Adventures of the Mom Kind

Thank you Comedy Central...

2012-02-03T18:26:00.003-06:00

I owe a debt of gratitude to Comedy Central for providing a needed distraction to my cracked and very painful nipples. Thank goodness Steven Colbert and Revenge of the Nerds could provide a nice laugh for me while I'm feeding my son. Yesterday, Baby P ate 13 times. That's a lot of times to feed a baby, so no wonder my poor boobs are mad. Also, I'm not surprised I feel like a barely functioning person since I only get to sleep in increments of time that are usually less than 90 minutes.

There really is more of a point to this post than me complaining about sore boobs, spending 1/2 my day feeding a baby, and sleeping in intervals of time that should only be used to torture people. I want to describe my meeting with an angel otherwise known as Kim, the lactation consultant. I've known that Baby P and I were doing something wrong in the breastfeeding department for about a week. I'm not a first-time breastfeeder, so I was not expecting to have any issues. However, that hasn't been the case this time. I've had incredible pain (like daggers) for several days and I knew that it wasn't just cracked skin. It was so painful that I would have to do meditative breathing just like when I was in labor (with no epidural) every time I fed him and I usually ended up sobbing by the end. With encouragement from my midwife and husband, I contacted a lactation consultant, Kim with www.breastfed.biz.

Lucky for me, Kim was able to see me on the same day I called. I met with her yesterday and found out that my sweet baby had too shallow a latch. My cracked nipple is the result of the poor latch. On top of that, he's a grazer (which I already knew, considering he was falling asleep after about 10 minutes), so the sheer number of feeds was also contributing to my pain. His grazing was not emptying milk completely, so my milk ducts were stretching and causing more pain. Eventually, this would have effected my supply, because my body would have assumed that I didn't need all that milk.

Kim was so helpful right from the start. She was able to show me how to get him to latch on in a different way that would help him get a better mouthful. She also showed me a more effective way to do compression or what I like to call how to "milk" myself while feeding him. It took about an hour and we had to repeatedly wake him up to keep eating, but it seemed to work. He slept for 3.5 hours afterwards. It's a lot of work to feed him like this and it takes a long time. I'm willing to put in the effort. I breastfed my daughter until she was 19 months old and I truly believe that it was one of the best things that I have done in my life. It's easy to give up while it's really tough, but in all reality, the hard part of breastfeeding doesn't last very long. If you are having trouble, ask for help. Lactation consultants are wonderful. Once you and the baby both get the hang of breastfeeding, it's pretty easy, so beneficial for you both and so rewarding.

Here's hoping that in the near future, I will sleep in 3 hour increments!

It's Just a Number

2012-01-28T00:56:00.000-06:00

The first time you step on a scale post-baby is a little brutal. (unless you're a personal trainer who I went to high school with and you only weigh 6 lbs more than before you were pregnant). It's just a number, right?? Who cares, right?? Well, I don't necessarily care, but it is still hard to see a number that is twenty pounds more than what you weighed pre-pregnancy. I'm just going to look at the bright side, at least I weigh 25 lbs less than I did on January 14th.

Bad Hair

2012-01-27T01:31:00.001-06:00

I've been Facebook stalking a lot of babies recently because I swear that 15 people I know had babies within the last month. I've come to realize that people who have epidurals end up with much better hair for that FIRST PICTURE with their new bundle of joy than people who have a natural birth.

When I had my daughter, I didn't understand why I looked so bad in my post-birth pictures compared to others. Now, I've come to the conclusion that the blood, sweat, tears, and cold washcloths for the forehead associated with natural birth really eliminate any possibility of not looking like crap.

Case in point

Post-Baby A hair in 2009-even after I had cleaned up a little!

Post Baby P in 2012-again, even after I cleaned up a little.

I'm working on making sure that my hair at least looks better than this every day. Oh, and I'm trying to dress a little better than this each day too, but I might be a little less successful in that endeavor. In all seriousness, it meant something special to me to wear the same dress to deliver both of my children. Although, when I look at the dress now, I'm not too excited to wear it outside the confines of a hospital room:)

P.S. When I look at these two pictures, the difference in size between my two kids is really striking. Geez, Baby P is a big guy...2 lbs makes a huge difference!

He's Here!

2012-01-22T23:52:00.000-06:00

Price Homer Lanigan was welcomed into the world on 1/14/12 at 12:41 pm.
I am very much in love with my new little man! We feel very blessed to add such a wonderful little person into our family. His big sister couldn't be more proud or more loving!

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Maybe my uterus is just too cozy

2012-01-10T01:14:00.001-06:00

I have decided that my womb is just so awesome that little people just don't want to vacate. I mean, I hardly blame them. Who wouldn't want to hang out with me 24 hrs a day? However, there comes a time when it's time to exit and that time is quickly approaching for my little guy. I can tell it's that time because I can hardly walk anymore and when I sit on the floor, it's a huge ordeal for me to return to a standing position.

I wish there were a way to communicate to him that it's really not that bad out here in the world. His dad, sister, and I are really excited to meet him. I promise that we're going to take good care of him, feed him well, and snuggle him as much as possible. He'll have a lot of fun with his big sister, even though she'll probably boss him around A LOT. He has a pretty nice room too (assuming that he's ok with elephants). The bottom line is that we're good people-come hang out with us:)

FAQ's of a Super Pregant Lady

2012-01-08T01:16:00.001-06:00

I've been 39 weeks pregnant twice in my life and both times I've been repeatedly asked the same questions by complete strangers and people I know. People start asking you weird questions when they know you're pregnant, but questions get more odd and intrusive the more pregnant you look.

I'm not trying to be mean, but stop asking me questions. I really hate being grilled (I blame it on my teenage years), but I especially dislike questions that I've answered 15 times that day. I try to be polite, but it's hard to smile and answer. So, I decided to do other super pregnant ladies a favor and put together an FAQ list. Well, this list is actually more self-serving than public service, but chalk up my responses to irritability.

Q. Did you have that baby yet?
A: Yes I did, but I asked the doctor to shove a basketball up there, so I could trick the whole world into thinking that I'm still pregnant. I'd much rather be (insert place) than at home snuggling with my newborn.

Q: When are you going to have that baby?
A: If I knew when babies were going to be born, I'd start selling that information.

Q: Are you dilated?
A: Seriously, is that any of your business? You do know that in order for me to find that out, someone has to shove their fingers into my vagina and it's very uncomfortable. I don't invite it to happen unless absolutely necessary and I'm not too keen on discussing what's going on up there with other people.

Q: Are you going to work until the baby is born?
A: Well, I'm pretty sure people don't pay you to stay home from work. I'd also like to keep my job and I think that not showing up is grounds for dismissal. So yes, I am dragging my rear end to work until this kiddo decides to come out.

Q: How are you feeling?
A: Cranky, tired, and 45 lbs too heavy. I have some more smart ass remarks, but I know that people who know me only ask because they care, so I try not to be annoyed by this question.

Q: How's the baby doing?
A: I have no idea. As far as I know, no one is lucky enough to have a window into her uterus. I'm also not able to telepathically communicate with the person borrowing my abdomen, so he can't tell me either.

Q: How much does the baby weigh?
A: Has someone invented an intrauterine scale? Even if they have, I wouldn't want to get that into a usable position, so I'll never know how much my baby weighs until he/she is born. You can probably google how much a baby should weigh at each stage of development just as easily as I can.

Here is the actual public service part of my post, I wanted to give a few ideas of things that you shouldn't say to pregnant people.

1. If a pregnant woman is walking down a hall toward you, don't say, "Whoa, get out of her way." Yes, one guy at the hospital really did say that to me. I was too shocked to say anything, but now the responses abound. I'm ready for next time.

2. When your pregnant friend/relative has ankles that start to blend in with her calves, please don't say, "Well, that's the price you pay for beautiful babies." Really try to avoid saying that if you're a man.

3. Don't talk about the size of her boobs. She knows they are huge.

4. This comment not only has the potential to insult, but it's just cruel to give people such potentially false hope. "Wow, by the way you're walking, I bet you are going to have that baby by (insert day)." I guarantee she knows that she is waddling, it's another thing that can be left unsaid.

I'm sure there are many other things that could go on either of these lists, so if you have other suggestions, please feel free to comment:)

Hello...nice to see you again

2012-01-07T21:36:00.001-06:00

Hi blog,

It's been a long time. I am officially done with homework, so I am glad to have time for you again! A lot has changed since my last post. I've started a new career and I'm about to have a baby!

2011 was a pretty crazy year for our family! In April, I found out that I was matched to a Dietetic Internship program, which was a huge relief! The competition is really tough and I always feared that I would not be matched right away and my plans to change careers would be delayed. After we found out that I'd been matched, we decided that it would be ok to try for a second baby. In May, I graduated with a B.S. in Dietetics and found out that we were expecting! I started the Dietetic Internship in June, so I started "working" full-time again (well, working for free). In July, we temporarily moved to St. Charles from Kansas City, so that I could complete clinical rotations at two hospitals there. We lived in my in-laws basement/my parents house for about 14 weeks, so it was quite the adventure. We moved back home in October and I was offered a job as a Clinical Dietitian at a hospital in Kansas City! I started my new job in mid-November at 32 weeks pregnant:) Talk about crazy timing!
2011 was such a crazy ride that I'm really anxious to see what 2012 will bring. Right now, I basically sitting around and waiting to have a baby. I'm 39 weeks pregnant, so I'm really not waiting patiently anymore. I want to get this show on the road! I can't wait to figure out what my new "normal" will be.

Super Porridge (and other not so super adventures in food preparation)

2010-09-27T23:17:00.000-05:00

I have a confession, I have a secret desire for the ability to magically create food out of thin air with the snap of my finger. I don't really like to prepare food, I seldom like how it turns out.

We started making Super Porridge, which is a recipe from the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.

I really like this book. It has great recipes. I wouldn't say that it is the most well organized book I've ever read, but it has a lot of wonderful recipes and information about making healthy foods for your baby.  In addition, it has information about how to prepare almost any vegetable or fruit that you can imagine. For example, I have never eaten swiss chard or beet greens before, but I looked up how to prepare them in her book. I ate it for dinner and then put it in the food processor to make little frozen cubes for the baby.

So, let me now get to the super porridge part of the story...super porridge is basically a bunch of whole grains that you grind up in your blender or food processor.  Really, Super Porridge starts out as homemade rice cereal. As your baby ages, you can add other grains and it becomes more the consistency of oatmeal.

We've made super porridge three times.  We ground a large batch of grains and keep it in the fridge. We use the dry powder to make porrige every few days. We keep prepared porridge in the fridge and use it up over 2-3 days.

Our first batch was too grainy. We started with oatmeal, millet, and bulgar. I already had prepared rice cereal, so I just planned to combine it with our mixture.  We also added lentils to the mix to add a little more protein to the mixture. Our first attempt at porridge, basically didn't soak up the water. We had to dump in about 1/2 cup of Organice Gerber Rice Cereal to the mix.

The results were much better for the second attempt. We put the ground grain in the food processor again to make the grain particles smaller. I also bought long grain brown rice from the bulk aisle at Whole Foods and added more rice to our ground grains.  What I've learned is that super porridge is really an experiment every time you make it or serve it:)

Biebs Hair

2010-09-18T14:22:00.001-05:00

My baby has Biebs hair.

I mean I don't want her to look like a teenage boy, but I just can't bring myself to cut it. However, I get closer everyday. This is actually the last picture that I've taken where her hair looks somewhat under control. Usually, the "bangs" are covering her eyes. I know, that's a really mean thing to do to a baby.

I probably would be more excited to get it cut if I wasn't sure to start crying during the process. I often wonder if other people feel as bittersweet about milestones as I do...

I Wish My House Was In A Sweet Tomatoes

2010-09-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

I really love that restaurant. I would probabaly want a little more privacy than a corner booth could provide, but having access to so many toppings to put on my lettuce might be worth it. Not to mention that I could get made from scratch soups every day. I wonder if I could convince corporate to go for it...

Today, I took my daughter there for dinner, just me and her. I decided that if I can handle a baby AND my appetite at the best all you can eat salad bar restaurant EVER, then I'm the coolest person that I know. The best part about our trip though was that I got my baby to eat beets, the only food she has previously refused to eat. I was excited. In addition, she devoured the Mediterranean Cous Cous dish, which I personally found kind of gross (probably because of the black olives-I hate olives). My husband and I have really made it a priority to make sure our daughter is eating a wide variety of healthy, flavorful, and interesting foods, so I get really excited when she eats something new. In fact, I think that I like it better when she eats something that I don't like. (I should mention--mainly because my Mom would say that I'm horrendous for making her eat something that I don't like--I don't feed her anything that I haven't eaten first.

I really hope that she continues to eat like this. It is so easy to introduce her to new foods and she always seems to gobble them up.

winner

2010-07-09T20:13:00.002-05:00

#1 Just Jess!
Contact me at anglanigan@gmail.com

I Should Be Doing My Homework, But...

2010-07-06T14:32:00.000-05:00

I'm going to talk about how awesome my baby is instead.

