Singing to Baby

I don't know the words to very many children's songs.  This results in:
a)singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Alphabet song over and over
b)humming
c)singing bits of grown up songs and
d)making up my own words

I usually do narration style or pick a song and make up new words/ verses.

I was doing "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a ______, and if that ______ doesn't do whatever ______'s do, mama's gonna buy you a __________(new item)", inserting different things in the song.  Then I thought about whether I should be singing about buying all kinds of stuff and cheap breaking stuff at that.

Then I  made up new verses for Mary had a little Lamb.  I'll share them with you.  I would sing the first two verses and then continue with my own.

Mary had a little lamb (little lamb, little lamb)

Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.

Everywhere that Mary went (Mary went, Mary went)

Everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go.

Mary had the lamb sheared (lamb sheared, lamb sheared)

Mary had the lamb sheared and washed the lovely fleece.

Then she picked and carded the wool (carded the wool, carded the wool)

Then she picked and carded the wool to get it ready to spin.

Mary used her spinning wheel (spinning wheel, spinning wheel)

Mary used her spinning wheel to make her favorite yarn.

I know lots of people do this sort of thing.  Anyone want to share their own songs or verses?

World Breastfeeding Week 2011

World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 -7) has just wrapped up, but I hope we can keep up the good work of encouraging and helping new moms and getting the world to see breastfeeding as a normal everyday thing.
http://www.lllusa.org/wbw/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_breastfeeding_week/en/index.html

I was disappointed that I couldn't be counted for the Big Latch On, but I was with you, nursing my baby on an airplane.

I wish that the culture I live in had a much more positive attitude about breastfeeding.  I sometimes feel like a pioneer doing something as old as mammals have been around, which is a really odd feeling.  I try to be discreet.  In fact I have breastfed my baby without people knowing what I was doing on several occasions, which is impressive in itself considering how things started out!  The point is that I shouldn't feel obligated to be discreet.  I should be able to just feed my baby and not worry about who might see a little nipple, because no one should care about seeing a little nipple.

Editing Baby Clothes

We just got these cute big kid pajamas and I noticed that the elastic on the sleeves was too tight!  That seems to be a common problem for baby clothes.  So, I cut it off and hemmed the sleeves.

 A shirt of mine had the same problem, so I fixed it the same way, good thing the sleeves were longish to start with.

Adventures in EC

Elimination Communication, aka Infant Potty Training, aka Natural Infant Hygiene is basically what it sounds like, communicating with baby about when they need to pee or poop and helping them to go. This idea really appeals to me, and I find it interesting that in the past EC was a common practice although it wasn't called that, but now many people find the idea strange as if it would be a disservice to the child.

Here are a few EC resources:
Diaper Free Baby
Free to EC
Tribal Baby

Many of the parents writing about EC made it sound so easy, having success from day one.  I have not been so lucky. I first heard of EC shortly after our baby was born and decided to start trying around 12 weeks.  I've had a few catches here and there, not every day.  Many of my catches are onto a prefold on the changing pad.  A few days ago I was encouraged by catching a poop this way.  It was way less messy than usual.  I can usually get at least a good cue in during the day and baby will often pee while laying on the prefold.  I think she understands that that is a good place to go and is confused when I cue her other places like the bathroom or on the brand new little potty.

Cloth Diaper Review: BumGenius Organic AIO

Another Diaper that I got early on is the BumGenius Organic One Size All In One.  I like the super easy factor of this diaper.  There is nothing to stuff.  The layers of organic cotton are attached to the cover.  You just put it on the Kiddo.  I like this for when someone else is watching baby, not that I save them for that.

 Here's the inside.  I like that it is nice soft and clean, organic cotton next to baby's skin.  Baby can feel the wetness with this diaper which helps the association of peeing and feeling wet.

 It has the same snap pattern as other BumGenius diapers.  The fit is the same as their pockets too.  They fit my chunky thigh babe well and I don't have to do any tricks with the snaps.

Pros:
No unstuffing or stuffing!!!

