Hi blog.

Its been awhile.  Sorry.  I hope everybody had a fantastic Christmas and is super excited about the New Year. I know I am.  I'm excited because I finally ordered a serger and it should be here on the 5th!  I can't wait to get it and start making tons of clothes.  I'm also excited because I'm going to be starting a 365 project.  I am going to (try) to take at least 1 picture every single day.  Nothing fancy, and I'm not doing a theme, just a picture of something that happened in our lives that day.  At the end of the year I hope to compile all the pictures into a photobook so down the road I can look back and see the year 2011 in 365 still frames.

I've been wanting to start the 365 project for awhile but I never remember it in time to start it on an important date.  I didn't want to just start on a random day.  I planned on waiting until Mercedes' 2nd birthday and starting then, but a friend of mine over at Inside the Insanity mentioned she was going to do it and was staring January first.  Such a great idea, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.  My plan is to start a flickr account and load them all up there hopefully every week, and maybe post my favorites here occasionally. 

I haven't been very productive lately, been dealing with a sick baby and now I'm sick myself.  Yippee.  I'll leave you with some pics of projects I completed semi-recently though.

A mish mash.

I've been terribly neglectful of my blog.  Only 1 post in October, and none for November until today- the 23rd.  I have actually been busy though.

A recent picture of Mercy and I, showing off the back-carry in our mei tai

I am in the process of enrolling in the local community college, right now I'm just waiting to hear back about financial aid.  The first year for the most part is going to be pre-reqs like math, science, lit, and writing. I want to become a lactation consultant.  To do that I need to take a bunch of medical classes, and to take those I need to take a bunch of math/science classes.  I only just recently (relatively) decided I wanted to pursue a career as a LC.  In the time span of about 2 days I had several different people come to me for breastfeeding advice, and I was able to provide them the information they wanted.  It was pretty awesome and made me realize that its something I would love to be able to do for more people.

The same goes for car seat safety. I've also been looking up information on becoming a Child Passenger Safety Technician.  I'm very passionate about car seat safety, I've been made fun of over how important it is to me, but its not something I will apologize for.  Its a very important aspect of parenting, and sadly one that many parents are uneducated about.  7 out of 10 child seats are being improperly used. I'd love it if I could do something to help bring that number down.  Unfortunately the next class in my area won't be until March so I'll have to wait til then.

Enjoying her buckle block.

 Other than that (and child rearing) I've been doing quite a bit of sewing.  I made a toy for my daughter, it is a soft block, but because she absolutely LOVES buckles (like on high chairs, or in grocery carts, or the chest clip on her car seat) I decided to add some buckles to the block so she wasn't constantly asking me to take her to the car so she could buckle her baby doll into her seat.  She loves the block and it certainly occupies her for a good amount of time.

Matching shirt and skirt

I also learned how to sew shirts and have been having fun sewing them for my girl, and also matching pants.  I even ended up sewing up some things for people other than my child this past couple weeks.  A family friend asked that I sew her daughter some pants, and I also received an order for 3 diapers that have been sewn up and sent off to their new home.  Unfortunately I lost the memory card for my camera so the pictures of my crafts are all from my cell phone, and I didn't get a picture of the diapers before they left.

So there is just a general update on what I've been up to, I hope everybody else out there is doing well and hopefully I'll be able to get back on the ball of posting regularly.

Sleigh bells ring...

• 

• I'm unusually excited about winter/Christmas time this year.  

I'm excited for my family's holiday traditions.  My family has painted ornaments for several years, now our tree is entirely homemade ornaments, its pretty awesome.   

Me, Christmas of 2008.  Chris wanted a picture of Mercedes and the snowman he painted.

Since getting married,  my husband and I started a few new traditions.  He likes building gingerbread houses so we did one last year and will do another this year.  We spent our evenings painting ornaments or building the gingerbread house and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallow snowmen and whipped cream.  (and almost every night I'd either leave the whip cream out, or my ninja cat would get the marshmallows out of the cupboard/off the counter and strew them about the house, resulting in one or both having to be purchased again.)  I think this is one thing I am most looking forward to about this years holiday season, these evenings with my husband.  I got very excited when I saw the bag of marshmallow snowmen in the store last week, in just about two more weeks he will be on his way home from Florida and we can share some hot cocoa again.

Last year for Mercy's first Christmas she was 10 months old and we did a homemade handprint ornament for her and I'm looking forward to making another one this year, they are a lot of fun to make.

My family also opens one present on Christmas Eve.  I remember Christmases as a little girl, me and my sisters would ask if we could open just one present and our parents would act like they were going to tell us no, but they still always let us. 

I'm always interested in more traditions though, do you have any that your family does that you'd be willing to share?

I am definitely more excited about Christmas this year than I have been other years.  I might even listen to Christmas music, which I usually don't really like.

My apologies.

I'm a terrible blogger and for that I apologize,  I'm pretty sure its been practically forever since my last post and the only excuse I can offer is that I'm soaking up being back in Oregon and spending time with my precious girl.

I think about you frequently though, and have a  couple posts floating around in my head that I just need to get motivated to actually type out.  I don't see that happening tonight though.  I hope you still love me! 

Touching Letter

I came across this letter while checking one of my forums the other day.  It is a letter from a momma to another momma who she saw Nurse in Public one time.  It's a very touching letter and I wanted to share it to show all you other mommas that you could very well be making a difference that you aren't aware of when you NIP. Every time you feed your baby in public, not cloistered in the bathroom or hidden away in the car, you are doing your part to help make society more accepting of breastfeeding.

Dear BF mama,
I was thinking about you today. I don't know if you would even remember me, but when I was about 6 months pregnant I sat next to you in the nail shop as we both were getting pedicures. I don't know if you realize this, but I think that it is because of you that I am breastfeeding. When I saw you BF your daughter, it was the FIRST time I ever saw anyone do this. My mother did not BF me, and I did not know anyone else that was/had done it either. You made it look so natural and easy and most of all, your daughter looked so HAPPY to be receiving her mother's milk. You candidly talked to me about it, and told me that you had been doing it for 10 months and going strong. I am crying while I am writing this because BF , although extremely hard at first, has been the most awesome thing for me and my son; I believe that it has bonded us in an incredible way. And I truly NEVER considered it before seeing you. YOU MADE IT SEEM NORMAL TO  ME AND GAVE ME A NEW PERSPECTIVE! The first time I NIP, I was TERRIFIED, but I thought of you and said to myself, "I need to pay it forward.  I need to contribute to normalizing this in my area/society'' (also, I was NOT about to BF in the bathroom :(  )
So, thank you so much for what you have given my son and me. We are both eternally grateful. You made a difference.
MIna and Kenton

The next time you are out and about and your child needs to nurse, don't worry about offending other people, don't worry about how much skin you might show.  Think of it as paying it forward and potentially helping another momma make the choice to breastfeed.

Kamsnaps giveaway

If any of you mommas out there are into crafts you should head on over to the kamsnaps blog and enter her giveaway, tons of great prizes!

http://kamsnaps.blogspot.com/2010/09/holiday-giveaway-marathon-1.html

Double Standards?