We just got back from a week-long vacation at the Lake of the Ozarks. We spent the first part with Sean's family in a condo and the second part with my family in our family's lake trailer. The whole thing was super fun and I finally got a much-needed vacation.
You might think that since I had a 12-week maternity leave 7 months ago, I should be all caught up on vacation for awhile. Well, you are wrong. I probably thought that it would be a really awesome, relaxing vacation, but I was wrong about that. I've needed a vacation from my vacation...
Anyway, back to the real material for this post, my awesome baby and the much-needed vacation.
As for the first topic: my baby is awesome, there have been quite a few exciting developments lately and I haven't had time to write about them (stupid homework). First of all, SHE CAN WALK NOW! She started taking steps on June 11th and since that day, she wants to walk all the time. She can walk across a room holding our fingers without falling down. She has a Playskool toy that can be ridden or used as a walker and yesterday, she held on to it and walked across the room-amazing! Second, she is mastering pulling herself up. She's been doing it for several weeks using our fingers, but this past weekend she finally did it alone. She was able to grab the side of our boat and stand on the seat...so exciting! Third, this baby loves to eat! She loves everything we've given her and always wants more! In the past few weeks, she's had cauliflower, butternut squash, plain noodles, grilled onions, blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, a lick of ice cream, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper. Fourth, this kiddo loves to swim. We've gone swimming with my friend Melynda and at the lake. She can't get enough! She swims with me, in her floating raft, and sits for hours in her baby pool. I think that we have a swimmer on our hands!

As for the second topic, our awesome vacation, I'll put more pictures up soon, but I really do need to get my assignment done soon!

Good Earth Review and GIVEAWAY

2010-06-28T00:31:00.012-05:00

I had the opportunity to try out a new product that recently hit grocery stores shelves, Good Earth dry dinner kits. This opportunity was provided by was provided by Good Earth and MyBlogSpark. I was given one Mediterranean Chicken dinner kit, two sets of bamboo flatware, two bamboo dishes, a bamboo utility board and a 100% recyclable grocery tote to test.

Information about Good Earth dry dinner kits from Good Earth and MyBlogSpark:
With appetizing entrées from Good Earth, dining in is sure to become the new dining out. Enjoy cooking a sophisticated, restaurant-quality meal in the comfort of your own home. Each variety includes vibrant and flavorful sauces along with specialty ingredients like sweet basil, white wine and dried tomatoes. Delicious dinners that allow you to keep a healthy lifestyle without sacrificing taste, Good Earth dry dinner kits are perfect for whipping up a no-fail, five-star cuisine in less than 30 minutes.
100% whole grain, no trans fat, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives, no MSG - just add meat and, voila! Dinner is served.
Coming to stores this June, Good Earth dry dinner kits offer a selection of four delectable meals: Mediterranean Chicken with angel hair pasta, Spicy Citrus Glazed Shrimp with angel hair pasta, Herb Crusted Chicken with mushroom risotto and Tuscan Chicken with penne pasta.

My Review:
I should first disclose that my husband actually prepared the food, so I'm working with him to write this review.

We thought this was delicious and super easy to prepare. In total, it only took about 30 minutes to prepare the meal. There are only a few simple steps which include: breading and cooking the chicken, adding the sauce mix, boiling the noodles, waiting for the sauce to set, then serve. We decided to add artichoke hearts to our sauce mixture to add a little bit of a kick.

I think the most telling part of this review is that I would purchase this mix AND I would PREPARE IT MYSELF. (My husband does most of the cooking at our house). Basically, I'm saying that even I can handle this one!

There were a few things that I think made this dinner kit stand out:

Flavor-not too overpowering like some dinner kits or frozen meal kits. I particularly enjoyed the sun-dried tomatoes!
Breading-didn't get soggy as breaded chicken sometimes does in a sauce.
It even tasted good as leftovers!

Here is a picture of the final product:

WE VOTE: DELICIOUS! WOULD PURCHASE!
We were also given two sets of bamboo flatware, two bamboo dishes, and a bamboo utility board to test.

I was actually surprised that the bamboo flatware is just like silverware-I'm not sure why I thought it would be different-but it seems like an excellent alternative to plastic flatware. The plates that we received were honestly too small to use as a dinner plate, so I haven't used them yet. The bamboo cutting board gets my seal of approval as well. They were easy to clean too, just wash with soap and water.

You have the chance to win a similar gift pack! YAY! To enter, please comment which flavor you'd like to try. One extra entry for becoming/being a follower of my blog.
Please click HERE to see comments and enter. DEADLINE IS JULY 8th at 12 p.m. Central Time.

Another Letter to an Inanimate Object

2010-05-24T23:42:00.000-05:00

Hi Blog,
I just want to put you on notice that I might neglect you a little this summer. You know that I love you, but you're not a real person, you're not grading me, and you're not my bed, so you have to move to the bottom of the priority list.

My summer classes started last week and it's a challenge to keep up. Luckily, I'm only taking 6 hours this summer. I don't expect it to be quite the hellish time as last summer, since 6 is a lot less than 14. But, it's not going to be a piece of cake either. During the Spring semester, I took 4 hours on a regular pace and it was tough to stay on schedule.

I also discovered that babies do not care about chemistry, nutrition, or dietetics. Baby A's only use for my textbooks is figuring out how/when she can eat them and becoming furious when I won't let her chow down.

The main reason that I must neglect you is that I just don't have a lot of time to myself, so that time has to go to said textbooks. The rest is probably going to be spent as some quality time with my pillow. Unless you can figure out how my husband can breastfeed...then I can give you an hour or two:)

So, please don't be angry with me. I really do like you and this isn't personal.
Hugs and Kisses,
Angie

THANKS!

2010-05-19T22:53:00.001-05:00

I've never been great at accepting compliments. I was never able to say, "Thanks!" I always made up some reason why that compliment wasn't true or why I didn't deserve it. I don't want to turn this into a psychological profile or anything, but I couldn't accept compliments, because I didn't believe them. I've been working for years to improve my self-image and learning to accept compliments was on my agenda to master.

Why am I posting about this? Well...my poor self-image created a lot of problems for me and I'm determined that my children will not have the same issues. Raising confident children who know their parents are super proud of them is at the top of my list of priorities.

One thing that I've learned about compliments once you accept them is that they are addicting! It is wonderful to be told nice things about yourself! I just want to thank my in-laws and my husband for continually telling me what a great Mom that I am. It's the best compliment that I can imagine. It means a lot to me and I really appreciate it! I am thankful that Baby A has you to help make her a confident and successful woman!

What Goes In Must Come Out

2010-05-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

It's just a shame that it doesn't come out a little quicker. I feel like the only thing that I've wanted to blog about is baby poop lately, but it's surprising how baby poop impacts your life. My poor baby has taken to going #2 every few days. So, I spend a lot of time thinking about baby poop...did it happen at the babysitter, when is it coming, is all that grunting healthy, etc.

She probably loses a pound when she goes, because when it comes out, boy, it comes out. We've had 3 poop explosions in the past few weeks. You may have seen the picture in a previous post-that wasn't even the worst of them either. I'm wondering if the volcano eruption in Iceland inspired her to try to recreate it in Kansas. I am really thankful that I got the diaper sprayer before all this fun started. I plan to post a review of our sprayer soon. However, this will be the basic premise: I can't imagine having to scrape or dunk that stuff, I'd get one if I were you.

Instead of talking about food on the way out, let's talk about food on the way in. Here's Baby A's first time in the high chair! She's getting big so fast, I just can't believe it!

Here's the best part of my night though! Look what my baby can do!

I am so proud! I took manual dexterity for granted until I realized that it takes time to learn how to do this. I've never seen her pick up a puff between her thumb and index finger before tonight. She could grab several in her hand, but they ended up in her palm. Then, they got stuck there and she couldn't get them into her mouth. Maybe she just needed a high chair, because those little puffs made it into her mouth without any help from me! YAY!!! I'm such a proud mama! Way to go!

Winner!!

2010-05-06T13:16:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Baby in a Fishbowl giveaway is comment #3, Stef! The winner has been confirmed. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Oh, have to go...leaking diaper on my lap. Yuck!

Adventures in Making Baby Food

2010-04-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

Some of the aforementioned avocados. It really isn't hard to make your own baby food. I put it in a mini food processor, pureed it, and put it in ice cube trays to freeze. Don't worry, I didn't let the baby near that giant knife.

Honestly, the avocado probably doesn't need to go in the processor, but I didn't want them to go to waste so I had to freeze them.

Yum...carrots! First, I steamed them and then tried to puree them. The problem with the carrots was that I tried to put too many in there and ended up with huge chunks of baby carrots. It would be like finding pieces of fingers in your applesauce or something. I tried to fish them all out before putting them in the freezer, but I noticed today I didn't quite get them all. Oops! These were definitely more difficult to puree than avocados. I need to improve my skills for next time. I'm thinking about doing some green beans tomorrow and I'll be sure to 1) steam them with less water; 2) use the leftover water to make the food puree smoother; 3) use fewer veggies in the processor.

If you have tips for making great baby food, please comment!

Nifty Nappy OS Cloth Diaper Review

2010-04-26T23:14:00.002-05:00

Basic Information:
This diaper is made by a WAHM in Utah. They are available in 47 prints and solids! Some of them are so super cute, you just can't resist them! It comes with an absorbent insert made of hemp and bamboo velour. Click HERE to go to the Nifty Nappy website.

How It Works:
It is a one-size diaper with has waist snaps. There is no rise adjustment. However, we have never needed one. We started using this diaper when she was more than 10 lbs, so I do not know how this dipe would work on a small baby.

You do need to use a diaper cover with it, because it is not waterproof. The outer layer is cotton knit, the middle layer is organic hemp fleece and the inside layer is microfleece. You can lay the insert inside the diaper for extra absorbency.

Price:
It is $22.00. You can purchase from the Nifty Nappy website or from a limited number of retailers. The first diaper that I purchased was several dollars cheaper because she did not sell diapers through other retailers at that time. Unfortunately for customers, her prices went up after the diapers became available in retail stores. However, I'm glad that business is good for her:) It's nice to see businesses you like prosper.

Our Experience:
This diaper fits Baby A so well and I have to admit that I was surprised. I was skeptical about the fit since there are no snaps to adjust the rise, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It is also the only snap diaper that I've really liked. You can actually cross the flaps across the waist!

I really love this diaper for nighttime! I alternate this diaper at night with another diaper since we only have one. I usually add a second hemp doubler, just to make sure it doesn't leak. I use it with a pair of wool longies from Nifty Nappy and it's perfect!

Since it's hard to get them both washed to use every other night, I decided to buy another one yesterday. So although, I'm sad the price went up, I still bought one. Luckily, I found it on sale at one of the retailers and found a code for free shipping!

Features We Love

The only set of snaps on the waist that I've found to properly overlap!
Excellent, sturdy construction
Super Absorbent
Adorable fabric selection

The Downside:

Fabric is fading...I guess all the washing is taking its toll:(
Too bad the prints get covered up:(

We Vote:

Go-To Nighttime Dipe
Mom's Fav

Overall Rating: 10
Pictures in Use:

Oh Man, You KNOW This is Bad News

2010-04-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

This picture was immediately followed by a bath. Yes, it really was that bad.

New Rule: Baby Eats Naked

2010-04-25T20:52:00.001-05:00

This is what she looked like last week when I fed her Avocados. When you feed her, she likes to grab the spoon with her hand and then bite it. When you pull the spoon out of her mouth, whatever food didn't come off the spoon in her mouth ends up in her hand. Then, she takes her hand and rubs her face and grabs her feet. Outlook not so good for the outfit... And just a quick warning, apparently, avocado doesn't easily come out of clothes. We've got a purple outfit with a green foot.

Oh well, how can you be upset about it when you've got this face to feed?

A Mom's Life-Old School Style

2010-04-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I experienced motherhood hunter-gatherer style. Well, maybe not quite that far back, but at least pioneer style. No, I didn't go gather berries in the woods or find edible plants out in the field, but I did have to get my garden planted and I did it with my baby on my back.

I have definitely decided that humanity would not have survived without women (not only because we have babies), but I think that families would have starved if women weren't responsible for child rearing and tending gardens (no offense men). It is super hard work to get a garden going, let alone work a garden with a baby on your back. God bless those women who did it with little papooses. I'll stay thankful for modern conveniences like metal tools and Ergo baby carriers. I wouldn't have survived Sunday without them.

On a side note, if you're trying to lose baby weight, this is a great way to do it. I did tons of squats and I expect the evidence to be in my glutes pretty soon!

P.S. Not a photo of my garden (sadly!), just a good ole free photo from stock.xchng...baby is currently sleeping and I'm too exhausted to go outside and take a photo.

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-04-19T23:06:00.001-05:00

Thank you to Saskia, at Sugar Magnolia, who nominated me for the award. I really enjoy reading her blog. She lives in Utah, is a self-proclaimed free spirit (which I can tell by reading her blog), has six children, and makes those fabulous dolls and shoes I have discussed previously. I know this list surely isn't exhaustive of her, but I don't know her in real life, so I enjoy getting to know her via blogworld. I think I enjoy her blog so much, because I've always wanted to be more of a free spirit (among other things).