Cons:
Takes a long time to dry, seriously

The Rundown
Size: 7-35
Style:  AIO
Closure: Snaps on front
Rise Adjustment: Snaps on the front
Where is it made?  USA or Egypt
Price for 1:  $24.95

The End of the Cloth Wipe Challenge

My cloth wipe challenge officially ended on the 24th.  I didn't think much of it ending, as I like using cloth wipes.  I like not creating more trash.  I like saving even more money than with cloth diapers alone.  I like not having to separate the sposie wipes out of my wet bag when we get home (or find them in with the clean diapers from the wash).  I like knowing exactly what is going on my baby's skin.

I will admit to using a sposie wipe that my husband handed me while we were out, but whenever I reached for the wipes, I reached for cloth.  Yes, I finally did buy more cloth wipes.  I haven't finished my second spray bottle of homemade solution so I haven't tried any other recipes but I still plan to try more as we run out of solution.

The challenge is a success as I will happily continue using cloth wipes and our giant box o sposie wipes should last way longer than the first.

Cloth Diaper Review: FuzziBunz One Size

FuzziBunz One Size are a stay dry pocket style diaper.  They have a unique size adjustment that uses elastic with buttons for both the legs and the back.  The adjustable back is something that I haven't seen on other diapers and would like to see more often.

 Here is a close up of the leg elastic.  It takes some trying on the baby, but once you have it adjusted you can leave it there until you need a bigger size.  I like how customizable the sizing is on this diaper.  It makes it easy to fit my baby with cubby legs, but not a cubby tummy.

Here is the pocket and insert.  The tag says to shake the insert out, but I find it usually requires pulling out due to it being a tight fit for the insert in the pocket, but the open pocket makes it easier to remove the insert than an envelope style pocket.
The diaper comes with extra elastic and 2 inserts.


Pros:
Detailed size adjustment


Cons:
Harder to stuff because the insert is large for the pocket size


The Rundown
Size: 7-35
Style:  Pocket
Closure: Snaps on front
Rise Adjustment: Elastic in the sides has buttons to adjust the size
Where is it made?  Turkey
Price for 1:  $19.95

Traveling with Cloth Diapers

Another article I wrote is up on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer.  It is about our adventures of traveling with baby and cloth diapers.  There is always some suspense when submitting posts there, hoping they will like it, not knowing if/when it will post.  Did you think it was funny?   That's what I was going for.

Cloth Diaper Review: Bottombumpers One Size Side Snapping AIO

Bottombumpers are a tongue style AIO or Snap In One style as the insert snaps in place and can be removed.  They also have sized diapers.

The lining is organic cotton and the soaker/ insert is organic cotton and bamboo velour so this diaper is very soft next to baby's skin.  The drying time is good for a cotton AIO and the tongue style soaker really helps with that.  A smaller extra insert is sold seperately.

So far I've used this diaper once at night (with the extra insert) and did not have any leaks!  Yay!

Here is the rise size adjustment.  I like the color coding and their website has weight guides for the different colors.

This diaper seems like it would fit a baby with skinnier thighs a bit better than it fits my girl with chunky thighs. I snap the top row of snaps one smaller than the bottom row to compensate for this and it has been working well.

Pros:
No unstuffing
Relatively quick drying

Cons:
May look confusing to a newbie

The Rundown
Size: 8-25+ pounds
Style: Tongue/ AIO
Closure: Snaps on side
Rise Adjustment: Snaps on inside back, under the insert
Where is it made? USA
Price for 1: $22.95

Cloth Diaper Review: Smartipants

 Smartipants diapers are the staple of our diaper stash.  I needed more diapers quick and both the sleeve style and price appealed to me.  There are two columns of snaps on the front for the rise adjustment and one row of snaps on the front for the closure.  The tabs can be crossed for extra small settings.

The insert is microfiber and it goes in a sleeve instead of the usual pocket.  The sleeve lets the insert agitate out in the wash, which is awesome!

Pros:
Easy size adjustment
Good fit
No unstuffing

Cons:
Does not come with an extra insert for night.