In a recent discussion about the Similac recall, several moms said they were glad they breastfed their babies.  The formula feeding moms got upset and chastized the BFing moms for "making them feel worse" and told that they were essentially saying "told you so".  Yet in the same discussion, moms who used Enfamil were saying they were glad they didn't use similac, or glad they used an off-brand and weren't affected by the recall, but those comments were perfectly fine. The only comments that the formula feeding moms took exception to, were the ones that were made by breastfeeding moms, when the only difference in the comment was "I'm glad I breastfeed" vs "I'm glad I use Target Brand".  It was pretty interesting to read actually.  I'm not going to deny that there are parents out there who are on the extreme side of Lactivism and try to make moms who formula feed feel bad, but there was none of that in this discussion, and still the formula feeding moms were on the defensive.
 
The Luscious Lactivist posted a blog the other day about needing to have open discussions and focus on doing what is best for our children. I whole-heartedly agree.  Its time to put aside any assumptions we have about other mothers, put down the defenses and just have a conversation.

whew.

Sorry I've been absent lately, its been a busy couple weeks.  Mercedes and I have returned to Oregon and are staying here for good!  The husband is getting out of the Navy and we are moving home where we belong, I cant even put into words how incredibly happy this makes me.  So anyways, the last few weeks have been spent busily packing and trying to organize my house somewhat, and sew as much as I could so I didn't have to leave fabric behind.  I've been super in love with sewing dresses lately.



Sailor's Sweetie


Bumble Bee #1


Bumble Bee #2


Busy Bee

l'
Somethin' Sweet


Checkered Cherries

 I'm really enjoying sewing the dresses, and even more exciting is that while going through the boxes of stuff I left here at my moms, I've found a ton of fabric that will make super cute dresses!

How do you fold a flat?

As I previously mentioned there has been a lot of talk about Flat diapers in the forum I frequent.  I posted pictures of my girl in hers on one of the threads the other day and had several ladies ask me to make a video of how I fold and put it on her.  Here's the video, please forgive me if I sound like a complete goofball in it, I've never made a video tutorial before.

My (other) new fluffy love.

I've got a lot of room in my heart for cloth diaper love.  In addition to flats being my new love, I've also fallen in love with fleece diapers.  Both, making them and their function.  I didn't think I was going to like sewing fleece diapers at first, but I do, now its its own branch off of my fabric/sewing/cloth diaper addiction.  They work well, and don't require a cover like fitteds do, because it incorporates the fleece used to make soakers as the outer layer of decorative fabric.  Cute, functional, and pretty trim. 

This is the first fleece diaper I sewed forever ago. (And by forever, I really mean a couple months.)




I wasn't so crazy about it.

This is her new Mickey Mouse fleece diaper.



 I'm really crazy about it. 

and the other fleece diapers I've made. 

 Only six because thats all the fleece I have available at the moment.  As soon as it goes on sale again though, you better watch out!

My new fluffy love ♥

On the cloth diaper board I frequent, there has recently been quite a few posts about Flats.  Flat diapers are similar to prefolds, in that its a piece of fabric that you can fold in different ways to give your baby customized absorbency and the best fit.  Flats are essentially just squares of fabric, usually just one layer and can be made of most any material.  The threads made me curious and I kinda wanted to try them.  One day when I was bored I decided I take one of Mercy's old swaddling blankets and test it out as a flat.  The blanket was 40x40 and made of flannel.  It was pretty big on her, but I got the basic concept down.  It was fun trying out the Old School cloth diapering techniques, and way easier than I thought it would be.

Then I decided to try it with a smaller receiving blanket, and was able to get a much better fit.  Then I decided to take all the flannel from Joanns I had laying around and cut it down to size and turn them into flats.  Heres my current flat collection, made from purchased flannel, and also a couple upcycled blankets.




Thats 7 diapers, all made from what I had laying around the house, costing a total of probably 10 dollars.  Flats is one of the most economical and environmental ways to cloth diaper.  You can find receiving blankets from garage sales and resale stores for less than a quarter, use ones you have laying around the house (since moms usually receive an overabundance of these at babyshowers) or you can buy flannel from Joanns (I always wait til its on sale for 2.50/yard).  They have tons of cute prints so you're baby will always have the cutest behind.  You can also use old towels, tshirts that don't get worn, pretty much anything you have laying around.  If you cut a fabric that will fray though (like flannel or terry cloth) you will need to hem it, I just zig zag stitch the edges, or you can just cut it with pinking shears.

Another benefit is there is so little waste with these.  A yard of fabric (or bigger swaddling blankets that usually measure 40x40 instead of 30x30) will give you scraps after you cut it down to size. You can turn the scraps into cloth wipes, or you can fold the scraps and use them as a lay in doubler to increase absorbency in your baby's wet zone.  Using the Origami Fold, and a scrap doubler, my upcycled blanket diaper is more absorbent than my $30 Goodmama!  Also, being only 1 layer of fabric they dry super fast so you use less energy if you dry them in the dryer, or less time if you line dry.

Here's a pic of a flat on my girl, taken today.

That is 18 layers of absorbency right there, and look at how incredibly trim it is! 

I do love my "fancy" pocket and AI2 dypes, but I also love these.  The fact that they are made by upcycling materials, all the scraps are utilized making no waste, and then the old school folding and pinning, all adds up to making me feel awesome and empowered when I use these.  Throw in that the knowledge of how to fold these and being able to make one out of pretty much anything around the house, and I feel darn near indestructible.  At least when it comes to diapering that is.

Yeah, thats right, I just said a diaper makes me feel empowered.  You can laugh at me, I'm laughing at myself a little too.

BLW?

I originally started this blog to put out on the net our experiences with Baby-Led Weaning.  When I was looking into it I couldn't readily find any info on it on the net about order of foods, how to prepare foods, or even really personal accounts of BLW.  So I decided I'd write up our own personal experiences with it, so that way if in the future any mom was trying to find info on it, she'd hopefully come across my blog and find it helpful. 

That was all great when we were in the beginning stages of starting solids and had tons of new stuff to share. Now however, my girl is 18 months (!) and I am coming up short on ideas for entries about BLW.  I would still like to include it in my blog though.  I have a lot of friends who have babies that will be starting solids soon, and pregnant friends, and I'd like to be able to have current entries for them and for all the nice people out there in internet land. 

So any ideas for some new BLW/starting solids entries? 

How about entries on any topic?

Don't be a weaner!

I need this shirt!




(Available HERE)



I love cafepress. Tons of awesome shirts with  sayings about anything you can think of.  My favorites are the cloth diaper and breastfeeding ones.






(from The Luscious Lactivist.)






and of course, for my husband-

Sample Menu

Here is an example of what one of our weekly menus looks like, this is from a few weeks ago.