I am really honored that she sent this to me, so thank you to Saskia. As a recipient, I am supposed to write seven things about myself and nominate 15 blogs. I'll have to get back to you on the 15 blogs, but here are my seven things.

1. I love history. I love to learn more about the past. I especially love learning about World War II (probably because my Grandpa fought in the Pacific). My default channel is the History Channel if I am looking for something to watch on TV.

2. I really want to raise my children to be responsible, caring, contributing people who think about the world and the other people who live in it when they make decisions. I really believe that a society is only as strong as it weakest link. We were very fortunate to have been born into our circumstances, to be middle class, to have loving families, and opportunities for education. However, not everyone is that fortunate, but everyone deserves a chance and has a right to make a happy, healthy life. We should do what we can to make it possible for others to succeed. The bottom line is that I just want my children to know that in helping others and considering the greater good, they are also making their own lives better.

3. Growing things gives me great pleasure! Four years ago, we moved into our house which had a beautifully landscaped yard and two raised garden beds. I have enjoyed everything about my garden over the past four years. I love watching my little sprouts grow, but even more I love eating the end results! I am trying to improve my cooking skills, so that none of my veggies go to waste.

4. I cry easily. I end up crying more often than most people. Most of the time, it's not really a big deal. I think that I just have quite a few emotions that are wired to my tear ducts.

5. I have a fear of going to the bathroom when people are around. When I lived in the dorms in college, my roommate had to stand guard outside our community bathroom, just so that I could finally go.

6. I would love to be a professor. I don't know if that will actually happen, but I can always dream. :)

7. I love cheese, especially melted cheese. So, I love nachos, macaroni and cheese, and St. Louis Style pizza. Once, I ate 5 Amy's brand frozen mac and cheese meals 5 times in one week.

I've Been Officially Grossed Out

2010-04-15T15:27:00.001-05:00

This morning was the first time that I've been officially grossed out by baby poop. Before today, I've been shocked and awed by baby poop, sprayed with poop, and had a lapful of poop, but never exactly grossed out by it. I guess today was my time though...I opened up a diaper to find it covering every inch of her and the diaper, and it was GROSS and SMELLY.

I was doubly grossed out because the entire back (cover and snap in insert) were completely covered. This just happens to be exactly where the snap is located that allows me to unsnap the insert and remove it from the cover.

It was bound to happen and I think we have turned a corner when it comes to baby poop. We've started feeding her solids everyday now, instead of just a few times a week. From here on out, I expect the poop will only get grosser and smellier. Good thing the diaper sprayer I ordered arrived two days ago!

Here's to new adventures with baby poop. I'm going to pour a little out for those easy to clean, not too smelly, breastmilk-only poops.

P.S. (are these allowed in blog posts?) I'll let you know how the diaper sprayer works as soon as Sean gets it hooked up.

P.P.S. This is not a photo of me, just a free stock photo from stock.xchng

Get to Know Baby in a Fishbowl!

2010-04-13T23:23:00.062-05:00

I've really enjoyed using Theresa's products and I wanted to get to know her a little better. I asked Theresa a few questions about motherhood and her shop.

1. What led you to babywearing?
I hated strange people touching my all baby the time, I would be anywhere and strange people would want to kiss her and pick her up. I wanted to keep her as close to me as I could, so I turned to babywearing and fell in love with it.

2. What inspired you to open an Etsy shop?
Actually I believe my step sister turned me towards etsy. I was amazed that I had never heard of it before. Although I have had a slow go on etsy, I enjoy the less stress buyer/seller relationship. As everything is handmade, people here seem to understand the time it takes to create an item and have a family too.

3. What is your favorite item in the shop?
My favorite item, right now, is my wrap skirt. I just started selling these. I actually spend more time making myself skirts than making them to sell - heehee.

I do use everything I sell, from bibs, burps, blankets, pouch sling, ring sling, aprons, skirts, etc. I have made other items for myself, but never duplicated them, since I didn't use a pattern. My diaper bag is one example. I enjoy not using a pattern, but I sometimes fail to ever re-create the same thing over again. :)

I also love the Silk Ring slings! I think they are so pretty to wear, and great to feel. I only have 3 left, and am not sure I will stock anymore, but I look forward to finding homes for them.
Adds Angie: I love the silk ring slings too! I 100% endorse them:)

4. What has been your best/favorite/funny adventure of the mom kind?
There has been so much in the past 7 yrs since I became a mom. I never thought I wanted to be a mom. I hated to babysit when I was a kid, because kids just didnt like me.
I guess my best adventure was finding the Mom in Me, and discoving how much I LOVE being a Mom!

5. How did you get the name Baby in a Fishbowl??
How we came up with "Baby in a Fishbowl"- Well...While pregnant and trying to explain to how a baby grows in mommies belly, I told my oldest daughter(then 2.5y old), that the baby is in my belly swimming around like a little "fish" and the baby will stay there until it is ready to come out.

Fast forward about another 1.5 yrs... while pregnant with number 3, my daughter was talking about the baby in my belly being a little fish. Her brother was in the sling at the time and she came to the conclusion that being in the sling was like being in my belly again, just like the new baby. I said "Yes, sort of like a fishbowl".   She said he was a "baby in a fishbowl"!  Now you know the story!

Theresa has a lot of great items in her shop (more than just baby gear too!) and it's all mom-friendly!.  Please visit her shop and check out what items might look good on you! Also, become her fan on Facebook to hear about specials or enter into her giveaways!
Don't forget to enter a giveaway of $25 toward any item in her shop! Click here to go there.

Baby In A Fishbowl Ring Sling Review AND GIVEAWAY

2010-04-13T22:55:00.008-05:00

Baby In A Fishbowl Ring Sling Review

Basic Information About The Sling:
This slings come from a great Etsy Shop, Baby in a Fishbowl. There are a lot of fabric options available and she can make custom orders too. The particular sling that I purchased is made of Duponi Silk in Summer Sun color and the ring color varies by sling. The width is about 26" and the length is 85".

This information about ring slings is from her Etsy Shop site:
Ring sling are great for multiple wearers. They go where your stroller cannot. The open style tail gives you great coverage for nursing privacy, especially for first time moms who are still getting the nack of it. Tuck the tail away when not needed or you can use it for a changing pad, blanket, wiping up spit-up.

Care of sling: Wash alone Gentle cycle, cold, or hand wash. Hang dry is recommended.

How it works:
Pretty simple: put the sling on, put the baby in the pocket, and tighten the sling by pulling fabric through the rings. It honestly seems more intimidating more than it really is. The best way to figure out to put it on is to search YouTube for instructions on the different ways to wear your baby. There are a bunch of videos that demonstrate different holds. It took me two or three times to get to the point where I could get her in/out quickly.

Price:
The regular price for this sling is $48. However, I got mine on sale. If you become a Facebook fan of Baby in a Fishbowl, she posts sales and specials there, so you can keep a lookout for deals. She also has giveaways pretty often on Facebook, so you may win a great item from her shop.

My Experience:
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sling. I have another ring sling that I bought at a garage sale and while I liked it, I never felt 100% comfortable that she was secure. I have NEVER felt like that when I have used this sling!

I noticed the difference between the slings immediately and I put my other sling away (I think for good). Anyway, I love the fabric, I love the rings, and I love the cute detailed stitching. I think that the silk is really easy to adjust. One cool thing that I like about the fabric is the color, it seems to change color depending on the light and I think that it is really beautiful.

I use this ring sling when I go to the store and we both like it. The baby hates sitting in the car seat so she’s glad to be out and about. I think using a ring sling is much more convenient than lugging a car seat or stroller anywhere. I’ve started keeping it in the car, so that I always have it available when I’m out. In fact, I just got back from CostCo where I wore her the whole time! I seriously use this sling almost every day!

Features We Love:

Sturdy construction
Cute detailed stitching (see picture below)
SO EASY AND CONVENIENT

The Downside:

Wearing her for long periods of time does make my shoulder get a little sore.

We Vote:

Excellent Value
Easy to Use
Convenient for Everyday Use
Love it, Love it, Love it

Overall Rating (out of 10): 10

HERE IS THE COOL PART! BABY IN A FISHBOWL is generously giving away $25 towards any item in her shop!
Leave a comment for each entry. CLICK HERE TO GO TO COMMENTS.

This is a mandatory entry:
Visit her shop and tell me what you would purchase with the $25.
Extra Entries:
1. Follow this blog
2. Become a Facebook Fan of Baby in a Fishbowl HERE
3. Become a Facebook Fan of Adventures of the Mom Kind HERE
4. Announce this giveaway on a blog, forum, or Facebook and leave the url in the comment

This giveaway will end at 7pm on May 3rd. Please leave your email or a way to contact you. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

A Tip to Share Pics

2010-04-06T23:23:00.000-05:00

We don't live near our families, so I wanted to easily share pictures of Baby A with them and I found a great way to do it using Shutterfly. They have a feature that allows you to set up your own website to share photos. I was previously a devoted Snapfish user and would invite people to view my photo folders, but I've found that this Shutterfly share site is much easier to use for sharing photos! I love it because it is essentially like a photo blog.

I also like that there are various privacy settings that you can select. I have ours password protected so that no crazies out there are looking at photos of my sweet baby! The way that I set up my site, I invited friends and family and sent them the password.

In addition, others can upload their photos to the site and share with us. (However, if your family is like mine, they won't ever upload pics to it.)    It also allows you to add text posts and store up to 6 videos.

Photos that you add to the share site are also automatically added to your Shutterfly account, so you can easily order photos too. Seriously, I've found this to be a huge timesaver and it's worth checking out if you are looking for an easy way to keep people up-to-date on your family.

Kissaluvs Kissa’s Fitted Diaper Size 0 Review

2010-04-05T21:57:00.001-05:00

Kissaluvs Kissa’s Fitted Diaper Size 0 Review

Basic Information:
This link is to the Version 2.0 of this diaper. This is a fitted diaper (which means that it is not meant to fit all size babies). It will fit most babies from 5 to 15 lbs. This is made of cotton and the soaker is incorporated into the diaper, so there is no stuffing required. However, a diaper cover is required. It comes in unbleached or 5 colors.

How it works:
This is a super easy diaper to use! The waist circumference adjusts with snaps. It has elasticized legs. You are able to snap down the waist to accomodate a newborn's umbilicus. After you snap on baby, put on a cover and you're ready to go!

Price:
$12.95 for unbleached/$13.95 for colors.

Our Experience:
We have used this diaper since the newborn days and I really love it! The experience with this diaper is a great example of how I am becoming a much smarter cloth diaper user! This diaper has far exceeded my expectations, totally making it a great value in my mind.

First, Baby A did not grow out of it in as short a period of time as I expected. In fact, it still fits and she is 22 weeks old! I really only expected it to use it for about 3 months.

Second, you don’t need nearly as many covers as I thought you would using this fitted diaper. I purchased these when I was pregnant and really believed that I’d need covers in about a 1:2 ratio to diapers. No way! (at least not with this diaper, maybe another kind of diaper we have…but that’s another story!) No mess has ever leaked out of legs. That means no leaks all over clothes and no reason for multiple outfit changes, unless your baby is a fashionista.

Finally, if I were pregnant all over again I would buy more of these. We only bought two, because we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on diapers that we couldn’t use for a long time. We opted to buy mainly all-in-one diapers, but on a small baby, those diapers are really bulky. The great thing about these diapers is that they aren’t bulky. We’ve found that bulky bottoms make babies “grow out” of clothes quicker. If I’d had more of these, I could get have gotten more use out of baby clothes. Basically, my point is that these diapers were a much better value than I thought they would be and I wish that I would have purchased more of them.

Features We Love:

Snap down waist to accommodate umbilicus
Easy for the babysitter

The Downside:

Not dry to the touch once it’s wet.
The entire diaper gets soaked if you leave it on for a long period of time. I would not use this diaper if you will not be able to change a diaper for an extended period of time (like a long car ride).

We Vote:

Excellent diaper for newborn
Good price
Convenient
Good Value
Easy to Use
This diaper will make you fall in love with cloth diapering!

Overall Rating (out of 10): 10

Pictures in Use: (she was about 13 lbs in this photo)

The Best Baby Shoes...Period

2010-04-01T23:56:00.001-05:00

Well, I call them slippers...they're soft soled baby shoes, so they seem like slippers to me. I wish I would have bought a pair much earlier! Socks never stay on Baby A's feet and I can't figure out why. She does have a little bit of a case of the cankles, but it is not so bad that I would expect socks not to work. However, I won these WONDERFUL shoes about a month ago and she has been wearing them almost everyday since then.

The shoes are elasticized, but they aren't tight. They are very soft, made of natural materials, and come in many cute prints. She is 5 months old and still has plenty of room to grow in them. But, the main reason I love them is that I'm not always looking for where they fell off (which happens all the time when she wears socks)!

