signs, I jumped at the opportunity to have Misty explain to me and my readers what Baby sign language is and give you some links to their site.  They've got some great resources including flash cards, wall charts, etc.  Check it out if your even a little interested in sign language

What Baby Sign Language Is

Baby sign language is a way of teaching your pre-verbal child to communicate by using hand gestures. Based on ASL (American Sign Language), it is a simplified version for babies and young children. American Sign Language For Babies  is fun, it’s free and, best of all, it really works! You can start to teach baby sign language from birth – in fact, the sooner you start signing with your baby, the sooner she will begin to communicate back to you.

How To Start
It’s best to begin with signs you can use on a daily basis, such as Mommy, Daddy, Milk and More – instructions for these are below. More is (not surprisingly) often the first sign a baby learns to use! Signs that represent something exciting to your baby will be easier for her to learn – begin with these starter signs then build up your range of signs to include other objects, ideas and emotions.

How To Sign
Make the sign every time you say the word to your baby. Say the word that goes with the sign clearly, with good eye contact, while pointing to the thing or person you are describing. Sign when your baby is alert, using an object which is interesting to him, such as Milk or Mummy. Practice the signs beforehand so you feel confident and clear about what you are doing. It’s important to repeat the sign as often as possible – make the sign and say the word every time you do an action or use an object. Once you get started you should be Baby Signing  regularly throughout the day.

Be Patient
Don’t expect too much too soon. Your baby is unlikely to be signing More Milk if she is only 4 months old and you’ve been signing to her for under a week! Research by Dr. Joseph Garcia, one of the founders of baby sign language, says that a baby who starts learning baby signing at seven months old needs around two months of repetition and exposure to a sign to start using it.

Signs To Get You Started

• MOMMY: To make the sign for  Mommy, extend and spread your fingers apart on your right hand. With your little finger facing forwards, tap your thumb on your chin.

• DADDY: To make the sign for Daddy, extend and spread out the fingers on your right hand, then tap your hand on your forehead with your thumb. This is similar to the sign for Mommy but done higher up the head.

• MILK: The sign for Milk  is a lot like the action of milking a cow without the up and down motion. Just pretend you are just squeezing the cow’s udder. Make both hands into a fist, relax and repeat. Milk.

• MORE: To make the sign for More, make an O shape with each hand by meeting your fingers and thumbs. Bring your hands together and separate them a few times.

We were home from the hospital  the next morning to meet his very proud big sister.  She LOVES him like nothing I've seen before and is showering him with TONS of hugs and kisses.  He is nursing great and has already exceeded his birth weight (Fridays weight - 8lbs 9oz).

1. Patiently waiting for the arrival of our second child....only 19 days until his due date!!!

2. Trying to keep the house clean, it's been a struggle but I think Chris finally came up with a good chore plan that keeps us both doing our share of the cleaning/laundry around the house.  It's crazy how much we can get behind on dusting and moping the floors when both of us are exhausted by the end of the day!  And what's even crazier is the amount of mess having 6 people plus 2 dogs (my sister, brother in law, niece and their dog have been living with use for 2 years while saving for their own house) living under your roof can cause!

3. Trying to get the funky smell out of our diapers!  Stay tuned for my full review of Rockin' Green.  I have done an overnight soak and just before I left for work this morning threw them in the washing machine for a good rinse.  I'm not sure how they came out but I'm really hoping they don't stink or hurt my little girls tushie anymore!  I'll have a complete review & my first giveaway on Monday -  Stay tuned!

4. Knitting!

Yes siree...I've been knitting!  Who would have thought me to be a knitter?  I had tried it in the past but was always bored before the project was even finished.  All of my projects were scarves and I'm not sure I ever completed any (even the ones that were suppose to be gifts).

This time around I've been really enjoying it!  I started out with a sweater, I didn't think I've ever be able to do it but I started with a pretty simple pattern and just worked away on it.  It's for Hannah and probably won't fit her now (the sizing is really strange on it for some reason) but I felt pretty good when I got everything sewed together.  I still need to put buttons on it but it's pretty darn cute!


You can find the pattern here.