Sunday- Leftovers (don't remember what they were exactly....)
Monday- Mac n' Cheese w/side salad
Tuesday- Leftovers (I usually do leftovers after a casserole/soup night)
Wednesday- Tacos w/Spanish rice (Old El Paso Spanish Rice is the only way to go.  If you don't already have a preferred brand, or tried some before and didn't like it, try this stuff, its the best.  Even my husband who hates rice loves this stuff) and refried beans
Thursday- Chicken Packets w/pasta and peas
Friday- Spaghetti w/green beans, salad, and garlic bread
Saturday- Burgers and Hotdogs w/potato salad

I am truly amazed at how much simpler this menu planning has made my life.  We purchase a big pack of individually wrapped and ready to freeze chicken breasts from Costco and keep those in the freezer.  The morning of the day we're having it for dinner I take it out to thaw and its ready by the time I need it, no more worrying about the chicken going bad, or getting freezer burn, or any of that other stuff.  It also comes in really handy when I don't feel like cooking whatever is on the menu, Chicken packets are ridiculously easy to make and sooo good, I'll have to post the recipe for you guys.

Then actual writing the menu has gotten way easier too, I glance at the ideas list and see what we haven't had recently, and quickly write up the menu.  Order of the meals depends on where our shopping trip falls.  Like say if I want to do a meal that requires a rotisserie chicken like Chicken Enchilada's or Chicken Divan, then I plan that meal for either the day of or the day after our shopping trip so the chicken isn't sitting the fridge for awhile or so I don't have to make an extra trip to the store.  If Chris has to work overnight one night, I plan something with leftovers for the night before, so I'm not cooking for just Mercedes and myself and so that way he gets a fresh meal when hes home.

I really can't stress how awesome this meal planning thing has been, I am so glad I started it!

Benefits of Meal Planning

Our first attempt at meal planning and 1 big shopping trip was a success.  The two weeks went by, we followed the menu, and didn't eat out or need any extra shopping trips.  The second attempt went even better, the planning/making a list part went by much quicker and I didn't feel like ripping my hair out at all, and the shopping trip went quicker. 

It didn't us long to notice the benefits of our efforts.  Even that first two weeks- having all the food needed and being in budget.  It was nice to immediately have some positive reinforcement for our efforts.  The next two week period we had  a couple more bucks than the first two weeks.  Now at two months in some things have changed.

We don't follow the Nightly Theme anymore (that didn't really last past the first 2 week period actually), and the Quick Meal night has been mostly eliminated from our plan.  We still keep some things on hand just-in-case, but haven't had to use it recently. We are actually getting ahead of our menu, some meals yield more leftovers than expected, so we eat the leftovers instead of moving on to the next night.  (Which is a benefit in itself, before this Chris pretty much never ate leftovers, but now when I ask if he wants to have the planned meal or leftovers, he chooses leftovers because he likes to be ahead.)  Being ahead on the menu puts us ahead in the budget, which is definitely a plus.

Another change we tried this past 2 week period was not using cash.  It wasn't on purpose, we forgot to stop at the ATM before we went on our trip.  It definitely resulted in a lack of discipline. Well, that and the fact that its Back to School time, and I love (and I mean LOVE) school supply shopping.  We bought some crayons and markers for Mercy, which in itself wasn't a big deal because they were like 25 cents each. But that lead to a Color Wonder Colorbook for Mercy, some sharpies for Chris, and a notebook and pencil pouch for me. There were also some other impulse buys like extra soda, chips, and 2 dvds.  On our way home I looked at our receipt and totaled up how much our "extra" purchases were.  A whopping $80.  An $80 that I am relatively certain that if we had taken out our cash, we would not have spent.  Lesson learned- We aren't at the point where we can eliminate the Cash Only part of this.

Aside from that slip, meal planning has definitely met the goals we had in mind when we started it.  It is helping us save money in multiple ways.
-We don't eat out because we have the food at home, and because there is no "whats for dinner?" "I dunno, what do you want." "I dunno." "lets go out."
-We don't impulse buy because we have the list, and because we aren't wandering the entire store.
-We are saving gas by not making a trip to the store every couple days only to buy 2-3 days worth of food.

There have also been other benefits of the meal planning that we weren't expecting or didn't really think about.
-We are wasting less food because we are eating all the leftovers, instead of only eating it once and then the rest getting tossed after sitting in the fridge.
-We are eating healthier by not eating out, and by not impulse buying junk food while shopping.
-My kitchen is cleaner!  The meal plan has helped set up a bit of a routine.  Chris looks after Mercy while I  cook dinner, and because there is usually some down time between the prep/starting and when dinner is ready, I usually spend that time unloading and loading up the dishwasher and straightening up the kitchen.  To reduce the amount I have to do at dinner time, I also usually run a load during the day.
-Reduced our carbon footprint.  Before the meal planning we were pretty much exclusively using paper plates. I didn't want to to continue doing that when we would be eating in every night, so we bought a 2nd set of dishes (our first had been reduced down to 3 plates).  Now we haven't used paper plates in over a month, good for the environment and saving us money!

I know there are more benefits, unfortunately its after 2 in the morning and my brain just shut off.  If I think of any more I'll make sure to come back and share them!

Adventures in Meal Planning

About two months ago in an effort to help us reduce spending and shop smarter we decided we were going to take out our grocery money in cash, and only make 1 big shopping trip per pay check.  We would do our shopping and when that cash was gone, we were done spending.  I realize this concept is a pretty basic one, but for us, with the convenience of being able to magically swipe and its paid for, we had a hard time grasping it.  It was too easy to impulse shop.  We would walk into the store, walk all around the store (usually Wal-Mart, so this included toys, clothes, electronics, home stuff, craft stuff, etc.) and shop.  No list.  No idea what we were in there for, except for a few basic things. We would walk out with a full cart, a long receipt, and enough food for maybe 3 meals.  When that food was gone, Lather, Rinse, Repeat. 

After we made the decision to use cash and only do 1 big shopping trip I knew I'd have to figure out some way to get enough food to last us those two weeks.  I knew I would need an actual list to keep me on track and make sure I didn't forget anything.  For a list I would need to know what we were having for dinner.  I decided I would do a menu for those two weeks.  I went online and found a weekly meal planner.  Then I sat there at stared at it for a few minutes trying to come up with dinner ideas.  This was going to be harder than I thought. 

I decided we would start with broad categories first.  Chris and I sat down and picked a "theme" for each night of the week.  We came up with Chicken/Pork, Mexican, Italian/Pasta, Casserole/Soup, and BBQ/grill.  Yes I know that is only 5 categories.  We also factored in a night for leftovers, and a "quick meal" night.  Quick meal consists of maybe those frozen stir fry packets, or Chris is really fond of "Homestyle Bakes", $3 for a dinner for two (Chicken and biscuits, Chicken and Mashed potaotes, etc) all in a nice little box.  It's not fancy, but its quick and He can cook it. Quick meal can also be used as an Eat Out/Order in.

After that we sat down and thought of all the meals that fit into those categories.  For example-
Chicken/Pork- steamed chicken packets, pork chops, sweet n sour pork, shake n bake
Mexican- tacos, fajitas, burritos, mexican lasagna, quesadillas
Italian/Pasta- lasagna, spaghetti, manicotti, fettucini alfredo
Casserole/soup- tuna cass., mac n cheese, chili, chicken soup, chili, beef stew
BBQ/grill- burgers n hotdogs, chicken, country ribs, meaty sticks (chicken and steak shish-ka-bobs)
Our lists have more items, these are just for example.