I've already written about the SunflowerRadiantLove Etsy Shop and this is another awesome product from Saskia. They sell for $10.95 and I think they are well worth it! This is definitely a product that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Letters to (mostly) Inanimate Objects

2010-04-01T23:35:00.003-05:00

Dear Ameda Purely Yours breastpump,
At first I was mad in the lactation room when I found out that you didn't tell me that I forgot to pack the cones, but you knew what you were doing. You knew I was sick and needed to go home. Thanks for having my back. I guess I should trust you after 5 month of letting you suck my nipples.
Thanks!
Angie

Dear Attic Fan,
If I would have known that you have magical mesmerizing powers over babies...why didn't you tell us that your specialty is putting babies to sleep? We would have turned you on months ago.
Love,
Angie

Dear Captain of Hair Follicles,
What kind of show are you running? You have a lot of defectors and they're all over the house. I knew a lot of you were going to jump ship after I had the baby, but geez, it's been 5 months. Get it together...I'm scared I'm going to be bald by next Saturday.
Angie

Dear Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner,
Well, you are a disappointment.
Angie

Hey Boobs,
Why so sad? Perk up.
Angie

Dear Medela Nursing Bra Package,
Your photo is clearly not a true representation. The woman does not have a uniboob. Stop trying to make the rest of us feel bad.
Angie

Another Awesome Giveaway--Hurry Ends Today

2010-03-31T09:27:00.002-05:00

I found another great giveaway for A LOT of SoftBums dipes. Check it out at http://loveclothdiapers.blogspot.com/2010/03/softbums-spring-giveaway.html

Hurry though, it ends tonight!!

More Products I Love!

2010-03-24T00:05:00.003-05:00

I'll be honest with you, the giraffe baby is 100% the reason that I became obsessed with Etsy. I bought her a few months ago for Baby A. I love the doll and she loves to eat her:) I stick one in my purse to keep Baby A occupied when we go out. I recently won the mini baby in a giveaway. I'm so glad to have these well-made toys.

These are Waldorf-inspired* baby dolls. Each baby in SunflowerRadiantLove's Etsy Shop is handmade and unique. They are made with all natural materials and stuffed with wool. They are super soft! Her shop had big babies, mini babies, and root babies (which look like little sproutlings).

I'm most excited about these because I think they will inspire imagination. Since each one is unique, no one else will have a doll like either one! I hope that has meaning for Baby A in the future. I'm also thrilled that they don't have batteries! We have too many of those toys around here.

*In case you haven't heard of Waldorf (which I hadn't), click here for the Wikipedia entry.

HTML help needed...please:)

2010-03-23T00:42:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,
I definitely would change some things about the layout of my blog if I had mad skillz...only I don't...so I'm satisfied with it except for one thing. It really bugs me that the "Leave a Comment" guy is not visible from the home page and that you must click on an individual post to leave a comment. If any one who reads this blog has ANY IDEA how to fix that, I'd really appreciate it.

I've been messing with it for a few weeks and just spent 2 hours trying to find web tutorials, but no dice. I have homework to do and some ZZZZ's to catch. I give up Blogger, you win for tonight (and possibly until the semester is over).

A SUPER GREAT GIVEAWAY

2010-03-22T23:11:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone!
I seriously found THE MOST AWESOME giveaway for Thirsties! It's at Hormonal Inbalances, a blog that I hadn't read before, but thoroughly enjoyed.

The giveaway is worth about $170! You get FIVE diapers and TWO packs of Thirsties Fab wipes (which I reviewed and love!).

You should enter! If you win and don't like the diapers, I will gladly take them off your hands. If you are my mom or mother-in-law or one of my brother's girlfriends, Adelaide really wants these dipes so you should enter :)

Are You Worried About BPA?

2010-03-22T22:37:00.001-05:00

Even though I am breastfeeding, my baby still has to use bottles at daycare. If you're like me, you're concerned about BPA in bottles. I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but I think that it is more dangerous than we have been lead to believe.

Right after my daughter started at daycare, I remembered that I purchased some of my bottles at a garage sale and I had no idea when they were manufactured. Even though, I purchased new nipples, I wasn't sure if the plastic was BPA-free or not. The bottles looked different than the new bottles of the same brand that I had gotten. Since I couldn't determine if they were safe, I decided not to use them.

Sometimes, it is hard to find out facts about controversial issues from trustworthy sources. I often wish that there were someone out there to synthesize the information for me so that I could just read an executive summary and make my decision. But, that doesn't happen very often and I'm left trying to look things up. Thank God for journalists (only the good ones though), because sometimes they do it for you.

Today I found an article on usatoday.com that I think is extremely helpful. Click on the link to go to the article. I particularly found this report from the Friends of Earth Europe compelling. This chemical is in a lot more products than I was aware and I've decided to limit the use of those products in our home. I urge you to read the information here and decide whether or not you should take steps to limit your baby's exposure to BPA.

I'll just say that after reading the research and reports, I'm glad her bottle exposure is limited and I'm going to avoid heating up food containers in the microwave.

Adventures in Dreamland

2010-03-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

It's too bad I haven't had more adventures in dreamland lately. Honestly, I think the hardest thing about being a new Mom is a chronic lack of sleep. My baby is even a good sleeper, so I can't imagine how difficult it is for moms whose babies do not sleep well!

I have honestly been fantasizing about Ambien...how sad is that? The thing that I'd most like to do if I had the chance...sorry Sean, it's not a date night with you...it's a nap.

Product I Love: Padálily

2010-03-18T17:31:00.000-05:00

Padálily

I really like this cool little product! The Padálily is essentially a foam pad that wraps around your car seat handle. If you are like me and loop your arm through the car seat and carry it on your forearm, I bet you would like it too. My good friend, Katie gave it to us and I am so grateful. (I think she may have gotten one as a shower gift and felt it necessary to share the love.)

The foam pad is about ½ inch thick, so it’s not so bulky that it creates a problem, but provides enough cushion to make a noticeable difference for your forearm. There is a strip of sturdy Velcro that allows you to easily wrap around the handle. It comes in a quite a few cute prints that are boy, girl, and gender neutral appropriate. As you can see, mine is super cute and girly! I think that most moms would appreciate this.

However, if you’re a tough-o, like my husband, and carry the handle with your hand, you might not appreciate this product as much. Since this does wrap around the handle, if you do carry it with your hand, it will make it bulkier.

Confessions: Sometimes I Want to be a Quitter

2010-03-17T23:14:00.001-05:00

Occasionally, I feel a twinge of selfishness and I really want to quit breastfeeding. Even though, we've been doing it for 20 weeks strong, sometimes, it seems a little overwhelming to keep going.
Why? you ask...well...

Last night, when the baby woke up at 4 am, I really wanted it to be my husband's turn to feed the baby.
I haven't been pumping enough at work for a day's worth of bottles and my frozen milk stash is dwindling faster than I expected.
Sometimes, I actually feel like my boobs are asking for a vacation day.

I am not going to quit. I probably feel this way because I am stressed about things that aren't really very important and won't matter in a few weeks. I am sure I'm not the only one who has felt like they might want to stop. Today, I just watched my baby eat and thought about how good it makes me feel to do this for her.

Beware!

2010-03-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

Baby crevices smell BAD! Baby A has a secret fold that gets super smelly! I don't know what she's hiding in there, maybe rotten onions or swamp mud. It really hard to get in there and wash it during bath time because she has to be happy enough to be willing to lift her head up and back far enough to access the "secret fold". On days when I go to work, it gets even more smelly! I think that spit up or bottle run-off migrates to the folds and hangs out to cause trouble.

BabyHawk Baby Carrier Review

2010-03-09T15:50:00.002-06:00

Baby Hawk Review

Basic Information:
This is a Mei Tai baby carrier. BabyHawk allows you to select your own fabric options on their website and they will custom build it for you. There are tons of fabric options and 17 options for strap color. They now have a new product that snaps and is more like a structured baby carrier. The one I am reviewing is the Regular BabyHawk.

How it works:
The best way to describe how to use it is to look at the instruction photos. I assure you, the photo arrays look much more complicated to put on than it really is! It takes me less than thirty seconds to put on and get baby all situated! Basically, you tie the bottom strap around your waist. You hold baby up against your chest, pull the body of the carrier up behind baby's back. Then, throw the shoulder straps over your shoulders. The straps cross each other on your back and tie in the front across your baby’s lower back. I only needed assistance the very first time I used it.

Price:
$80 for the basic model.
You can add some extra features for an additional cost of usually $5 or $10. Extra features include: a toy ring, minky backing, longer straps, added body size, and pockets.

My Experience:
I love, love, love this thing. (Thanks to Craig and Michelle for buying it for me!) I started using it when my daughter was about 5 weeks old. Using it helps me get things done around the house because I can use my arms! I use it when I go places so I don’t have to carry a car seat. It’s easier to bring out than a wrap carrier because it’s not one long piece of fabric that can drag on the ground while putting it on. I’ve only used the Newborn Front Carry position so far, but my daughter is getting big enough that I’ll soon need to stick her feet out the side. I haven't been brave enough for the back carry yet, but I look forward to trying it in the future!

Features I Love:

No adjustment necessary. You can easily share this between two people (or more). Since it is tied, there are no snaps or buckles to move.
Secure. Baby is safe and secure inside.
Cute. Yup, I’m going there…I think it’s super cute.

The Downside:

Intimidation. I think that the intimidation factor keeps people away.
Price. It is certainly not cheap, but in my opinion, it is definitely worth the cost.
Practice Required. It takes a few times getting baby in and out to really be able to do it quickly. It also takes a little bit of practice to use on the go. I had to perfect my technique to get baby in and out without dropping straps on the parking lot and quickly enough that we didn’t get too cold in the process.

I Vote:

Convenient
Easy to Use
Cute Fabrics
Good Quality
Love it, Love it, Love it!

Overall Rating (out of 10): 9.5

Pictures

Pictures from top to bottom: First time using it (about 5 weeks old); Using it at family Christmas (about 8 weeks old); 18 weeks old

Putting Things in Perspective

2010-03-08T22:17:00.001-06:00

I recently heard about a beautiful, little two year-old girl named Layla Grace who has Stage IV Neuroblastoma. I've been following her story for about two weeks. Her family has been blogging about her experience and Tweeting for over a year. When I started following her, she had 35,000 followers. This evening, she has more than 38,000 followers. I'm glad that she and her family have so many people out there praying for them!

Sadly, she is only expected to live a few more days. My heart breaks for this family and I think about them everyday, several times a day. I pray that God will give Layla peace and her family strength. I thank God that my baby is healthy and I pray that she will have a long and happy life. Little Layla reminds me to be thankful for every moment that I've been given with my baby. Reading about this family's journey puts my woes into perspective.

You can read Layla Grace's story on her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Babywearing...seriously, the best thing EVER

2010-03-07T23:37:00.001-06:00

I really cannot adequately describe my obsession with and affection for babywearing. It is like giving your arms the gift of freedom...wait, it actually does give them freedom. It is like being able to snuggle all the time...wait, you actually do snuggle the whole time. It is like having the most fashionable accessory...well, if you count the baby, yes...if you're talking about the fabric, maybe.

This week in babywearing was AWESOME. I got to ditch lugging the carseat! It was so warm that I didn't carry Adelaide in her carseat anywhere! I was able to do that way back in November when she was really a wee one, but it has been so cold that I didn't want to transfer her in and out of the carseat/babycarrier outside. So, for months, I've been lugging the carseat into the store and (often) she would just stay in it for her ride in the cart.

This week, different story, I never took the car seat out. I simply unbuckled her, stuck her in a baby carrier, and we went on our happy way. It is heaven!! I am glad to have a safe, reliable car seat, but I HATE carrying that thing! Not carrying it around is such a huge relief! I always feel like I am about 2 seconds from dropping it because I seem to be a little off-kilter and I walk really fast to get where I am going so I can set it down. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about...

If you have ever thought about using a babycarrier...do it.

Here's a list of places that we went this week with the carrier I used!
1. The pediatrician's office-The BabyHawk
2. Downtown KC-The BabyHawk (a three block walk)
3. Pizza Shoppe-Ring Sling (first time facing out!!)
4. Walk around our neighborhood-The BabyHawk
5. Dog Park-Ring Sling
6. Target-Ring Sling

Honestly, I think that the baby carriers that I have are at the top of my "Most Useful Baby Items" list. I love being able to use my hands. I love having her close and knowing she is secure. I know she enjoys the view too!

Updated Reviews

2010-03-02T15:09:00.000-06:00

I feel like Cloth Diapering will be a continuous learning process. Babies grow and change and so you might have to change your diapering routine. As I learn new things or issues arise, if I feel that it is necessary to update my reviews, I definitely will to keep you informed.

In order to make it easier for a reader to find and read my full opinion of a diaper or product, I will just add updates to the original post and relink it under an update post.

So, I have updated both my Softbums and Gro Baby reviews. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to find the updates.

Gro Baby

Softbums

The Winner Is...

2010-03-01T21:34:00.000-06:00

Erin with comment #2! Congratulations!