My next project was to tackle socks.  I REALLY wasn't sure I'd be able to do socks.  I had heard how difficult turning the heel could be and that socks were a real pain in the butt but you know what, I actually really enjoyed doing them.  Once I figured out the pattern and how it was suppose to be done I caught on pretty quickly and did a heck of a job if I do say so myself!   My first set was for "baby brother" and my second set was for Hannah.  I think they turned out really sweet!  I did find that the biggest size 2/3 years was a little snug on Hannah when I was finished but I'm not sure if that was the way I knit it or because she has big feet (size 8-9) or both.  Obviously I don't know about "baby brothers" because he isn't here yet!  But I can't wait to try them on him!




You can find the pattern here.

I found it using a really cool "knitting social network" called Ravelry.  Check it out here.  It's got tons of free patterns, lots of help from people working on the same things, it's a great resource for someone new or old to knitting!  I'm LOVING it over there!  You can find me over at Ravelry under the username kshiell.  Add me as a friend if you're a knitter!  I'd love to see what you're working on and chit chat! :)



So the next thing I'm working on (I just bought the yarn last night) is a pair of mittens and a hat for Hannah and my niece, Keira.  It's just a really simple pattern apparently and I'm looking forward to the finished product!  You can find the pattern for it here again I found this on ravelry.

Anyway, I am totally loving knitting right now, it keeps me relaxed and calm and happy!  I love being able to create something from scratch and since I'm not doing my photography stuff right now (I'll get back to that in January, when I'm half way use to having 2 kiddos at home!!!) it gives me something creative to do.

Well the results are in and it looks like we have a winner....

Really, it's all about names lately!  With "baby brother" due in just 1 month, we really need to start thinking of a name for this kid.  Boy names have been very hard to make a decision on and from one day to the next I change my mind.  I'm getting frustrated and a bit worried that this little guy is always going to be called "baby brother" (although for the first little while I think it'll be cute that we all still call him "baby brother" just out of habit), I'd still like to have an offical name for him the day he's born!

So I'm calling on you guys, all of my readers (haha) to help me choose the "official" name for baby brother!  Of course, whatever you choose doesn't necessary mean we will for sure call him that but I'd appreciate your help! :)

Here's the list of names and a quick poll that I'd love for you to quickly fill out!

A little background, Alfred has to be the middle name, it's a family tradition that the first boy born in a family has the middle name of the great great great grandfather (I'm still not sure that's enough greats) of Chris's father.  So keep that in mind when choosing "baby brothers" name.  We are also not oppose to having two middle name, ie including Christopher would be very nice.  So if you can think of a nice combination of first name, middle name including Alfred and Christopher, with our last name that starts with S.  Then I'd really appreciate you and all of your help! :)







Thanks thanks thanks!!!!

Wow! Where the heck did that time go!  I'm only 5 weeks away from my due date and could have this baby at any time between now and then!  I can't believe it!  I think for the most part we are ready!  It's just a waiting game from now until then!

I had a great midwife appointment today (as usual).  I just love the clinic I go to and the midwives that practice there so much!  They are all so incredible!  In case you are not familiar with midwifery I'll give a little background with how our clinic works.  You as an expecting mother are assigned a Primary Midwife, this is the person that is responsible for your care and "will" attend your birth.  She is the midwife you see for almost all of your visits.  You are also assigned a secondary/tertiary (is that the right word?) midwife.  You will see them over the course of your visits at least once but usually more than that.  If they are available the time of your delivery ie. they are not in clinic or at another birth, etc.  they will be the next midwife called to be at your birth.  Midwives typically work in pairs and the secondary midwife is called just before pushing begins so the primary can be available for the mother and the secondary is available for the baby.  They really do have a fantastic system although last time around, there were are few little glitches in our "plan" and we ended up with two midwives we didn't know after calling about 3 other midwives.

Anyway, today I met with my secondary midwife for the second time and she is just fantastic!  So helpful with any questions we might have (which surprising, we don't have many of this time around!  It's impressive how much you really remember from being pregnant the first time around).  She's so informative and I just always get the feeling that she loves what she does!  She explained again our choice in the baby eye gel and the vit. k shot that has become the norm. for newborn babies in North America.  She discussed when we should be calling them if/when I go into labor.  We talked about what happens to me because I am GBS+ and the IV antibiotic I will have to have because of it.  She talked about the fact that because I am GBS+ I may be induced if my water breaks but labor doesn't start on it's own, etc.  We talked about a lot of great things!

Of course she also takes my blood pressure, measure my fundal height, listens to baby's heart beat (which is beating strong at 150 BPM).  She uses her hands to find the position of the baby - head down low, back to my right side.  And that's it!  That's my midwife appointment.