After we had those lists we opened up the meal planner again and assigned each day a category, then picked the meal for that category. After we had two weeks worth of meals plans, I set to work on the shopping list.  To help with that I found a shopping list template in Microsoft Word that had everything broken into categories (meat, frozen, canned/dry, produce, etc.).  Then I went through each meal and wrote out the ingredients on the list in their appropriate categories.  Menu and shopping list complete.  The first attempt was pretty mentally exhausting.  It took several hours and by the time I was done I wanted to collapse in a heap and never think about dinner again.  But I also felt accomplished and proud of myself, and was looking forward to our big shopping trip.

Fast forward to shopping day- Super excited and eager at first.  We started our trip at Costco, walked around, bought our items, enjoyed a hot dog.  Then headed on to the next store for our Non Bulk items.  By the time we were halfway through our list I was back to feeling tired, cranky, and ready to collapse into a heap.  It was a bit frustrating trying to deal with a toddler, hold the list, locate our items, navigate the aisles, cross items off the list, and also try to keep a rough running total so we didn't go over.  But, when we got to checkout with a cart full of JUST groceries, and only things that we were on our list, AND coming in under budget (sure it was only a couple bucks, but still!)  I was back to feeling proud and accomplished.

Still a favorite!

When we first introducing solids Mercy wasn't so crazy about most of them.  She didn't really love avocado, or pears, or cantaloupe, cucumbers, or broccoli.  The first food she really seemed to enjoy was a fresh peach. 


And they are still a favorite of hers. We recently bought some monster peaches from Costco and she thoroughly enjoyed them.

Sentences

So after thinking about it, I realized that Mercy has actually been saying "sentences" for a couple weeks now.  She says "Thank you", "Bless you", "All done", and tonight "All done Mama".  ♥

She's like a little person!

It is so amazing to me how much Mercedes has grown into her own little person from the itty bitty baby that depended on me for everything.  Now, she still does depend on me for quite a bit, but its different.  She has her own thoughts now, and opinions on things, her own preferences.  She prefers water to juice.  Sometimes she wants to be naked, other times naked is the worst thing in the world.  She is her own cognitive being.  She can form connections between things.  Daddy got her a little ball the other day, and they play with together, throwing it back and forth.  Earlier today she was sitting on my lap upset, drinking her sippy.  Daddy walked in and she jumped out of my lap, ran and got her ball and threw it to Daddy, because she connected playing ball with him.  She is on the verge of forming "sentences".  She will say "watta.......pleease."  Not quite strung together yet, but almost there.

She picked out what shoes she wanted to wear today.  She brought me her little green sandals to put on her, she didn't want to wear her jellies.  She insisted on wearing them all day.  If I asked her if she wanted them off I got a vehement "NO."  At one point I needed to take them off so I could take off her jeans and change her diaper.  She was not happy with me for that, and insisted I put them back on her.  She walked around naked, wearing just her shoes for awhile.  She will tell me when she wants me to take her shirt off her, or if she wants to keep it on.  I put one of my old shirts on her today to keep her from getting messy while she was eating and she loved it so much she didn't want me to take it off.  When I told her it was time to take it off and "arms up" she said "No." and clamped her arms at her side.  She's now sleeping in it.

It just blows my mind how smart she is.  I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this little girl who used to only be able to cry and nurse, is her own independent little person now forming her own thoughts.  I can't believe how quickly shes growing up.  It makes my heart simultaneously swell with pride, and break a little because I know that before I know it she will be sitting at a computer, writing about her life and her own amazing little girl.

My little helper

My baby is 17 months old today. (Scuse me while I go cry a little bit.) My baby is not such a baby anymore, shes turning into a big girl.  I'll look at her and see my little baby, but then she'll go and do something like bring me a water bottle while saying "Wata. Pleeease."  Or bring me her Animal book saying "Amals.  Book. Pleeease." Then sit there and make the animal noises as I turn the pages for her. And I'll realize Wow.  My little baby is not such a baby anymore.  She is a big girl.  One part of being a big girl that she wholeheartedly embraces is helping.  Oh boy does this girl LOVE to help her Momma.

I was cycling laundry the other day and she was standing under my feet getting upset.  It took me a second to realize its because I wasn't letting her help like I usually did.  She likes it when I take the clothes out of washer and hand them to her to put in the dryer, sure it means that we cycle it one item at a time, but oh well.

She helps fold and put her cloth diaper away too.  Yesterday I was taking them out of the dryer and she came over to me and started trying to pull them out of my arms, she wanted to carry them to the couch.   Then she handed them to me so I could match them up and fold them.  Then she moved the folded ones from the couch to her fluff box.  (She also likes to pull her fluff box off the table and dump them all out, but oh well right?)

For dishes, she likes to pull the silverware out of the basket and hand it to me to go put in the drawer. (Don't worry, I take all the knives out first.)  She also likes for me to pull the mixing bowls/pots/pans out and hand them to her to put in the cupboard.  I think her favorite part though is trying to unload the dirty dishes as I am trying to load them....

If I am making a snack like a sandwich she likes to help me pull the stuff out of the fridge.  This usually consists of me standing at the fridge, pulling an item out, handing it to her, then walking across the kitchen so she can hand it to me to put on the counter.  Repeat for all the items.  She can put them away better though, I hand them to her and she takes them to the open fridge and puts them all in a produce bin.

Its amazing to me what a big girl she is, and all the things she understands.  I love how much she loves to help, sure it usually makes the job take longer and creates more work for me, but that is totally worth helping her learn and explore and making her feel important and valued.

Oh yeah, she also likes to help me vacuum.

Some facts regarding extended breastfeeding...

In addition to yesterdays blog about extended breastfeeding, here are some interesting facts regarding the matter.

• Breastmilk continues to provide substantial nutrients well past the first year of life, including protein, fat, and most vitamins.
• In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
• 29% of energy requirements
• 43% of protein requirements
• 36% of calcium requirements
• 75% of vitamin A requirements
• 76% of folate requirements
• 94% of vitamin B₁₂ requirements
• 60% of vitamin C requirements 

• Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers
• Some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. 
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)
• The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1993, WHO 2002).
• In the US in 2005 only 17% of mothers breastfed their babies to the age of 1. 
• By the age of 18 months less than 5% of American children (in 2005) were still breastfeeding.
• Breastmilk changes as the child gets older.  The makeup of nutrients and fat changes and grows with the child.  It has been shown that the fat content of milk expressed by a mother who has been breastfeeding for longer than a year is higher than milk expressed by mothers who haven't been breastfeeding for as long.
•  

(Facts taken from Kellymom.com and this article.)

You're STILL breastfeeding?

That is the question many moms get asked when they nurse their baby past the age 1, and sadly, sometimes after 6 months of age.  There are so many opinions out there about when a mother should quit breastfeeding.  Several I've heard have been "when the baby has teeth", or "when she can ask for it", or even ages, 4 months, 6 months, a year.

"You're still breastfeeding?"

As an extended-breastfeeding mom, I have encountered this question multiple times, its a fact of life when you don't follow the norm of weaning your child early in their infancy.  Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend breastfeeding until the age of 2 (TWO!) or BEYOND as long as it is mutually desired by the mother and child.  2 years of age.  Not 6 months, not 1 year. Not when they have teeth (some babies get teeth at 3-4 months, before their intestines are mature enough for anything but breast milk). Not when they can ask for it.  (Aren't they asking for it when they are newborns and cry because they are hungry?) Two years, or longer.