Disclosure: The first winner was #6 Michelle, but being that she is my brother's girlfriend and babies are not on her radar right now, I disqualified her:) Actually, I'm going to (attempt to) make her a flowered earwarmer since that is what she wants anyway!

Thanks for commenting on my blog. I hope you come back again!

Social Media Part II--Winning Stuff

2010-02-28T10:57:00.000-06:00

Like I've mentioned before, I really had no idea the extent of the social media bandwagon until I was on maternity leave and spent time on the computer (when I probably should have just been sleeping). Anyway, I've mentioned before about winning giveaways on blogs, but I also wanted to encourage you to become facebook fans of your favorite brands, products or stores.

I have had opportunities to win prizes, get coupon codes, or be notified of sales on facebook fan pages. For example, I won the child pouch sling from Baby in a Fish Bowl from a facebook contest. I'm also a fan of diapershops.com (I have ordered quite a few things from kellyscloset.com). They have hosted several facebook contests and they also remind you to enter their Friday Fluff giveaway! Gro Baby hosted a contest last week where they awarded the longest discussion chain on a blog or in a forum a 15% off coupon. Yesterday I took a survey about Thirsties from their facebook page.

Even if I don't win anything, I still enjoy feeling like I have some input into their product, like I'm serving on a longstanding marketing panel. And, it's nice to feel like you have the inside track when it comes to finding out about upcoming specials or deals.

AND, you can find this blog on Facebook. That's right, I created a Facebook Fan Page for Adventures of the Mom Kind! I always link up my newest posts, so you can stay up-to-date (as I'm sure you're dying to do) on Angie's latest thoughts!

Oh pump...how could you?

2010-02-27T00:38:00.000-06:00

Dear Ameda Purely Yours,
I really can't decide if I love you or if I hate you. How dare you forget to tell me on my way out the door this morning that I failed to pack your power cord? Were you waiting for me to visit the lactation room to realize my mistake and then laugh in my face? Well, it was cruel and I shall never forgive you. We're not on speaking terms this weekend.

Bottles and Cans

2010-02-26T00:18:00.002-06:00

Just clap your hands, just clap your hands...no, actually I'm kidding, this is not a post about cans, or Beck, just about bottles and breastfeeding.

I am very happy to say that getting Baby A to take the bottle was a much smoother transition that I feared. I've been back to work for 5 weeks now and she's doing great. It took some work with Grandmas and Grandpa, but she was prepared to eat by the time she went to the babysitter's house. This was such a huge relief! I'm glad my baby is not starving!!

I am so glad that she is taking the bottle, but I have to tell you, I really hate washing bottles. Why does the bottle brush have to spray water all over me every time I pull it out of a bottle? Why did I pick bottles with lots of pieces to be washed (Dr. Brown's)? Thank God that most of her feedings don't require any cleanup, unless I start leaking!

It's not just for the lack of clean up that I prefer breastfeeding, it's also 1000 other reasons (which most people can probably list). I really am thankful that it has worked out so well for us. Today, it dawned on me that we are getting closer to the day when she won't be exclusively eating breastmilk and it made me a little sad. I don't want to give the impression that I totally love being at the mercy of a liquid and a baby's appetite. I definitely have moments when I look forward to my boobs being just themselves again, but I feel blessed to be able to do this for my daughter. For me, the time and energy that it takes to continue to breastfeed after returning to work has been 100% worth it and 100% rewarding.

Want to Win This Hat?

2010-02-22T22:49:00.001-06:00

Do you want to win the hat pictured here???

I've been thinking about making another hat just like this one and giving it away for several days. I recently won a giveaway for a cloth diaper and it made my day. I want to pay it forward.

The winner will receive a hat made by yours truly to fit the circumference of your child's head. Since it will be custom made, it will take 10-14 days to receive.

In order to win this hat, you must complete the following mandatory entry:
Follow my blog AND comment on this post about your favorite Etsy.com shop or other handmade/homemade goods website. Please leave your email in the comment.

For Extra Entries, you can do any/all of the following:
1. Become a fan of my Facebook Page (leave a comment)
2. Add to the discussion about GroBaby diapers on my facebook page (leave a comment for each facebook comment) FYI-there is a longest chain contest going on and if this ends up to be one of the 4 longest, we all win a 15% off coupon for the next Gro Baby purchase:)
3. Read and comment on any of my Reviews (leave a comment for each)
4. Blog about this giveaway (leave a comment and post url)

Please leave your email in all comments.

The contest ends March 1st at 7pm Central Time. The winner will be selected by random.org and have 48 hours to respond to my email.

Good Luck!

I'VE WON! I'VE WON! I'VE WON

2010-02-22T19:44:00.000-06:00

OH MY GOSH, I WON TWO THINGS LAST WEEK! I'M SO EXCITED!

I really want to thank Baby in a Fishbowl. I won a quick giveaway for a child's pouch sling on her Facebook Fan Page.

I want to thank Tricia at Luv Jurns3, her Cloth Diaper Exposed Event and Eli Monster for allowing me to win a diaper!

Both of these companies have Etsy shops--another reason to love Etsy.com!

A Product I Love-Comfort Silkie

2010-02-22T17:44:00.001-06:00

Comfort Silkie
I was given this blanket as a gift. Since I’m a blanket person myself (slept with my blankie all the way through college), I was super excited for Adelaide to have one of her own. What I like about this blanket is that it is tiny (14 in x 18 in), perfectly sized for a baby. I’m not concerned about leaving it with her either, because it’s fabrics are breathable.

I basically wanted to find her a “lovie,” so that she’d have something to take with her to the babysitter’s house. This was probably more for my comfort than hers at this point.  Our Parents As Teachers Educator told me that research has shown children who have a lovie, handle new situations and transitions better. I’ve looked for the actual research or citation in regards to this, but I haven’t found it. However, I trust our PAT educator, I don’t think she’d make stuff up.

My daughter is only 4 months old, so this won’t be like Linus’s blanket yet. But, I did want it to at least smell like home. I snuggle with it while she nurses, so that it picks up my scent. I also buckle it in with her in the car seat since she’s not a fan of confinement. The truth is that I do not know if it provides comfort since she is only four months old, but using it makes me feel better. As she grows, I hope this will be something that she can snuggle with when she needs some reassurance.

This blanket comes in many colors. It is made of flannel on one side and satin on the other. If you order from the company, you can have it embroidered too. I think this is a great baby gift for someone.

With the Comfort Silkie on her way to the Babysitter's house for the first time.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. This item was purchased by a friend and given to me as a gift.

Adventures of the Decorating Kind

2010-02-18T00:14:00.001-06:00

My recent fascination with homemade/handmade goods has me reminiscing about the process of decorating Baby Adelaide's room. I was totally overwhelmed at first. I had a very clear picture of what I wanted right from the beginning. Only that became an near impossible search for bedding because I wanted a room decorated with Orangutans!
(quick aside-I love orangutans-before my baby took over my desktop background, it had been orangutan babies for years)

I'm not sure if you've recently looked for baby bedding, but there are monkeys galore, but no orangutans. :( After weeks of internet searching, I was discouraged and started looking for another bedding theme that I would be happy with, but nothing struck me. Then, I realized that I definitely didn't have to settle for something that I wouldn't like, I could make it myself.

When I say "I would make it myself", what I mean is that I would sucker my cousin Amy into helping me make it (when I say "help me" that means "Amy will make it").

Amy makes all kinds of things and I knew she'd be willing and able to help make Baby's room perfect! So, I found some pictures of things that I liked and we designed the quilt one weekend at the lake. I bought the fabric, delivered it to her, and waited for her to make some magic. Boy, did she make some magic! She created the most beautiful, perfect quilt and curtains.

Here is Adelaide, Amy, and her quilt!

Amy spent one weekend here finishing up the quilt, making the curtains, and she even decided to cover the Craiglist rocker's cushions with some great fabric we found. We had a great time staying up one night until 4am putting the finishing touches on our projects.

Below is a picture of the covered cushions and curtains in the background.

Not only did I have a great time with my cousin making something meaningful for my daughter, I got a decor I loved, and I saved a bunch of money. After it was all said and done, I spent about $60 for all the fabric. I think that is a super bargain, considering what the cost of bedding is!

Here is where this post turns into Ode to Amy. She's a great cousin and friend and I can't thank her enough for turning the room into something that I totally love and I think Adelaide will too. Amy is a super talented, caring, creative, best roommate you could want, awesome lady. So, thanks Am, you're the best!

On that note, I want to say that I have a lot of cool people in my family and I've decided that I'll feature one every few weeks. In addition to showcasing products and strategies that work for our family, I want to use my blog to illustrate my values and the things that I hope to pass on to my children. One of those things is a connection to family and relationships. So, stayed tuned to meet other cool people in my family and learn why I love them!

Look What I Made (besides that cute baby)

2010-02-15T22:58:00.000-06:00

Look at this hat I made! I'm so proud. Plus, this picture is so darn adorable. I've recently become obsessed with handmade items after I discovered the great things on Etsy.com. Although, I think things sold on Etsy are fantasic, I remembered that I have some skills for creating things. Instead of buying a hat, I decided that I'd make my little Adelaide a hat with a super cute flower. I found a pattern for the flower on the internet and sort of made up the hat as I went. It was a fun, quick project for me.

I think that lesson that I learned here is that we all have talents or gifts we can give our children. Toys that require batteries and store-bought clothing aren't always better than something homemade. After all, there is a lot more love put into a handmade gift and that is exactly why those items will mean more to them in the future than something you get at Target.

Note:

The little doll in the picture is also handmade (but not by me). I bought it on Etsy.com from the Sunflower Radiant Love shop.

Organic Bum Genius AIO Review

2010-02-11T16:09:00.002-06:00

Basic Information:

This diaper is made by Cottonbabies, Inc. The absorbent pads are made of layered organic cotton. The soakers are sewn right into the diaper, so no stuffing is required. In order to minimize drying time, there are two separate absorbent pads (see picture). The diaper is designed to fit most babies between 7 and 35 lbs.

The diapers that we own have Velcro tabs, but the new version of these diapers have snaps. The waist tabs have two snaps and are made to stretch for a nice fit. It is available in 9 colors.

How it works:

There is no stuffing required, so this diaper is very easy to use. They have an adjustable rise allowing you to make the diaper larger or smaller based on your child’s size. There are three settings, newborn, infant, and toddler, so you just snap the diaper up to make it smaller or leave it unsnapped for the largest setting.

Price:
I purchased for $24.95.

Our Experience:
I purchased this diaper because I thought it would be super easy for a childcare provider. I really like this diaper because there is no work required, it really is as easy as a disposable diaper.

Although it says that it should fit a 7 lb baby, I’m not sure that it really would fit a baby that small. We found that it was just too bulky when she was really small. I did not start using this diaper until she was about 10.5 lbs. This wasn’t a big problem for us, because I wasn’t counting on using this diaper right away. If you’re planning these diapers as your main system, you may want to consider purchasing a few of another type of diaper while baby is in newborn stage.

Features We Love:

No stuffing!
Super Absorbent
Stretchy Waist Tabs
Made by a St. Louis Company-I’m originally from St. Louis, so I am glad that I can support a hometown company

The Downside:

Drying Time- I think that they did everything they could to minimize the dry time, but it is still longer than all of our other diapers.
Bulkiness-gives small babies a large bottom. My daughter is only 15 weeks old, so this will improved as she grows.
Price

The velcro tabs are fraying a little on the edge. Since we haven't been using them for very long, I'm a little concerned about those. (see the picture). I think that the new snap waist is likely an improvement on the design.

We Vote:

Super Absorbent
Easy to Use
Convenient for Travel
Great for Babysitter

Overall Rating (out of 10): 9

I am a Guest Blogger!!

2010-02-07T18:12:00.000-06:00

Check out my guest post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer! I am so excited!

Mistakes of the Mom Kind

2010-02-06T23:37:00.000-06:00

I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can raise a child with character, integrity, and intelligence. My most recent focus of attention has been how I’ll handle mistakes. I think mistakes are kind of tricky because there are many opportunities to teach important lessons within one. Plus I’m not just worried about what to do when she makes mistakes, but what to do when I make mistakes. I believe that how I handle my own mistakes is more important than how I handle her mistakes. As much as I wish that I were perfect, I will not ever be and I know I make mistakes (shhh-don't tell my husband). Most of the time, they don’t really matter, like last week when:

• I either fed the dogs one extra time or forgot one feeding.
• I didn't think to tell the babysitter (aka Grandpa) to use diaper rash cream after a diaper change and baby got a bad diaper rash.
• I missed my appointment with the lactation room at work and ended up with a big wet spot on my shirt. Good thing I had a jacket!
• I forgot to add detergent to a load of laundry.

These mistakes don’t really matter in the grand scheme of life and so the lesson that I should teach here is that I don’t worry about them anymore. Sometimes people do silly things, they are easily remedied and shouldn’t be given a second thought. Sometimes people make big mistakes though, and here’s where I want to be a good role model. I want to teach her about personal responsibility. When I make a mistake that does matter (hopefully not very often), I will own up to it, I’ll apologize, and I’ll work to fix it.