My mom came with us today.  Of course, she'll be present for the birth of "baby brother" so I think it's always nice the she get's to meet the midwives that will probably be there as well for the birth.  That way theres no awkwardness the day of!

I really do love midwifery and can't say enough about how much it has taught me and makes me really appreciate and love my body and my capabilities as a women!  It's incredible!

I'm getting so excited now!  In all honesty I can not wait until I go into labor and of course meet this wee babe! :)

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any stories of midwifery you'd like to share?  Feel free to comment or e-mail me at gethealthymomma[at]gmail[dot]com!  I love hearing from my readers!  

I need help!  Some serious help!  I can't get the smell out of our cloth diapers?   I've tried everything, extra rinses, extra hot washes, more detergent, less detergent, a different cycle, adding towels to the load, baking soda, vinegar, you name it I've tried it!  I'm at a total loss!!!  I've read pretty much every website out there telling me it's probably not enough water in the HE washer or that theres a build up of detergent but HOW THE HECK DO I FIX IT?!?!?!

The smell isn't even after the diaper is is done drying but when Hannah wakes up in the morning after peeing in her diaper throughout the night.  It's got a horrible horrible smell (and my pregnancy nose CANNOT handle it)!  And the even worse part of all of this is her poor bum...it's red, chapped, sore, and burnt looking!  It makes my heart break!  She says it doesn't hurt and hasn't ever complained about it but it just looks so sore!  Usually I can clear it up in about a day and a half by using Bum Bum Balm (I really need to do a review of this stuff, it's incredible!!!) but I just feel so bad that I'm not able to get these diapers clean enough to protect her poor bum!

I'm also really worried because I planned on using the same diapers for when "baby brother" is born in November.  I just couldn't think of putting a diaper that hurts Hannah's bum so bad on a brand spankin' new sensitive bum of a newborn (plus if he's anything like his sister when she was born he'll have super sensitive skin)!

So please for the love of all things cloth diapering!  If you have a trick to get rid of the funk, HELP ME!  I need it!  I'm getting really fed up with this and just want to scream!

HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP ME!!! Please! :)

That was the name of the song we danced to for the first time together as Husband and Wife 4 years ago!  I'll never forget all the love and joy I felt on that day, knowing just how much my life had really starting.  We were together man and wife forever and I couldn't be happier!  What a wonderful day/night it was 4 years ago today when I married my best friend, my confidant, my love!

It's hard to believe it's been 4 years already with all that we done within that time frame, we've purchased our first house, bought a dog, had a baby, have another baby on the way!   We've made a wonderful family and life for us to enjoy and cherish for the rest of our lives! It's unbelievable what we've accomplished in just 4 short years!



We've grow to love each other more and more everyday!  I'm so happy to be your wife, your lover, and your best friend!  I love learning about you, and about us as we take on each day together!



I couldn't ask for a better husband, you make me complete!  You make me smile every morning and fall asleep each night wondering what the next day will entail!  You've made me feel loved and special every day of the past four years and I can only imagine how fantastic the next 4 years will be!  I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you as your wife.  Right by your side, through the good and the bad, through thick and thin!  I will be there for you to fall upon when you need someone to pick you up!  I love you more than the moon and stars in the sky!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! :)

Lyrics to A Night Like This by Tomi Swick
A night like this 
Kept you wishing 
For a night like this again 
So i'll take your hand 
And set you falling into the air 
And oh, love 

Take this night and 
All it's stars well 
Could it be anyone else with you? 
No no no 
Take this time now 
And all this charm well 
Could it be anyone else here? 

Oh someone 
Tripped you up 
And sent you reeling, right into me 
So come along now 
Let me see what i've got here for you oh 
And oh love 

Take this night and 
All it's stars well 
Could it be anyone else with you? 
No no no 
Take this time now 
And all it's charm well 
Could it be anyone else? 

It's alright 
So close your eyes and hold tight 

Cause a night like this 
Kept you wishing 
For a night like this again 

Take this night and 
All it's stars well 
Could it be anyone else with you? 
No no no 
Take this time now 
And all it's charm well 
Could it be anyone else with you here right now ya 
Take this night and 
All it's stars well 
Could it be anyone else with you? 
No no no 
Take this time now 
And all it's charm well 
Could it be anyone else? 

We did it!  We signed Hannah up for dance, we've purchased the outfit, the shoes, the tutu! :)  I can't believe how incredibly excited I am to have her dance at such a young age!  I ALWAYS wanted to be in dance!  I thought of even joining when I was about 18 but figured I had already missed so much there wasn't much point!