Unfortunately society makes mothers who follow this recommendation and continue to nurse and nurture their toddler ashamed of it, embarrassed about it.  It can be hard enough for mothers to nurse their newborns and infants in public, even harder once the baby isn't little anymore and people view it as inappropriate to still be breastfeeding.  Even though I am confident about breastfeeding in public, even though I am confident in my decision to continue breastfeeding my toddler, I get nervous when she asks to nurse when we are out. (She asks by either patting my chest or saying "nurse" which in her cute baby voice is more like "nuss") I wonder what people think and sometimes feel self conscious. Recently on Facebook I saw several comments from people about a news segment on breastfeeding.  One of them was "..to breastfeed a baby past a year?! WTH is wrong with these people?!" (WTH meaning "what the hell".)  Comments like those are what make mothers ashamed of doing what is best for their baby. Comments like those are what can make an experienced, confident mother like myself feel self conscious about her decision to breast feed her 16 month old daughter.

Despite doubting myself sometimes I will still continue to do it.  Why? I want to normalize extended breastfeeding.  I hope that other moms of toddlers who still nurse see me nursing my toddler in public and realize its not something that should be hidden away in shame.  I want people who haven't been exposed to breastfeeding, or extended breastfeeding to see me and realize that its not unnatural and its not gross, and that normal people do it too, that there is nothing "wrong" with people who breastfeed their children past the age of 1. 

So yes.  I am still breastfeeding.  Thank you for asking.

Fun little snack!

 Here is a tasty fun little snack to try one of these summer days!

~Mini Bagel Sandwiches~
First you need Mini Bagels.  Ya know, those cute little baby sized ones.  Then your condiments of choice.  I like mayo, mustard, and pepper.  You also need sandwich fixins.  Mine was turkey, cheese, and lettuce, nice and simple.  Smear condiments on mini bagel, construct sandwich as you normally would, then enjoy!

They are cute and small and yummy.  Perfect for little hands, no crusts to cut off, and a nice deviation from the same ole lunch meat sandwich.  These would be great for a sleepover or birthday party.  I'd share pictures, but I ate mine before I could find my camera.  :)

Fluff Review- Doodle Dypes

I'll admit that my cloth diaper experience might be a little limited. I haven't tried very many brands/types of cloth diapers.  But I am going to try and start doing reviews on ones I have tried, and hopefully this will motivate me to get out there and try more.

First up on the list is Doodle Dypes.

I love these diapers.   They are made by a wonderful WAHM, Sandy.  Made using Bamboo fleece, also using a two layer snap in soaker. The first Doodle I tried was a purple ruffly AI2. (Has a water resistant layer, doesn't require an extra cover, soaker part is separate to speed drying time.)  Quite awhile after I got that first one I was looking at her store and she had several prints I HAD TO HAVE.  So I stalked the store, and was able to snag two of them.  I got one AI2, and one Fitted. (Mercy is wearing the fitted in the above picture.)

There are many reasons I love Doodle Dypes.  They are super trim, not bulky at all, and they are VERY absorbent.  Mercy usually went to bed in a Goodmama with a fleece cover.  In the morning the diaper was always SOAKED.  Front, back, top, bottom, even the wings were soaked.  One night I told her to choose her fluff and she brought her Doodle fitted.  I was skeptical.  I went with it anyways, figured we'd give it a shot.  I expected to wake up in the middle of the night to a pissed off soaked baby, a wet bed, a puddle, or at the very least leaks. How could this super trim, UNPREPPED Doodle last through the night when my super fluffy, super used GMs barely managed?

Fast forward to the next morning.  My sis comes downstairs and was playing with Mercy, I asked her to take her diaper off.  "Uh, it isn't wet." 
Whaaaa?? "What? What do you mean?"  
"Oh, well its wet on the inside, but the outside doesn't feel wet."
 I couldn't believe it.  I felt for myself and she was right.  The outside barely even felt damp.  I was shocked.  So shocked, that I washed it so she could wear it again that night, just in case maybe it was a fluke and Mercy just didn't pee that much. Same results.  Tried her back in a GM the next night and the GM was drenched. Doodles Win.

However, super trim and absorbent isn't all they have going for them.  They are also super cute.  They have a HUGE fabric selection available for custom orders.  They are AMAZINGLY priced, especially for such an awesome product. The detail of each diaper is amazing.  One of my favorite things about these diapers is very small.

 The alternating snap colors, both on the big ones, and the inner centers.  Its a pretty small detail, but for me at least it makes a big impact and makes the diaper just that much cuter.

Even aside from all that however, is the phenomenal customer service.  Sandy always responds very quickly to any questions, whether by Email, or on Doodle Dypes facebook page.  Shipping is quick.  She takes great pride in her work.  The interactions feel more personal, she always comments on pictures you share of your baby in Doodles. She is great at finding fabrics if you make requests.  I asked if she could locate some cute sailor/anchor fabric and within an hour she had messaged links to me with several different options.  Just overall, the entire experience is great and makes the customer want to go back.  If you haven't tried a Doodle Dype yet, I strongly recommend you do.  She stocks Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern time, they go quick though so you'll have to be fast!

*I am in absolutely no way affiliated with Doodle Dypes or Sandy.  I received no compensation for writing this review, it is in its entirety my opinion.  The only thing I gain from writing this review is more competition on stocking day. *

Baby Led Weaning and your toddler

Mercy is past the "introducing" stage of solids, so the post ideas dealing with BLW are slim pickins.  However I'm still enjoying the benefits of BLW.  I see quite a few posts on my parenting community along the lines of "How do you get your child to eat vegetables?!"  I generally try not to respond because I'm sure my answer of "put it in front of her" isn't exactly the type they are looking for.

When these moms were spoon feeding rice cereal and bland purees to their babies, Mercy was eating avocado and broccoli and melon, experiencing different tastes and textures.  When those babies were getting mushy processed Gerber meals....Mercy was getting fresh chicken and vegetables, lasagna, chef salad, and spinach ravioli.

My girlie has got a large palate.  She loves food!  That isn't the only benefit of Baby Led Weaning though.  At 15 months old she does a good job of using utensils.  Its really awesome to see her sitting there feeding herself using a fork, like a big girl. (Even though she is still my itty bitty baby.)

Its also nice not having to worry about what to feed her, seeing as she just eats whatever I am having.  Todays lunch was a turkey sandwich and chips for me, turkey sandwich with ritz bitz and banana slices for her.


Yumm!!!!

and this picture, just because it is ridiculously awesome.

l

If you are interested, you can view my previous posts about Baby Led Weaning HERE.

Sand in my shoes

Went to the beach with my husband and daughter this weekend.  We had an absolute blast.  It was pretty much a perfect day.  Mercy looked so adorable in her swimsuit.  I played in the water a little bit, but mostly sat back and observed through the lens of my camera.  It was Mercy's first real time in the ocean and I figured she would be scared, I stayed back so she would depend on dad to catch her and protect her when she felt scared, using this First as a catalyst for their relationship.  It worked beautifully.