The bottom line is everyone makes both kinds of mistakes in life and it is ok. The important thing is to figure out which are important and which are not, fix the ones that need it, and apologize even if it’s not required.

PlanetWise Wet/Dry Hanging Bag

2010-02-06T19:41:00.005-06:00

PlanetWise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag Review
Basic Information:
This 16.5 inch x 27 inch wetbag has a main pocket for wet/dirty items that is lined with waterproof layer. The front pocket holds clean/unused items safe. There are two handles for hanging or carrying.
How it works:
Hang it on the door and collect your dirty diapers. Toss bag into wash with diapers! Hang to dry.

Price:
I purchased bag for $29.99.
Our Experience:
We love these bags. I originally only purchased one, but we liked it so much that I bought another. We use one to collect diapers while the other is in the laundry. While we use these for diapers now, I could easily see a number of other things where these bags would serve you well, like swim bags or for holding wet laundry, etc.
In my opinion, these are very well made. We have never had any wicking or leaking issues (and we’ve put a lot of diapers in it before). We wash diapers every other day, so these bags get washed about twice a week and the fabric brightness is holding up very well. I usually hang it by only one handle so I was a little worry about straining the stitching too much, but have not had any indications that they are ripping out. Look at the picture below, I weighed our bag (and it wasn't full yet!).

We have a front loading machine, so putting diapers in the machine isn’t a simple unzip and dump. I usually open the bag, put the top in the machine, then grab the handles and pull backwards turning the bag inside out as I go.
Features We Love:

Great Construction!
Large wet pocket- Holds two days worth of diapers!
Easy to use
Great for travel- Easy to pack or great to pack stuff in!

The Downside:

Drying time- You can shorten the drying time by pulling out the lining and letting it hang with the “insides” out.
Zipper- The zippers are very small and hard to grasp sometimes, especially when you have a dirty diaper in one hand. I plan to tie a ribbon on the zippers to make them easier to grab.

We Vote:

Easy to Use
Convenient for Everyday Use
Convenient for Travel
Cute Fabrics
Excellent Quality
Love it, Love it, Love it

Overall Rating (out of 10): 10
Pictures In Use

Social Media...Where Was I?

2010-02-03T00:32:00.000-06:00

There is a crazy world of social media that I had no idea existed before I went on maternity leave. Sure, I was a little bit of a Facebook addict and maybe I stalked some people (ha ha), but I wasn't into Twitter or blogging either. I followed a couple of my friend's blogs to keep up with their lives, but no blog of any author that wasn't a personal friend.

Somehow, I now follow about 20 blogs and I have a Twitter account (but I'm still really confused by it). You know why I have those things? Cloth diapers, yes, diapers have put me on a new level of social media consumerism. I actually started following the first blog so that I could try to win diapers from a cloth diaper store. Then, I had some diaper leak problems and checked out "mom blogs" for tips to resolve those problems and discovered the wide world of mommy blog reviews and giveaways. Usually a giveaway will give you extra entries if you become a follower or you Tweet the giveaway. So, I follow, I become a Facebook Fan, I jump through rings of fire. Whatever it takes, to increase my chance for a free diaper. It's crazy! At the end of my maternity leave, I was getting a little addicted. Sadly, I'm back to work now, so I can't leave endless comments on a blog to try to win something.

I honestly am completely fascinated with this giveaway network. Some blogs have giveaways almost everyday. I imagine their houses to look like those on the show Hoarders b/c they have so many previously reviewed products piled up in every corner. But, I have to say that I do enjoy perusing those sites, because I've discovered some products that I don't think I would have otherwise found. I also have enjoyed attending "Giveaway Events". I feel like I get to know the blogger over the course of their event and that's kind of fun. I am still trying to win some diapers too, of course.

If you want to try to win diapers (or anything else) I have some blog buttons on my page where they often host giveaways. Good luck and be warned, it might become an addiction.

Let Me Take a Minute to Complain...

2010-01-31T23:34:00.000-06:00

I want to take one second to express my disdain for the baby clothes industry and their non-standardized sizes. How could my baby wear 6 months, 0-3 months, and 3-6 months all at the same time? Probably because up to 11 lbs and 5-8 lbs are the named the same size in different brands.

Since this is my first baby, I stupidly bought clothes based on the months, without realizing that the height/weight parameters are not the same for all brands. Live and learn, I guess. Thanks for your minute...

Softbums Review

2010-01-31T12:21:00.007-06:00

Basic Information:
SoftBums are a one-size diaper system. This is an all-in-two diaper system, which means that they have a waterproof shell and snap-in inserts. This allows you to reuse the shell after the insert has gotten dirty. The basic inserts are made of layers of micro-terry and one layer of micro-fleece. The outer shell is PUL and the inner part of the shell is micro-fleece. The basic pack includes a bamboo doubler which can also be used as the insert for newborns. It is elasticized across the back and along the thigh areas. It is currently available in 9 colors and 1 print (as of 01/2010). It has hook and tabs to easily adjust around baby’s waist. Before laundering, press the tabs to the inner laundry tabs. Snap waists are now available.

How it works:
They have adjustable leg elastic allowing you to make the diaper larger or smaller (from 2”-14”) based on your child’s size. There are snuggers on the elastic that allows you to adjust the leg area, stored between the outer PUL layer and the inner microfleece layer.

There is one snap on the inner part near the back of the diaper where you snap-in the insert. The insert is very long, so you fold it over when you are putting diaper on baby. When the diaper is wet, you simply unsnap the insert and snap-in a new one. The company recommends having 3 inserts per cover. In our experience, you need to let the cover dry out before using it again, the fleece lining gets damp. For extra absorbency, you can add a hemp doubler-we do this at night.

Price:
The basic pack is $36.95 for a single shell, 3 inserts, and a doubler. Bamboo inserts can be substituted for an additional cost. Packages are available which discounts the price per unit.

Our Experience:
We bought these diapers to be our main diapering system before our daughter was born. We bought the Perfect Fit Good Package which comes with 8 covers, 24 inserts, and 8 doublers. We didn’t start using the diapers until she was about 3 weeks old (about 8.5 lbs). She was 7 lbs at birth and using the regular insert made it just too bulky. I didn’t realize that the doubler could have been used as the insert or we would have started sooner.

We’ve had a few leak problems with these inserts, but I attribute it to our laundry routine. I believe that the main problem was that we used regular detergent and fabric softener to wash our clothes and it may have been “hanging out” after the wash cycle in our front loading machines. Although, this didn’t seem to affect the natural fiber (organic cotton) diapers we have, the Softbum inserts started leaking regularly. In the end, we washed them with Dawn detergent and that has eliminated the leak issues. My hypothesis is that the micro-fleece and micro-terry are more sensitive to detergent or fabric softener residue. We stopped using regular detergents and dryer sheets for our normal laundry and started using cloth diaper-safe detergent for everything. Since making the change, we haven’t had any leak problems.

Features We Love:

Adjustable leg-easy to get the right leg fit for each baby
Trim fit for an AIO diaper
Can use the shell multiple times-reducing the laundry loads
Micro-fleece layer wicks away moisture and almost always feels dry to touch. The bottom layer holds moisture away from baby's skin.
Inserts dry pretty quickly (in one cycle in our machine)

The Downside:

All-in-twos may not be a good choice for daycare, babysitters, etc.
Inserts-because of the leak issues we had, if we had to do it over again, we’d pay the extra money for the organic bamboo inserts.
Snuggers-can be difficult to reach between the lining. Sometimes the snuggers move while you’re pulling up the front of the diaper during a change.
Inserts-sometimes they are a little difficult to fold over for the best positioning. As our baby gets a little older and moves around more, I see this being problematic.

We Vote:

Good price

Overall Rating (out of 10): 8
In-Use Photos

pull up the folded-over insert

Pull up the cover and velcro

pictured on a 13 week-old (~12 lbs)

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review. I purchased this product for use.

******UPDATE 3/1/10********

I feel that I should update my review of Softbums. We have had some consistent leak issues. They tend to leak out the legs while she is nursing. I tried to improve this by making the leg tighter, but it doesn't help.

I think that I have to amend my overall rating to a 7.

We've totally altered our laundering methods since our first leaking problems. We do not use any type of fabric softener in our washing machine and use CD safe laundry detergent for all of our laundry. I don't believe that this is a result of residue buildup.

One of My Best Ideas Ever!!

2010-01-30T00:36:00.002-06:00

One thing that we do not do well in our house is cook meals. Before our baby arrived, too often, we'd wait until the last minute to decide what to eat. Then, we wouldn't want to cook or it would take too long to make, so we'd go out. It's been my goal for a long time to eat out less. We've tried to plan meals before, but it becomes a huge ordeal to actually choose what to make.
Well, the other day I had the most ingenious idea I've had in a long time. Why not let something else pick the meals for me???

I'm a researcher, so I use http://www.random.org/ pretty often to generate random number lists. Why not let it choose meals for me? This is what I did, I made a numbered list of all the dinners that we eat, plus numbers for "new recipe", "eat out", and some generic choices like, "frozen meal" and "chicken whatever". I decided to make a meal plan (sort of like a school cafeteria menu) for one month. Because I assume that we'd eat leftovers at least once per week, I generated 21 integers between the numbers of 1 and 38 (the number of items on my list) and had it formatted in 4 columns. So, not only did it choose the meals, it also picked which week we would eat them. Then I put the meals into a calendar, printed it, and hung it on the refrigerator. Doing this made it a lot easier to write my shopping list and helps me remember to take things out of the freezer. All in all, the system hasn't been perfect, but it's a big improvement over our previous "no plan" system. We have made last minute rearrangements, but I think that it's helping us eat healthier AND save money.

A Note for All My Pregnant Friends

2010-01-25T23:19:00.000-06:00

Hello my pregnant friends (geez, there are a lot these days!). I want to encourage you to check out cloth diapers! Many of you thought that Sean and I were nuts when I explained that we'd be cloth diapering, but I want to tell you that it really is easy! We've been doing it for almost three months and we feel so good about our decision!
I really don't believe that it is any more difficult than using disposable diapers. Yes, there is more laundry, but the only thing that you have to do is put the diapers in the washing machine...no dunking in the toilet, no soaking in a pail, nothing...just straight from your (dry) diaper pail to the washer! Yes, it's safe for your washing machine. Yes, you can put them in the dryer. Yes, you'll feel good about your decision, because you will save money and help save the planet.
There are many different types of cloth diapers out there today and some aren't that much different than a disposable. If you're hesistant to try them, remember that you don't have to do it in an all or nothing manner! Even if you just get a couple and use them when you're at home, you're still making a difference. (Although, I'd guess that once you start, you'll love them.) You might not even have to buy any to try them out either! I have some buttons on the right-hand side of the screen featuring blogs that often have giveaways and special giveaway events. Enter to win some dipes! If you win and it turns out you don't like them, I'll be happy to take them off your hands:)
Plus, trust me, baby butts are much cuter in cloth!

If you have questions about cloth diapering, I'd be happy to talk with you about our experiences and help you find the answers!

Cloth Wipes-I Love Them

2010-01-21T23:44:00.000-06:00

I had really never realized cloth wipes existed until I starting doing a lot of cloth diaper research while I was pregnant. At first, I was a little surprised that such a thing existed, because I guess that's a little like reusable toilet paper. But the more I thought about it, the more they made sense. And, they made even more sense once we started using cloth diapers and were still using the disposable wipes that we were given as shower presents. I personally think that it's a big hassle to use a cloth diaper, but then have to find a place to throw away a dirty wipe. It's not like you can wad them up in the diaper like you do if you have a disposable diaper. Really, what difference does it make to you to use a cloth wipe? You're already doing the extra laundry and you're already putting poop in your washing machine, so it's not a big deal.

My husband was pretty much on board with cloth diapering from the beginning, but I had a little harder time convincing him to use cloth wipes. In fact, I just had to start using them to get him to do it. Once we started using them, we loved them. It only takes one wipe to clean up the mess (unless it's a blowout). They're soft, durable, and it's another thing that we can do to help save the earth. We just wet them in the tap and use to wipe her bottom. I know that some people use a solution of water and baby soap or water and tea tree oil and lavender, but we've used only water thus far. In our stash, we have 24 wipes and we've never run out of wipes by doing laundry every other day. We have two types and I like both.

The first type, I bought while I was pregnant. Unfortunately, I'm not really even sure what brand they are, because they don't have tags on them and my pregnant brain didn't pay attention! Once we decided to switch to cloth wipes, I went back to the cloth diaper store where I purchased them and they weren't there anymore!! When I asked about the wipes, the clerk told me that she thinks that they are GoodMama brand. The two sides of this wipe are distinctly different, one side is almost like velour and the other side is more fuzzy. They are super soft and before we used them as wipes, they made great spit cloths. These came in a pack of 12, but I honestly can't remember the price. I remember that I bought them because I thought the price was reasonable.