The Rundown
Size: 7-35 pounds
Style: Sleeve/ AI2
Closure: Snaps on front
Rise Adjustment: Snaps on front
Where is it made? USA
Price for 1: $14.95

Why Review Diapers?

Some of you may wonder why am I reviewing diapers when there are so many other blogs that already review diapers.

Well, I enjoy talking about diapers and trying new kinds of diapers.  I've become a bit of a diaper geek.  Part of this blog is to share information, and part is to describe my journey.  Hopefully you will find the reviews useful and if not you can skip to the next post.  :p

Cloth Diaper Review: BumGenius 4.0 Stay Dry Pocket Diaper

The first one size diaper I bought was the BumGenius Pocket Diaper.  It has 3 sets of snaps for the rise adjustment and 2 rows of snaps on the waist.  There is a microfiber insert and it came with a smaller infant insert to use first when baby is tiny or to add some absorbency.  I use both inserts for overnight.

It fits my baby really well.  She has chunky thighs and a not chunky waist, so this is a problem for some diapers.  It has an envelope style opening for the insert and the larger insert has snaps to adjust the length.  Stains come out easily, mostly in the wash, and a little time in the sun gets the rest out.  They dry quickly for this style of diaper.

Pros:
Easy size adjustment
Good fit

Cons:
Requires unstuffing

The Rundown
Size: 7-35+ pounds
Style: Pocket/ AI2
Closure: Snaps or Aplix (velcro) on front
Rise Adjustment: Snaps on front
Where is it made? USA and Egypt
Price for 1: $17.95

Cloth Wipe Challenge Day 12

We traveled over the weekend and using the cloth wipes and spray bottle has been working really well.  I've been spraying the wipe more than the bum as it seems neater, especially when changing baby on something other than the changing pad that I really don't want to get mess on, like the seat of my car.  I'm still on that first bottle of wipe solution too, but will be making more soon.

Anyway, I really need to get more wipes.  I procrastinated.  I was thinking about making my own or where to buy and just hadn't yet.  Well, there were some rather messy changes today, and we ran out of wipes.  I really didn't want to give in and use the sposie wipes.  I used a flat.  It got the job done very well.  How's that for commitment?  Now I should really go buy some wipes...

Baby Gear: Bouncy Seat

A bouncy seat is something that I wasn't planning on buying, but received as a gift.  I'm more of a baby gear minimalist.  I'd rather have a few really nice pricier, but high quality things than a whole bunch of cheap stuff.  I just had other things higher on my priority list.
I've found the bouncy seat to be pretty useful.  It's a good spot to set baby and now that she's older she sometimes plays with the hanging toys.  It's pretty portable and fits into our routine.  The bouncy seat has helped me take many showers as I can bring it into the bathroom and set baby where she can hear me.  It has helped me eat some meals if I'm quick about it.  My baby would prefer to be held constantly no doubt, but I think the small incline on it makes it more tolerable than the bed or floor.

Cloth Wipe Challenge Day 3 with Flats Bonus

The challenge is going well so far.  I haven't had to change a really messy diaper while out and about, but I have had a few messy ones at home.

As an added bonus I've decided to try out flats, aka old school cloth diapers.  When I first started cloth diapering, I thought flats where intimidating.  Why would anyone want to use those when there are so many other options out there.  For one thing, flats are cheap and the super fast drying time sounds nice!  First, I saw a friend using them, and they didn't really look so bad.  They just need to be folded ahead of time so they're ready to go at diaper change time.  I learned more about them following the Flats Challenge to hand wash flats.  Dirty Diaper Laundry started the challenge to show that cloth diapering can be done, even without a washer.  Here are a few more bloggers that participated in the challenge: Adventures in Mommyhood, Just Add Cloth, Mistakes in Motherhood.

Hand washing diapers doesn't sound like my cup of tea (but I have thought about it for camping.  What are you supposed to do if you want to camp with a little in diapers.  Even with sposies you still have a big bag of them just sitting there until you deal with them.)  Whether I'm up for a washing challenge of my own is still to be determined.

So I bought 6 flats to try out (they don't count towards the stash right? because they don't look like a diaper...)  I've done a few changes already, using something sort of resembling the kite fold.  Next up is trying different ways of folding the flat.