Are you in tears yet?  Because I was. After him being gone for so much of her life, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing them play together.

Woo!

My evil plot to take over the world with cloth diapering 1 person at a time is in motion. Bwahaha!

I went over to visit and friend and talk fluff with her because she was interested in converting to cloth.  She has since decided she definitely wants to.  This brings my convert tally up to a grand total of 4 people.

My friend Tabby and my friend Mikayla are now cloth converts. My little sister and her best friend have also said that when they have babies they want to cloth diaper. 

The Real Diaper Association estimates that a child will go through roughly 2,920 diapers in their first 2 years of life.  Assuming each child will potty train around 2.5, that is 7,300 total per child.  Assuming each person only has 1 child, that is a grand total 29,200 disposable diapers that I have helped save from a landfill.

More math- 300 lbs of wood, 50 lbs of petroleum, and 20 lbs of chlorine are required to make the diapers for 1 child for 1 year.  That is 750 lbs of wood, 125 lbs of petroleum, and 50 lbs of chlorine to diaper 1 child, from birth to potty training at 2.5.    3,000 lbs of wood, 500 lbs of petroleum, and 200 lbs of chlorine have been saved. 

Who said that 1 person can't make a difference?

Taking over the world.

One person at a time.

Cloth diapering is addictive. And once you're addicted its hard to kick the habit.  You're the addict, you're an enabler, and sometimes even a dealer. An Addict because its hard to stop buying cloth diapers.  Occasionally you'll get on the wagon, but then fall off and binge.  An Enabler because you egg on other CD addicts.  "Buy it.  You know you want it.  you need it."  Sharing links to cute diapers, prints you know someone is looking for. The Dealer is a bit different. You aren't so much selling the diapers to the addicts, as much as giving the sample and getting someone else hooked. And oh boy is it an awesome feeling when you get someone else hooked. 

I've recently gotten my little sister Jessica hooked.  Shes 16. (As of an hour and 50 minutes ago.  No Joke.) When I first arrived to stay here for several months while my hubby was deployed my sister thought CDing was the grossest thing ever.  She didn't want anything to do with my cloth diapers at all. In fact her best friend enjoyed the cloth diapers more than she did. (She mainly just enjoyed oogling the cute prints.)  At one point I asked my sister to put a diaper on Mercy and asked her friend to hand her one.  She handed her a cloth one and Jessica said "No, hand me a REAL one." (meaning a disposable).  I shuddered inside.  Calling a sposie a REAL diaper?! 

Then the tide began to change.  She liked seeing the cute diapers I got.  She was willing to change a cloth diaper every now and then.  And then things REALLY changed.  She got a bit more excited about the fluff.  Mercy was in a sposie one day due to a rash and she told me how ugly it looked under her dress and she liked the cloth diapers better. Another night we had this conversation.

Jess: "What diaper is she wearing?  Is that a BaBushka or a Goodmama?"
Me: "A BaBushka."
Jess: "I hate you."
Me: (laughing) "Why? Because you know the brands of her diapers?"
Jess: "Yes."

 One day I was out of the house and needed her to stalk diapers for me.  They were stocking and I anticipated them going fast and I NEEDED them. So we were texting back and forth while she sat at the computer fingers poised to snatch that diaper and get it in her shopping cart quick.  She later told me what a rush it was and she loved it.  (Bwahaha)

Then she even told me that I was making her WANT to have a baby just so she could cloth diaper it! We would oooooh and awww over pictures of diapers online.  She gets just as excited about fluffy mail as I do.  I received 7 (seven!!) diapers in the mail the other day.  I texted her that morning that I was expecting them and she Squeed (via text, because she was in school) with me.  I got home and got them out of the mailbox.  She wasn't home yet and I knew she'd be upset if I opened them up without her.  So I waited, and went and picked her up from school, and we evenly divvied up the packages before tearing into them like kids on Christmas. Then we had a Fluff Fight.

Today I had a package in the mail and she texted me "FLUFF!!!!!!" I texted back "I have Fluff?" because I wasn't expecting any.  She texted me back "You have FLUFF!!!!!!!!!".  Unfortunately she was wrong and it was only my Rockin Green detergent.  Poor girl was so disappointed.

Anyways, thats the story of my little sisters conversion to cloth.  Shes not even a mom yet and shes got the cloth diaper jonesin.

Happy 16th Birthday little sister!  I wish you many days of Fluffy Mail!!


Auntie Jessa....Lovin on the fluff and using it as a pillow.  Its ♥

Oh dear.

I don't know if its because its 1 am and I'm really tired, or what.  But I found this HILARIOUS.  Literally gasping for air, sides hurt, convulsing, because I was laughing so hard.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2010/05/blunders-that-burn.html

I'm also especially amused by these.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/08/cakes-for-all-ocassions.html

Homecomings past

I got to talk to the hubby today.  He is finally back in the same country, with cell service.  Me and Mercy will finally get to see him again before too long, after three months apart.  Not as long as last time, but still pretty long.  Thinking about this homecoming got me thinking about last homecoming and I ended up going back and reading all my Tweets from that day.  For your viewing pleasure- A Homecoming in Tweets.
-------------------------
5:20 AM  Anybody else think that 5 AM is really freakin early?  Painting my nails.
5:52 AM   Trying to use a manual pump without a baby attached to the other side to help with letdown, really sucks. I give up. off to do my makeup.
6:35 AM  Nails-check. makeup-check. hair-checked. baby fed-checked.
6:55 AM  Loadin up the baby then off we go!
7:02 AM  Haha almost forgot deodorant. Welcome home honey, take a whiff!
7:05 AM  Car keys would be a good idea. Is my head on?
7:08 AM  Ugh not even to the pier yet and all the welcome home signs are making me bawl!
7:35 AM  CRAP! i forgot tissue
8:21 AM  Still waiting. Caught a glimpse but then they disappeared again.
8:29 AM  Of course I wouldnt think of sun screen for Mercedes. Poor girl I hope she doesn't get a burn.
8:31 AM  I spy with my little eye... A ship!

6:20 PM  I love my husband.
--------------------------------

My first homecoming I had just turned 19, had only been married for 6 months, had only actually been with my husband for 2 of those months, no babies.  I waited at the pier with a group of wives who were nice, but that I didn't really fit in with.  No pictures, no tweets, no blogs or anything really commemorating the event.  He got off the ship and we had to walk quite a ways (with a full sea bag) to the car because novice navy wife that I am parked on practically the opposite side of the base. Luckily a friendly sailor man stopped and offered us a ride the rest of the way, so it wasn't too bad.  

Last year Mercedes was 6 months old, her main accomplishment was rolling over, I spent the days before picking out an outfit, figuring out my hair and makeup and Mercy's outfit, cleaning house, participated in the whole Homecoming Hoopla at the pier, etc.   


 This time Mercedes is 15 months, walking all over the place, talking up a storm, I will spend the days before trying to pack up the last three months into a suitcase and preparing for a cross country flight with a toddler, our outfits will be comfy clothes good for traveling, and he will be the one picking us up instead of the other way around.  And if there is any balance in the world he will spend the days before going crazy trying to clean the house. 