I was really upset that these wipes were out of stock at the store, but I was in desperate need to get wipes (I basically went cold turkey on disposable wipes). So I had to get a second kind. I picked Thristies Fab Wipes, which came in a six pack for $10.95. They are soft on both sides, almost like a terry cloth, but softer. They come in cute colors and about the size of a baby wash cloth.

Once you start using reusable things, I think that it gets a little addicting. In fact, I love cloth wipes so much, I even briefly considered not buying anymore toilet paper and switching to cloth wipes myself. But, that might be taking it a little too far, plus my husband immediately nixed the idea.

The bottom line is that if you're going to cloth diaper, you might as well use cloth wipes. You'll be doing one more thing to help the environment, you'll save money, and save yourself the hassle of having to dispose of wipes. Cloth wipes aren't very expensive, and if you don't want to purchase them, I've seen lots of ideas for making your own on the internet.

Back to Work

2010-01-20T23:38:00.000-06:00

Well, today was my first day back to work...I'm happy to say, we both survived. Much to my surprise, I didn't cry all day, so I'm calling it a success. I knew that it would be a tough day, so I did what I do sometimes when I don't feel good, I dressed up. I'm happy to say that my work pants fit and I wore heels for the first time since July. It was nice to be back, but it was even nicer to come home!!

Gro Baby Review

2010-01-20T23:28:00.002-06:00

Basic Information:

Gro Baby is a one-size diaper system made by The Natural Baby Company. This is an all-in-two diaper system, which means that they have a waterproof shell and snap-in inserts which allows you to reuse the shell after the insert has gotten dirty. This diaper is also considered a hybrid because it offers biodegradeable, disposable inserts that can be used instead of the cloth inserts. The inserts are made of certified organic cotton and are elasticized on both sides of the long edge. The system comes with a booster for added absorbancy. The outer shell is PUL and the inner part of the shell is quick dry mesh. It is elasticized across the back and along the thigh areas. It is currently available in 4 colors and 4 prints (as of 01/2010). It has hook and loop (think Velcro) tabs to easily adjust around baby’s waist. Before laundering, press the tabs to the inner laundry tabs. A snap waist is available in one color, but they will convert the hook and loops to snaps on your shells at a cost of $3.50 per shell if you send them to the company.

How it works:

They have an adjustable rise allowing you to make the diaper larger or smaller based on your child’s size. There are three settings, newborn, infant, and toddler, so you just snap the diaper up to make it smaller or leave it unsnapped for the largest setting.

There are two snaps on the inner part of the diaper where you snap-in the insert (front and back). When the diaper is wet, you simply unsnap the insert and snap-in a new one. There are sticky tabs on the disposable insert where the snaps would be.

*Note: this review is of the first run of GroBaby diapers. From my understanding, they have been slightly revised and now have an additional 2cm of fabric on the front. I personally think that this would be an improvement, but have no personal experience.

Price:

With a price point of $24.95 for a single shell, pad, and booster, it's about the middle of the road. I feel that it is a good value. Packages are available which discounts the price per unit.
Features We Love:

• Tabs-this Velcro is soft and unlike the Velcro we all think of! I never worry about rubbing baby with the “scratchy” side.

• Organic Inserts-they are super absorbent and we like that they have 2 snaps to keep them in place. These are our preferred night-time diaper. We use the booster, but I’m not sure that we even need it. The insert is actually two separate pieces sewn together reducing drying time, which is helpful.

• Mesh inner layer-dries quickly. Unlike another AI2 system we have with microfleece lining, this one we would actually snap in a fresh insert and use immediately. Unless (more like until) the shell gets soiled, we usually use one shell for at least a ½ day.

• Elastic-I like that it has a small diameter. It doesn’t put big red marks on our baby’s legs.

The Downside:

Insert has a longer dry time than some of our other diapers
At the smallest setting, you need to fold over the insert a tad bit or it may stick out.
Not a wide variety of colors available.
Laundry tabs tend to come undone in the wash, but they don’t stick to everything, so it hasn’t created a problem for us.
All-in-twos may not be a good choice for daycare, babysitters, etc.

We Vote:

Good price
Good value
Great for nighttime
Dad’s Favorite
Easy AI2

Overall Rating (out of 10): 9

Pictures of Dipe in Use: (on an 11 week old baby; ~11.5 lbs)

Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this review. I purchased this product.

***UPDATE 3/1/10****

I want to update you on something that I think is very important. Gro Baby has excellent customer service. Recently, the elastic along the back of one of our covers completely came loose. Basically, it isn't usable because you can't make it tight enough around the waist. I contacted the company on a Sunday night and they sent me a return email first thing on Monday. They are sending me a prepaid shipping envelope to return the cover and will repair or replace my cover. I couldn't ask for anything more! Thanks Gro Baby!

Overall Rating (out of 10): 9

A Public Service Announcement About Compliments

2010-01-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

My husband, God love him, has given some very unusual compliments lately and I'd like to take this opportunity to let other husbands know that sometimes, you really need to think a thought all the way through before it comes out of your mouth.

Don't get me wrong, I know my husband means well and I appreciate the sentiment, but I would prefer them phrased a little differently.

For example, this morning I brought down two bottles of freshly pumped milk and my husband said, "Wow, that's a lot, you're like a factory." Then, I said, "ummm, did that sound like a good compliment in your head?" I quickly explained that I never want to be compared to a factory, even if it's in a good way.

Then later, he was changing our daughter's diaper and said, "I love your cute little butt, even if it is like Mommy's..." What? Well, I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a lot of junk in my trunk. Sometimes, I have a hard time keeping my pants up, but any mention of my butt should be strictly positive.

Maybe I'm a little sensitive because I had a baby 12 weeks ago, but I think that my advice is pretty solid about complimenting women. Please husbands, for your sake, for your wife's sake, say the whole compliment in your head before letting it escape. Here are a couple other general rules, 1) avoid comparisions to anything really large, stinky, or mechanical; 2) Never, never, never make a comparison to old girlfriends or your mom (especially not your mom); and finally, 3) any reference to a body part should always and only be positive (especially if your wife has recently delivered your child).

The take home message here is that women love compliments, but do your best to make them count for you and not against you:)

Another Giveaway Event to Check Out

2010-01-16T21:55:00.000-06:00

Here's another great giveaway event to check out with an impressive list of sponsors! If you thinking about cloth diapering, but haven't convinced your husband yet, then you definitely need to check this one out! Each giveaway comes with a review from her husband. Should be interesting!!

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

2010-01-15T23:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I wish that I wouldn't cry over spilled milk, but I hate wasting breastmilk. I seriously do want to cry every time I have to dump it. That stuff is liquid gold.

Since we've been working with Adelaide on the bottle, I've had to dump a lot more than I'd really like when she doesn't finish it. Luckily, she's been doing a lot better about taking the bottle, but not today...so 3 ounces of my liquid gold went down the drain, along with a few of my tears.

Finally! We Fixed the Leak

2010-01-14T19:33:00.000-06:00

If you've been reading this blog recently, you know that we've been having some problems with leaks. The most logical culprit was repelling on our diapers and so we decided to strip them. We just finished the stripping process, and thankfully, we had a successful eyedropper test. After a bunch of research, we found a process that finally worked! Our diapers are now absorbing water. We can finally stop racing beads of water on them.

I think that if we had known what to do from the start, this wouldn't have turned into such an arduous process. We've also decided to change our regular laundry routine to try to prevent any residue build up. Hopefully, we never have to do this again (or at least if we do, we'll get down to business right away and forget about the 7 prewashes).

Here's what we did:
1. Washed all the inserts with 1 TABLESPOON of Dawn Dish Detergent on hot with an extra rinse.
2. Rewashed the inserts with no detergent twice.
3. Ran a rinse and wash cycle to make sure there were no more bubbles.
4. Air dryed the inserts
5. Tested absorbancy using the eyedropper test.

We are also going to stop using any kind of fabric softener when we wash our "adult" clothes and eliminate dryer sheets. (Thank you husband for finally agreeing to give up your beloved softener!) To make things simpler, we are also going to use cloth diaper safe detergent for all of our clothes, not use two separate detergents.

A quick note about washing cloth diapers (actually about trying to figure out how to wash them), there is a ton of information on the internet and much of it is contradictory. I am going to post some links to information that I found helpful. You'll be able to evaluate the recommendations and choose your routine.

LINKS
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm
http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/washing-diapers.htm
http://www.abbyslane.com/faqs.php#Q4
http://www.kellyscloset.com/Cloth-Diaper-Information_ep_34-1.html#washing
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/troubleshooting-cloth-diaper-leaks/

Baby Gear I Love

2010-01-13T19:17:00.000-06:00

My daughter is 11 weeks old and so she is almost through the "first stage" of infancy. I don't know if 12 weeks is really an "official" stage, but I probably consider it a milestone because I have to go back to work next week. So, a new lifestyle will begin for us next week!

Anyway, I was thinking about the baby products we've used thus far and which ones that I would purchase again knowing what I know now! (I'm sure we all have stuff that we wouldn't buy again because it turned out to be a waste!) In my opinion these products do their jobs better than most, are innovative, or just plain cool.  This list does not include any of the babywearing or cloth diaper products, I'll save those for another post
Here is my list (click on each one to go to the product's website):

1. Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe
I'm all for "Swaddlers for Idiots" as I like to call them (aka the ones with velcro). They are just much quicker and easier for us and they never come apart like swaddling with a blanket. The reason that I like the Kiddopatumus better than other velcro brands we've tried is that they seem to fit smaller babies much better. It seems to have the velcro in the right place and will stay tight, where the other one would come loose and she'd "escape".

We have two of this kind, one in fleece and one in knit.   I'm really glad that we were given the fleece because it has kept her warm during our artic blast winter. On warmer nights, I prefer the knit version because she's a little heater and I don't want to make her sweat all night.

We've only been using them for 3 months, but they are holding up well. The velcro has laundry tabs to prevent them from sticking to all your clothes in the wash.  I learned the hard way to make sure you flip those little guys over!

They also have access slit in the back that allows you to push a swing or car seat harness through and swaddle. I haven't actually done this, because until recently, I thought it was a misguided attempt to allow one to check for dirty diapers! But, now that I know what's it's for...it makes a lot more sense! If you want to see how to do it, visit the website. I personally am a little confused by the directions, but I'll let you know how my attempt to do it goes.

2. Breathable Baby Breathable Bumper
The question of the moment when choosing baby bedding is...should I use bumper pads?? To me, the risk of SIDS was too great to put them in our little one's crib. Bumper pads were originally designed to keep babies from slipping in between the slats of cribs. However, new safety standards have decreased the width between slats and it's very unlikely that a baby's head will get stuck between. But, I wanted to prevent her limbs getting stuck. I chose to get the Breathable Bumper, which is actually mesh and allows airflow. It will also collapse if she tried to use it as a escape mechanism. To install, you just wrap the velcro around the slat and tuck it below the mattress, pretty simple.

3. Boppy Pillow
I'm actually not adament that you need this breastfeeding pillow, but if you want something that makes life a little easier, get some type of breastfeeding pillow. I find that it's much easier to get her in a good position to breastfeed with this pillow than with a regular pillows. I've tried the My Brest Friend pillow at the pediatrician's office. If I had to do it over again, I might try this one out at the store and decide which to purchase. You can fasten it to your body, which I imagine is very useful. I saw an episode of 18 Kids and Counting and that pillow is Michelle Duggar's choice. She seems to have a fair amount of experience...
An added bonus: you can use them to pose your baby for numerous posed photographs. they love it.

4. Fisher Price Take Along Swing
I like this swing because it's portable and doesn't take up as much space as a normal swing. We have a split level house and I can move it between floors easily while I am trying to get things done. It's been perfect for mealtime, because we move her into the dining room with us while we eat, but I don't have to have a swing permanently in the dining room (it doesn't really fit with my decor). I'm trying to purchase items from responsible companies these days and one thing that I do like about Fisher Price is their partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society. They donated $250,000 to this organization in 2009. I can't vouch for thier manufacturing processes or anything, but at least this is something.

5. Rockabye Baby Lullabyes
So, these are on the list because they are just awesome. These wonderful people have made lullabyes from our favorite rock songs--I know--freaking amazing. I bought MP3's of whole albums and single songs from Amazon while I was pregnant and I love them. Who doesn't want their baby falling asleep to Hell's Bells?? I like to think I'm teaching Adelaide to rock out early.

Ten Things I'm Thankful for in 2010

2010-01-11T23:14:00.000-06:00

It's funny how your perspective can change in one year. Last year, I gave myself a little project in gratitude and tried to identify things for which I really needed to be thankful. Here's 10 things that I wouldn't have picked in 2009, but wouldn't trade in 2010.
1. Toothless Grins: I mean, I personally don't want one, plus I have a good dentist, but look at this one. Who wouldn't love this?!?!?!
2. Baths: I never really liked taking baths, but I've discovered that giving baths to baby is so much fun! She loves to splash and kick and it brings out the toothless grin I love.