Cloth Wipes Challenge Day 1

Today is the first day of my cloth wipe challenge and I've changed two poopy diapers so far.  My simple wipe solution works much better than plain water.  I do seem to need a lot of it, but that must just be the nature of cloth wipes and solution.  The disposable wipes are already soaked in their liquid.

I also am using more wipes than before, I think because I can't fold them as much.  I'll need to get some more.  I don't want to be doing laundry more often just because I don't have enough wipes!  So, other than that, so far so good.  :)

Cloth Wipe Solution

The cloth wipe solutions that I've been looking at have different variations of water, soap, oil, and essential oils.  Along those lines I'm trying out this recipe:

1 cup water
1 tea spoon liquid castile soap
1 tea spoon olive oil
1-2 drops essential oil (tea tree)

Add water and then the other ingredients to the spray bottle and shake well.

I went with this recipe because I had all the ingredients here (thanks to my trying to use healthier cleaners and soap making!)

It is ready and waiting at the diaper station!

The Cloth Wipe Challenge

I've been trying to use cloth wipes more during diaper changes but using plain water hasn't been working for us.  I often start with cloth for the poopy messes and finish cleaning things up with a sposie wipe.  While I am using fewer sposie wipes this way, I'd like to use even fewer.  First thing is first, I need a wipe solution to be able to clean better.  I found this post at Zany Zebra Designs with a whole bunch of wipe solution recipes.

I was inspired by Mama on a Green Mission and her Cloth Wipe Challenge to only use cloth wipes June 22 to July 22.  I'm going to do a challenge of my own and test out a few of those wipe solution recipes.  My challenge will start tomorrow June 24th!  I'm using mostly basic cotton wipes.  They are pretty thin.  I have two two layer wipes that were a shower present and one more nice one on the way that I added to an online order to get free shipping.

Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.  :)

Baby Must Have: Carrier

There are so many baby gadgets out there and many of them are nice to have, a few of them you really need (like a carseat if you plan to go anywhere in a car).  I don't know what I would have done without a baby carrier.  Well, I would have done a lot less and had a rather unhappy baby more often.  There are so many different kinds out there (stretchy wraps, woven wraps, soft structured, ring slings, mei tais, ...).  I'll start with what I've used and what has worked for me.

My very first wrap/carrier was the Moby wrap, a soft and stretchy piece of cloth that is fat in the middle and narrower on the ends.  I just knew it would be a good choice before I got it and was very happy to receive it as a shower gift.  It does have a bit of a learning curve to learn to tie it on.  Have someone show you or check out youtube.  (While there are lots of great how to videos there, just be careful, I know there are how tos to put your baby on your back with the Moby, but you need a woven wrap for that).  I would tie it on and put the baby in and out as needed.  The Moby works great for keeping a small baby close.  It was perfect for my daughter until she was about 15 pounds and then I needed more support for my back.

That brings us to woven wraps.  They can be tied in many different ways.  You can tie it similar to the Moby but put the baby in with it halfway and then tie the rest of the way (They are not stretchy).  You can do back caries; I really like the rucksack carry.  I have an Ellaroo and really like it.  It is cooler than the Moby, so good for summer.

Another favorite carrier of ours is a soft structured carrier, the Ergo.  If you can, try this on with baby.  The different styles fit differently.  We got the organic original style.  The back of the performance style comes up higher on baby's back.  The baby needs to be taller to fit this one.  Our Ergo carrier works great even for long periods of time.  The weight is supported on the hips and the shoulders.

I'm very happy with all three of these carriers.  It would have been nice if the Moby lasted longer, but it really was great for my not so tiny newborn.  My Little One likes them all too, but really its being held and snuggled up to me more than the carriers.

The Diaper Decision

I wrote a post about the benefits of cloth diapers and it was published on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer.

First Post

Hello world!  Welcome to my brand new blog for all things little ones.  One purpose for this blog is to help me keep track of all the goodies and gadgets for babies and children.  Another is to document some of our adventures.

Enjoy the ride.  :)