SCORE!

It appears that the Myths and Facts section regarding cloth diapers on the Pampers website has mysteriously disappeared.  I am beyond thrilled.  I'm guessing they got a flood of emails from cloth diapering mommas who were unhappy with the lies they were spreading.  Hooray for them removing their heads from their, er sposies!

Sources

I was asked to list my sources for my entry the other day, specifically about the Disposable diapers take 500 years to decompose comment.  I realize now that I should have taken the time to find and list my sources within that entry, but I was upset with Pampers "Facts" and wanted to address them immediately, even if it was only with my anecdotal arguments.

I found multiple sites that said the same thing, disposable diapers take 500 years to breakdown, a few sites listed anywhere from 250-500 years, based on a study by Ann Link, Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention.  April 2003.  Women's Environmental Network. The EPA site states 450 years. After further looking into it I found that these are educated guesses seeing as disposable diapers have only been around for roughly 60 years, so no one knows for sure.  Also when guessing, most appear to be basing that on ideal circumstances with optimal exposure to light and oxygen.  Considering disposable diapers are most often rolled and secured into a tight ball, placed in a plastic bag, then in a garbage bag, before they are tossed into the landfill where they will soon be buried under more trash, I doubt they are getting the ideal light and oxygen required for breakdown.

http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/debris_t.html
http://behealthyandrelax.com/2007/11/how-long-does-it-take-to-decompose/http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/311/1/Waste-decomposition-rates.html

There was also a question about my statement regarding the detergent.  I do not have any statistics or figures or studies to support that statement.  However, cloth diapers need to be laundered with special cloth diaper detergent because  a lot of the ingredients in regular detergent will cause build up in the diaper, making them less absorbent and water repellent.  Commercially available cloth detergent (Charlie's Soap and Rockin' Green to name a few) are made with natural ingredients, non toxic, and biodegradable.  Overall better for the environment than regular detergent. Its also important to factor in that cloth diapers are washed with less detergent than regular clothes, a general rule of thumb is less than half of what you normally use.  I personally use Rockin' Green and use 2-3 tablespoons for 1 load of diapers.  So while the statement I made is not backed up by statistics and studies, I feel it is a safe assumption that parents who cloth diaper are not out there using detergent that could damage the diapers. 

I hope this helped clear things up for anyone who was confused, and hopefully for now at least has helped keep me from sounding like a crazy extremist who makes things up as she goes along. ♥

Name Art Giveaway!

Check out an awesome give away for name art here!  Hurry fast, ends tonight at 10 pm CST!

http://www.alannainsuburbia.blogspot.com/

Pampers "Facts"

*UPDATE* It appears that Pampers also felt the heat of angered cloth diapering parents because they have removed their Myths and Facts section regarding cloth diapers!  Hooray!

Apparently Pampers is feeling the heat of the cloth diaper trend.  They have gone on the so called Offensive and have a Myths and Facts section on their website, listing different "Myths" associated with cloth and disposables and given the correct "Facts". While I was reading it, I couldn't decide whether to laugh out loud or gag.  I am parphrasing them here, to read their complete responses go here ---> http://www.pampers.com/en_US/diapers-myths-and-facts . 

--------------

Myth- Cloth Diapers are better for my Baby.

Pampers "Fact"-  Sposies were invented to meet needs that cloth diapers couldn't, beyond convenience. They keep baby dryer and contain leaks and parents and doctors see less rash.

  

The only thing sposies have over cloth is convenience.  And even that is debatable.  I used sposies for the first 6 months before I converted to cloth and I don't think there is a noticeable change in work, except for an extra load of laundry here or there.  Talk to any parent who cloth diapers and the response is overwhelmingly that their baby has less instances of rash since using cloth. The reason?  Parents can feel when their baby is wet which means the baby isn't sitting in a pee soaked diaper for hours on end.  And containing leaks?  Speak to cloth diaper parents and again they will tell you that they have less explosions of poo since using cloth.  Wet leaks don't happen if babies are changed in a timely manner.  How exactly do sposies keep baby dryer? The chemicals in the sposie absorb the liquid.  Chemical reactions taking place right up against the delicate baby skin better for the baby? I think not.

Myth- Cloth Diapers are better for the environment.

Pampers "fact"- There was a study done in the UK that showed no clear winner in terms of environmental impact, once factors such as energy, water, and detergent are accounted for.

Really?  I can't even believe they are trying to make this argument.  Disposables take 500 years to decompose.  Every single sposie that has ever been used since the invention of disposables is sitting in a landfill somewhere.  Not to mention the energy used to manufacture and deliver disposables to the stores, and packaging.  Oh, and then there is also the contamination of ground water from people not shaking the poo off of the disposables into the toilet like they are supposed to.  The energy and water used to wash/dry cloth diapers is minuscule. Most people line dry their diapers, and barely see a change in their utility bill at all, if any.  As for the detergent?  The majority of cloth diaper users also use earth friendly/natural detergent, or make their own. 

Myth- Developing countries prove that cloth diapers are better.

Pampers "Fact"-  Sposies are better in terms of skin health, dryness, and sleep.  In China we've found that parents and children frequently wake up due to a soaked bed because they have no diaper, or a very thing piece of cloth.  In another test we found that fecal contamination around the home was reduced when using sposies.

Seriously?  Better for skin health and dryness? They are dryer because of toxic chemicals.  How is having those harsh chemicals right against baby's skin better for them?  Oh right, its not.  I don't see how they are putting No Diaper or a Thin Piece of Cloth in the same category as cloth diapers.  Cloth diapers are much more than a "thin piece of cloth".  They are made up of multiple layers of absorbent material, and also a water resistant material.  No soaked beds unless they aren't being used properly.  As for the fecal contamination?  Another user error.  I can promise there is no fecal contamination in my house from using cloth diapers.  That claim is just ridiculous.  Any fecal contamination in these developing countries is from general lack of knowledge about hygiene, NOT from the cloth diapers.

Myth- Disposables are bad for the environment.

Pampers "Fact"- All of the component materials in Pampers diapers are gentle to consumers and safe for the environment. Pampers diapers are made of materials that are also frequently used in a wide range of other consumer products. We are committed to continuing to reduce our environmental impact. For example, Pampers has decreased its diaper weight by one-third and packaging weight by two-thirds.

How is that a Myth?  500 years to decompose and they want to argue that they AREN'T bad for the environment? They have reduced their diaper weight by one-third? Know how they did that? By taking out some of the layers between the absorbent chemicals and the baby.  Have you heard of the chemical burn problems that a lot of people are having with the "New" Pampers?  That is why.  Because now those chemicals are even closer to your baby and causing rashes and burns. So yeah, they've made them a little better for the environment, but make it less safe for your baby. About their ingredients being safe for baby- disposable diapers contain Dioxin, a byproduct of the bleaching.  Dioxin is directly linked to causing cancer and compromising the immune system. 

To sum it up- Pampers is delusional.  Their Myths, are all actually TRUE, and their "Facts" are just word vomit they are using to try and salvage their reputation and win people back to their side instead of natural cloth diapering.  Epic fail Pampers.  The sad part is that I know there are people out there who don't know better and will believe their bull.