3. Tucks Pads: Pregnancy and childbirth can really do a number on you...enough said...

4. Cream that you wipe on other people's butts: I've always known that a career in nursing would be out because of things just like this, but diaper rash cream is pretty awesome.
5. A little bit of flab: OK, I admit, I don't actually want flab. However, I am 100% thankful for how I got it. I am lucky enough to have carried that little girl for 40+ weeks and I have a happy, healthy baby. So, thanks for doing your job flab, but you've got to go sometime soon.
6. Laundry: I've always disliked putting away clothes more than any other chore except emptying the dishwasher. Even though we have a lot more laundry now, I don't mind it as much. I'm really happy with our decision to use cloth diapers and they've got to get clean somehow!
7. Large pieces of fabric the you wrap around your body: Before a baby, I would say that wearing fabric that in a way that somewhat resembles a sumo wrestler would be a fashion no-no. Now, I say fashion yes. These baby wearing devices are awesome.
8. Big boobs: This is another thing that if I'm 100% honest, I don't really adore them, but they're doing me a solid and feeding my baby. It's just too bad that they had to get SO MUCH bigger. Here's hoping that don't stay like this forever...or one day I'll have to be thankful for plastic surgeons.
9. Projectile (anything): Yes, I am even thankful for the projectile poop that was all over my dress 10 minutes before we needed to leave for church on the day of her baptism and the projectile spit up that landed in my hair last week. I'd be satisfied with less is more on this one though.
10. Very little sleep: If you know me, then you know how much I cherish sleep. I've gladly sacrificed some of my sleep lately, but I'm about 1000 times more thankful that she started sleeping through the night already!

New Trick for Stripping

2010-01-11T14:47:00.000-06:00

Our attempts to strip our diapers haven't led to a successful eyedropper test yet. :(

Luckily, another blog that I follow posted stripping tips. Click on the title of this post and it will take you to the article to visit. I found this extremely helpful and we plan to wash them with Dawn dish detergent.

Great Giveaway 1

2010-01-07T15:54:00.000-06:00

Here is a Giveaway/Review event running from January 1st-31st! Check it out!

Great Giveaway 2

2010-01-07T15:31:00.000-06:00

LuvsJurn3 is hosting a great giveaway/review event starting February 1st! Please visit and enter to win some of the great products! I know I am! She is reviewing many brands of CDs, in addition to presenting the pros and cons of CDs. If you're interested in baby carriers/wraps, there will be reviews and some giveaways too!.

Good News, Bad News

2010-01-07T00:33:00.000-06:00

Good news is my wonderful husband got Adelaide to take a bottle this evening. Bad news is that the diapers leaked again. Stripping commences again tomorrow...

The Dreaded Bottle

2010-01-06T12:08:00.000-06:00

Honestly, by Adelaide's reaction, you'd think that a bottle was some sort of medieval torture device designed to choke poor little babies. Actually, she hasn't always hated it and she doesn't always hate it. I think she is trying to be unpredictable. For weeks, she would take a bottle whenever we gave her one, without enthusiasm, but she did it. About 3 weeks ago, I guess she decided the bottle wasn't for her and she acted like we were shoving an object filled with poison into her mouth. She'd push the nipple out, and for added drama, she gagged on the milk.

Don't get me wrong, it's kind of flattering that she likes me better than the bottle, but I have to go back to work and I don't think that I'm allowed to bring her along. I have 2 weeks left of maternity leave and it's time to get down to business on this bottle thing. It's not as though I haven't been trying, but now it seems more urgent.

Four days ago, I thought we were back on track. First thing in the morning, I gave her a bottle of freshly pumped milk and she gobbled it all up. Only, she hasn't done it since then for me or my husband. She has one of the following reactions to each bottle: plays with the nipple, spits out any milk that leaks out, pushes the bottle away with her hands, or cries. It is so easy to get frustrated and I pretty sure that is counterproductive to this process. We're going to keep trying bottles everyday and hopefully we'll have some success.

I did some research in the baby books, online, and asked friends for help in getting babies to take a bottle. I compiled a list of suggested advice.

Have someone other than you give her the bottle. You may need to leave the house.
Try a new nipple
Experiment with baby in different positions (upright in a bouncy seat, being held, etc.)
Don't try it when baby is really tired or really hungry
Warm up the nipple before feeding
Warm up the milk to an acceptable temperature for baby (apparently some babies don't mind it cold)
Don't turn it into a battle of wills. Try 3 or 4 times, if baby won't accept bottle, then wait 10 minutes or so and breastfeed.
Slide your pinky under the nipple when it's in her mouth, then slide it out once she gets going.
If all else fails, then you can use a cup. There is a transition sippy cup for 3 months+ or you can even use a regular cup.

Luckily, for the first two weeks, we're having grandparents watch Adelaide, so at least she'll be starving with a familiar person:) Stay tuned...

FREE STUFF!!

2010-01-05T16:48:00.000-06:00

I love free stuff and good deals! I've been on the lookout and I've found some blogs where they have product reviews and often have giveaways. I've added blog buttons for a few of my favorite sites on the right side of my blog. Here's hoping one of us wins!

Stripping!

2010-01-05T16:13:00.000-06:00

No, it's not my new job, but I've been doing it to our cloth dipes for 2 days. Adelaide's diapers have been leaking an awful lot, so we decided to do some tests on our diapers. My husband took several of our inserts and ran them under the faucet. Sure enough, there was a lot of beading water with runoff. Definitely not a good feature for a diaper. This means that the diaper is not absorbing liquid as it should. This is usually because a buildup developed on the cotton, from detergents, minerals, etcetera. So, in order to get the absorbancy back, you have to get rid of the residue.

This leads to the stripping, it sounds pretty harsh, but it basically means that you have to wash, wash, wash your diapers. I did a lot of internet research on stripping diapers a few weeks ago after we had quite a bit of residue left on a few of our inserts when we did laundry in a different machine. The general consensus for stripping was hot water washes (4-6), NO detergent, and add vinegar to the rinse cycle if you want. Everything that I read says that stripping is required as regular maintenance for your diapers. I'm thinking that it's a little like getting the car's oil changed, only, I'm not sure how you tell when you hit the 3000 mile mark for diapers.

We have a front loading machine (Maytag 3000 series) and this is how I've done it.
Cycle One: Sanitary Cycle with extra rinse-no detergent, 1/4 cup vinegar (placed in the fabric softener opening)
Cycle Two: Whitest Whites Cycle with extra rinse-no detergent, no vinegar
Cycle Three: Quick Wash Cycle (hot) with extra rinse-no detergent, no vinegar
Took them out and hung to dry.

My husband retested several inserts and we still had beading and runoff, so washing more today.
Cycle Four: Quick Wash Cycle (hot) with extra rinse-no detergent, 1/4 c vinegar
Cycle Five: Quick Wash Cycle (hot) with extra rinse- no detergent, no vinegar

The diapers are currently drying, so stay tuned for news to see if this stripping strategy worked.

I think the thing to know about diapers and laundry is that it takes a little bit of experimentation to get the right routine, manageable, yet gets your diapers clean. Perhaps we need to alter our regular washing routine a bit to make sure that our diapers are getting clean.

Oh what fun it is to pack...

2010-01-04T19:05:00.000-06:00

I am a chronic overpacker and sometimes a little bit of a worry-wart. Packing for a trip home for Christmas was stress-inducing to say the least. Not only was I worked up over the holiday and remembering the presents, I was trying to make sure had all the baby stuff that we'd need, but not too much stuff, so that we'd have room in the car to bring back the excessive amount of presents I knew my daughter would be receiving. The most problematic item was definitely the diapers.

We basically use 2 types of All-in-two diapering systems (waterproof covers that have snap-in absorbant inserts), so the trick is finding the right number of inserts and covers. The first time we went home, we ran out of covers-dang it when the poop doesn't stay in the absorbant stuff. It is really annoying to have a stack of clean, white cotton inserts just waiting to absorb your baby's excretions, but not have anything waterproof to wrap them up in to keep said excretion from leaking everywhere. Then, you have to scramble and do the laundry and you might do something silly, like forget the laundry detergent. I vowed not to let this happen again.

This is the diaper supply I finally settled on for our five day trip. I seemed to have stumbled on a winning combination.
15 absorbant inserts (10 of one kind; 5 of the other)
3 doublers (an extra layer of absorbant material for nighttime)
9 covers
2 Bum Genius organic AIO (these are all-in-one diapers)
12 cloth wipes
2 wet bags

This amount allowed us to stick with our normal washing routine of every other day. It was nice to have one thing on our normal schedule! Also, it sure is nice that my in-laws have the same exact washer and dryer, so we don't have to do any experimentation on how to get the diapers clean. This is not the case at my parents' house, so when we have to wash diapers there, I will have to change up the routine, because they didn't turn out quite right last time.

After three trips home, I feel like I am getting a handle on what I actually NEED to bring and what I probably won't use. It's nice to feel like you have some idea what you are doing:) Here is a list of some of the other baby items I brought for the trip.
1 swaddler
1 blanket (use as a nursing cover and a blanket)
breast pump
4 storage bottles
2 bottles
breastfeeding pillow
2 burp cloths
1 pacifier
diaper rash cream
Baby Hawk wrap

This seemed to be the right amount of right supplies. Now that the trip is over, I can safely say that I stressed too much and I hope next time won't be such a traumatic packing process. Now, if I could only not overpack myself:)

On the Road Again

2009-12-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

We're going home for Christmas tomorrow and I'm in the midst of packing for our trip home. This time, I bringing more diapers. And, I'm going to make a list of everything to bring so if the system works, I'll know what I brought and I won't have to stress out about packing again:)

We love babywearing!

2009-12-20T23:43:00.002-06:00

I can't say enough good things about babywearing...if you don't do it, you definitely should give it a try. I do it almost every day. It's convenient and the kiddo loves it. We get to snuggle and I can still use my hands:) They have proven invaluable while going to the store, b/c my daughter doesn't like hanging out in the car seat while I shop. It's hard for me to bring our stroller along to stores, because then I have no room in the car to put groceries, etc. So, I just put on a wrap and stick her in it when I get there.

I have several different baby carriers, but I haven't tried all of them yet. Some of them require head control which my little snug doesn't quite have yet. I look forward to trying more in the future. The ones pictured here are (top to bottom, left to right): Hotsling, Moby Wrap (on my husband), Baby Slings and Things, and BabyHawk. It takes a little bit of practice to learn how to put them on and put the baby in properly, but it only took me about two or three times for each one to do it correctly quickly.

Thus far, I am more experienced with the Moby Wrap and BabyHawk. I love both of them and have found that they each work well for different situations. I've found that the BabyHawk is easier for me to get in and out of quickly. If I need to be moving and bending a lot, the Moby keeps her a little closer and I can secure her head better.

I just received the Baby Slings and Things from a friend who loves hers. I have to say, I love that it is made with stretchy fabric and has a little bit of give so that my little one fits in there snugly and conforms to my body. I am not a huge fan on the Hotsling and now that I have the new sling, I probably won't use it anymore. I don't feel that it fits me well , it's a stiff fabric, and it is pretty tough for me to get her in it.

Cloth Diapering and Family Visits

2009-12-15T15:40:00.000-06:00

My experience with cloth diapering so far has been very positive and I know my husband would say the same (yes, he changes diapers and does the laundry!). Our families were big skeptics when we told them that we'd be using CDs. I knew all along that I'd love them, I just hate the thought of disposables in a landfill 100 yrs from now. However, it was a little more difficult to get started than I expected. We started using them when our daughter was about 2.5 weeks old. The system that we bought, Softbums http://www.softbums.com/, were a little too big and bulky for her at first. I did purchase some newborn fitted diapers, but I bought a cover that was too big-oops! So, we ended up using disposables at first. When we transitioned to the cloth diapers, they were so easy to use at home, but I was very nervous about leaving home with them. We traveled to visit our parents for Thanksgiving and decided to use disposables for the trip. Since we'd been using the cloth for about 10 days at that point, we found that we didn't like using disposables anymore. I think they smell funny and I feel guilty throwing them away:) We decided that next time, we'd make the CDs work and try to win over our families!

My husband and I just returned after our first trip visiting our parents while using CDs. Overall, it went better than I expected. It's definitely not as simple too do as it is at home, especially when you forget to bring along the detergent. We're using an All-in-two system, so I had a hard time figuring out how many covers and how many inserts to pack. I think we settled on about 14 inserts and 5 covers. I was worried that we'd run out of clean covers, which we did since she has a tendency to get poop on them:)

It was a little tricky figuring out when to wash them since we couldn't follow our normal routine since we didn't bring along enough to wait to do it every other night. In addition, we were going to have to wash them in a traditional machine (we have a front loader at home) at my parents' house. I noticed they did not come as clean as they do when we wash them at home. We normally only need to do one sanitary wash cylce with an extra rinse at home, but one wash/rinse cycle did not work in the traditional machine. I still used them and it didn't seem to create a problem for the short term, but I was sure to rinse them an extra time when we washed them again at home. All in all, it didn't go perfectly, but we'll do it again and perfect our "travel routine". And, I am not going to say that our families see the light when it comes to CDs, but at least they are not adamently opposed to them anymore. I think we showed them that CDs aren't any more gross or difficult to change than a disposable.