We found a studio that offers children 2 and older classes in both Ballet, and Tap/Jazz.  Each class is 1/2 hour long so we signed her up for both back to back.  I think it'll be a great experience for her.  It's expensive, no doubt about it (no wonder my mom, on a single person's income couldn't afford to enroll me) but I'm hoping she loves it, gains confidence and just has a great time doing it!  They even have a end of year recital!  Are you kidding me?!  I'm sure there will be MANY tears seeing my little girl on such a big stage - they do a big production at one of the Universities in the area (holds 700 people) and they include the little tots!  I can't wait!!

We got home last night after having a family dinner out and she wanted to try on all her "new stuff", once she got her tap shoes on it was non-stop!  She loved the sound they made on the ceramic floor and she loved doing twirls and spins! Talk about precious!



That's hubby talking - as you can tell, we're big fans of So You Think you can Dance (or Prance as he calls it!)

Thanks for looking!

Ouch, today at lunch I was stung by a bee!  It's been many years since I've been stung but I have been stung so I'm pretty sure I'm not allergic to them.  It hurt like heck though and it's been about 2.5 hours and it's still hurting!  The swelling is gone down a bit now but as you can see from the pictures it is swollen a little.

My left hand (not the hand that stung)	My right hand (red and swollen from the bee)

And just because I was in the bathroom with my cell phone in my pocket (I know it's really kind of weird) but I figured I'd take a picture of my big ole' belly.  Here I am 30 weeks 2 days pregnant with baby #2.  Any suggestions for names?  We're still stuck on "Baby Brother" LOL



Oh well, that's it!  Just a random post from me today! :)  Stay tuned for Part II of Hannah's birth story!  It'll be up tomorrow! :)

With the pending birth of our second child coming October/November I've been reflecting back to Hannah's birth!
I love reading birth stories and thought maybe I'd post it here so others can read ours, maybe I'll give someone a little inspiration or motivation. Maybe I'll just give you something to read but I just feel bringing a new little life into this world is such a miracle and I couldn't pass up the chance to write about it one more time! :)

On the morning of May 2nd I had a midwife appointment. I was a week away from my due date and my midwife was curious if I was anywhere close to having our sweet bundle of joy. She was off all weekend and thought it would be a good idea to check me. I agreed because I was really wanting to go shopping for the day. I had already been on maternity leave for a week and I still had a lot to get done (at least it felt that way to me). My mom, sister, niece and I were planning a trip that day to a city about an hour or so away and I wanted to be reassured that I would be able to go and not have to rush home in labour.


I was given the go ahead from the midwife to go to London but was told, I'd be having the baby that weekend. Yeah right! My midwife had said silly things like that in the past - she told me I was having a big baby, ultrasound confirmed baby wasn't, then I was told she was too small, again ultrasound determined she wasn't. She was born a healthy 8lbs 4oz!

Everything was good, I was about 1cm dilated, fully effaced, blood pressure was perfect (I had had a couple high readings in the past), babies heart rate was perfect. We were going to go shopping! Yippee! I left my appointment, dropped my husband off at work and headed over to my mom's to pick up both her and my sister and niece. I should mention at my appointment my midwife did a stretch and sweep. This was definitely not the most comfortable feeling in the world. Amanda said I would probably have some spotting and cramping for the rest of the day. Great!

We were on our way! We got driving laughing, being super silly and having a great time. The whole way there I was definitely uncomfortable with cramping but I was told I would be so didn't think anything of it. We spent the entire day shopping, and as the hours winded down I was getting more and more uncomfortable. The cramping was really intense and I just couldn't really get comfortable unless I was walking. We stopped at Applebee's for dinner and I just had a really hard time sitting. My mom and sister kept asking if I was okay and I was, I just need to be distracted. We continued having a great time, again, laughing, joking, reminiscing and having a great time.

We drove home, dropped my sister off at her place and headed to moms so I could pick up my car and go home. At this point it was about 10pm. Mom asked if I wanted to come in for a bit but I thought I'd better get home to see Chris. I got in my car and headed home. I was in the car for about 4 minutes and made it just around the corner when I noticed the cramps were no longer cramps but intense pains that would come and go. Humm..I wonder if this is the start of labor? I drove home uncomfortable and tired from our VERY long day of shopping! Oh yeah, all day long Chris had called my cell phone, he swore I was going to have the baby that day and was worried I wouldn't be able to make it home in time to get to the hospital that my midwife could deliver at. It was super cute and very funny the number of times he called. I told him each time I was having cramping but I was good, we were having a great time and I would call him if anything changed. He kept calling!