Blogs to come

So many blogs rollin around in my head.


Benefits of Extended Rear Facing/dangers of Forward Facing too soon.

Cloth diaper converts.

Response to Pampers ridiculous claims about cloth diapers.


I don't even know where to start.

"What Would You Do?" Part 2 (Spoiler)

"What Would You Do?"

Uh, for starters, I would rewrite that entire segment.  I was SO disappointed with how they did the nursing in public scenario.

It took place in a little cafe.  A mom purchased a cup of coffee then sat down, unbuttoned the top couple buttons of her shirt and started breastfeeding her baby.  A man walked by (the manager) and proclaimed (in a disgusted voice) "Oh god. Excuse me, could you do that somewhere else?" and proceeds to tell her shes disrupting customers, hes trying to run a business, etc.  A lot of the customers sat and watched at first, most didn't say anything, until the Manager told the woman "Well if you wanna put milk in everybody elses coffee.." at which point several people spoke up and told him that he crossed the line and needed to stop.  The Manager was asking people passing by if it was bothering them.  One lady said "I have several young children and I wouldn't do that in public." Another man said "I'm not offended, but it makes me uncomfortable."  Several people responded that the conversation/the way the manager was talking to her made them uncomfortable.  One man, told the manager that he was not uncomfortable, it didn't bother him at all and she was fine.  One woman got very outspoken and said she wasn't buying anything from his store because of the way he was acting and that it is a blessing to see a mother breastfeed in public.

While I was pleased by (most) of the reactions of the customers, I think they went about the scenario the wrong way.  The first thing I take issue with is that they had the Manager be the one attacking the nursing mother, instead of another customer.  While I, personally would probably stand up to anybody going after someone breastfeeding, I can also see how most other people would be intimidated when it is the manager/owner of a business, assuming "his business, his rules" etc.  I think the reactions would have been different if it had been another customer going after the mom. 

The "mom" was an actress, and the baby was actually a doll (that amusingly enough had a fake pacifier in its mouth).  I would have preferred that it had been an actual baby and that the mom actually nursed, instead of pretended with a doll.

I also think it would have been better if they had not only done a "newborn" scenario, and had used an older baby to see what the different reactions were, if people were more offended by the nursing of an older baby or a toddler.

They usually do several different versions of each scenario.  With this one they did White Mom, Black Mom, Young Mom, Mom drinking a beer while nursing.  In the drinking a beer scenario a man started lecturing the mom telling her how bad it was and that he didn't think she should be drinking a beer while breastfeeding.  She said "its just one beer its fine, and he sleeps better at night" ugh, I couldn't believe she said that.  They said they included that variation to see what would make the mom lose the support of the customers.  I think a much better (and realistic) variation would have been how much of her breast the mother was exposing.  A mom nursing quietly and discreetly not showing anything, vs a mom with her entire boob pulled out, or something similar.

Overall I was happy that most of the patrons supported the mother and stood up for her, it was much better than I expected.  I expected that the reactions were what would upset me, not the poor writing of the scenarios.

Here is a link to the video in case you missed it,
http://abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo
(under the WWYD Recent Reports)

What did you think?

"What Would You Do?"

There is a series on ABC called "What Would You Do?".  It is a hidden camera show that shows how the average person would respond when confronted with various situations.  One was "What would you do if you saw a man verbally abusing a woman in a park"  Then it swapped to "...a woman verbally abusing a man in a park"  another was "...if the waitress was very obviously hitting on your husband in front of you" or "...if you witnessed obese abuse".  Its a pretty interesting show and I try to catch it when I can.

I saw a commercial today for the new episode airing on Friday. "What would you do if you saw a mother breastfeeding in public?"

I am very interested in catching this one, to see what the general response is.  I seriously hope that it would be a very bland boring one.  Mother sits on bench breastfeeding.  People walk by.  Maybe smile.  Whoopee.  Unfortunately, since it is airing (and is featured in the commercial) my guess is that it is much more interesting than that, because people smiling as a mother nurses wouldn't get good ratings.

In fact, I'm inclined to think that it is going to make me mad.  Are people going to give the mother dirty looks? Confront her and tell her to cover up or go to her car or a bathroom?  I hope that isn't the case, but uh, I'm not getting my hopes up too high.  The fact of the matter is that while women are LEGALLY allowed to nurse their baby anywhere that they themselves are allowed to be, it is generally frowned upon by the general public.  Mothers are ashamed to nurse their babies in public because they don't want to get dirty looks, or confronted, or told they are doing something dirty or indecent.  When really they aren't.  They are feeding their baby.  NewsFlash- thats what boobs were made for.

I am a firm supporter of nursing in public. Nursing in public, in private, in your car, with a cover, without a cover, upside down, in a plane, in a train, here or there, anywhere. 

I feel like this was a very poor choice of subject for this show.  I for one would have been much more interested in a segment of "What would you do if you saw a mother being attacked for breastfeeding in public?"

So readers, What Would YOU do?

My camera hates me

My camera has all of a sudden decided that it does not want to upload pictures.  The computer is not recognizing it when I plug it in.  I can still take pictures just fine, but can't share them with the world wide web :( .
I tried looking up the error message online but nothing really came up.  I tried calling customer service and tech support but it was of course not during business hours.  Harumph.

I'm really disappointed by this because I've taken some awesome cloth diaper stash pictures lately.  I've really gotten into sewing my own diapers and I'm really liking how they are coming out. Until I'm able to share my recent stash pics I will share the ones took two weeks ago.  I have added to my stash since then, and the only ones picture are my GoodMamas, which accounted for most of my diapers.




This kid loves her fluff.  She will grab it from me while I'm folding it and just walk around carrying and hugging it. I love it.






and my GoodMama Pyramid of Fluff.


I've added quite a few diapers to my stash since this pic. (shh, don't tell my husband) 

Hopefully before too long I'll be able to share pics of all the diapers I've made.  For now, I'm off to cuddle with my precious girl.  I hope all the mommas out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

*sigh*

Dear Blog,
I'm sorry I'm so neglectful.  I will try to be better. I promise.  Unfortunately its 2 AM and I'm not feeling like now is the time.  Just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you.

                                                               Love,
                                                                    Paige.

Circle Skirts

I've recently embarked upon the journey of making skirts.  It all started when I was at the fabric store and found some really cute fabric that I thought would look fabulous as a skirt.  So I grabbed it up and set about figuring out the proper measurements and a good pattern. 

My first attempt...

After that one, I just had to go back and get the same pattern in green.



and I love it.  It is now her most worn item of clothing.

After that, it became an addiction.  I went shopping and bought a ton of fabric to make skirts out of.


 yeah.  I wasn't kidding.  a TON.

I made a couple of big girl skirts out of the silver scroll and peace sign fabric.





(My sister playin with Mercy.  They kinda like each other.)

And some of the little girl skirts I've made.











They are adorable and I'm absolutely in love with them all.  I plan on making a ton more, and Mercy and I are going to pretty much live in them all summer.

The little girl skirts are listed on my etsy right now, fabric is limited so better snag em fast!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/havemercy213