I walked in the house to be greeted by hubby. He was upstairs watching TV and came to see how I was feeling and see the loot I had bought (I honestly am not even sure I bought a single thing). I told him about the change in pains I had as soon as I left my mom's house and that I really wanted to just go sit in the bath. He said that was probably a good idea and went back to watching TV. I went to our bedroom, ran the bath water and got in. Man, did that feel nice. I think I was in the tub for about an hour when the pains I had started to get MORE intense and I knew this was the beginning of my labour. After about an hour and a half or so, Chris came to check on me and see how I was doing. As soon as he walked in, he knew this was it. I was definitely having contractions and they were getting more and more intense. At this point it's about midnight. I really wanted my mom to be part of the whole process so at this point we called he to let her know that we thought I was in labour and she should think about coming over soon. She couldn't believe I never came back to her house when I started feeling the contractions before I even left her neighbourhood. She told us she'd be over shortly and we hung up the phone to continue on with labouring in the tub.

Hubby stayed with me pretty much from this point on to make sure I was coping well with the pain (and it was definitely getting painful, nothing like the cramping I had during the day). I stayed in the tub for a bit longer and thought I would get out and start packing my bags to head to the hospital at some point (yes, most of my bad was pack but there were still a few things I wanted to pack last minute that hadn't made it yet). I got out with the help of Chris and instantly I thought I was going to die. I could hardly move, the contractions which were about 4 minutes apart at this point were one on top of the other and I wasn't getting any relief. Lucky for me, we didn't drain the water in the tub, I jumped (or jumped as much as a 9 month pregnant women in labour can) back into the tub. Instant relief! I could breath! At this point we decided it best to call the midwife and make sure what we were experiencing was all good and what we were doing for relief was okay as well. We paged Amanda - oh yeah she had the weekend off, we paged our secondary midwife - she wasn't available, and told us to call someone else (I can't remember who right now?) - she was already at a birth. I'm starting to freak out a little at this point. We are going to have this baby without a midwife all this preparation and excitement to have a midwife present for my birth was all falling apart because NO ONE was available. We finally got hold of a fourth midwife, thank god! She wanted to talk to me on the phone during one of my contractions to see how I was handling them. I made it though one with her on the phone (by the way at this point my mom has also shown up). It's about 1:30am! My contractions are about 3 minutes apart. My new midwife says she'll be there in about 15-20 minutes. Sounds good to me! I'm still in the tub and able to socialize and breath/concentrate during contractions. I hung up the phone.

The next couple of minutes are a blur, I remember feeling intense contractions and they seemed to be coming quickly together. My mom and Chris started to get nervous with how quickly it was all happening and decided to call the midwife (Evelyn) again, this time to tell her that we'd just meet her at the hospital. She was okay with that and told us she would me us at the front entrance.

I got out of the tub, which let me tell you was not an easy task! Things seemed to get 100% more intense and the contractions seemed to come right on top of the other. I had to try and get dress and make it down stairs. With the help of my mom and Chris we were able to do it. I got into the back seat of the car on my knees facing the back of the car and told them to go! All I remember on the way to the hospital (about 20 minute ride) was Chris hitting EVERY SINGLE bump! I felt like I was on a roller coaster going up and down, and swaying this way and that! It was making me an angry labouring women caged up in a car. Not a good thing!

Finally we made it to the hospital, sure enough my new new new new midwife was there. I almost ran the other way when I first saw her. She was an old order Mennonite and I wasn't sure I wanted "her" to deliver my baby. Then a contraction came, just get me into the hospital and that point I didn't care who was about to deliver my baby! It turns out Evelyn was the most amazing women I ever met, she was exactly the type of midwife I needed for the birth of my daughter and I could only hope she would be able to deliver my next babies (unfortunately she wasn't available this time around but I went a midwife who was a student of hers, hoping they had the same philosophy).

I got into the hospital, got into my room and was checked pretty much right away, I was 5.5 cm! Nice process!!! I laid down for a bit to relax after the ride to the hospital and was hooked up to IV. I was group b strep positive and therefore had to have an IV of antibiotics to ensure everything was alright for delivery of the baby.

Second part coming soon!  Read the second part here