Winner!!!

Random.org said that comment 124 was our winner.  That would be.....

Show Me Mama said...

I love that they offer Free shipping which is nice. I would definitely order the Eco-Kids Eco-Fingerpaint Tube Gluten Free. My daughter loves to paint!

June 30, 2010 5:40 PM

I want to say a gigantic THANK YOU to Ecomom.com for the products for review and for offering my readers a chance to win.  To my readers, thank you so much for reading and playing along!

Wordless Wednesday/Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge: Splash! (though technically this is post splash)

More thoughts on opening a cloth diaper store....

So this whole cloth diaper store thing is taking off in our household.  Hubby has ALWAYS wanted to own his own business, it seems like a GREAT time to jump into the retail game for cloth, we LOVE cloth and want everyone else to love it, and Hubby hates his job...like HATES his job.  So we need to do more research and Hubby is starting on a business plan...

To my precious readers...Please take the time to answer a few questions for me.  Pretty please with a cherry on top?

• If you had a store near you, would you prefer to buy from a B&M store or would you prefer online?

• If you prefer online, would you choose to support a local store or stick with your current online fave?

• How many of you actually CAN buy cloth from a store near you?

• What brands of cloth would you hope to find in such a store?

• What other products would you hope/expect to find?

• What services would you hope/expect the store to offer?

Thank you all a million times over!!

The great diaper store hunt

So I've thrown myself into the great diaper store hunt, lol.  I was determined to find an actual brick and mortar store that sells cloth diapers.  I emailed one store The Eco Chic said was nice but is 2 hours away.  Guess the drive doesn't matter since they don't have a store front.  I looked into another store she mentioned she vaguely knew about..but no store front.   I also found another store (via google) that had an address listed on google maps about 30 min from me but ended up having the same situation as the other 2 stores. All appear to be online shops that offer demonstrations and diaper parties and the like locally.

Finally I found a store about 20 mins from us.  We went there today in hopes of scoping it out and getting a new diaper or two (Hubby didn't know about that ulterior motive, though I'm sure he assumed).  We get there and immediately get a dirty look from a mom getting out of her SUV as she put her son in an Ergo. I mean, I'm not the classiest broad out there, but I'm certainly not trash.  I drive a 2009 Civic, dress causally but put together (I'll never win a fashion award but I wouldn't be someone you pointed at and said, "I can't believe she wore that"), and have middle of the road baby products (Carters, Chicco stuff, Fisher Price...).  UGH!  Annoys me...but I digress.

So in the store we're wandering around (it's a pretty decent sized store).  They asked if we were looking for something in particular.  I excitedly told them I heard they sold cloth diapers.  "Oh yeah, I think we do...um....back here."  Not the response I was looking for...  So they show me the lovely cloth diapering section (note sarcasm).  It includes about 5 Flip diapers (which they had no idea were hybrids or anything about disposable liners or anything really..."I think this is the liner and it just goes in and you wash it."), a handful of GroBaby boosters, a box of bumGenius laundry detergent, and a promise of GroVia diapers and whatever bumGenius replaces the 3.0 with.  I was all excited to engage in a conversation with real life women about cloth diapers but was exceedingly disappointed in their lack of any remote knowledge about cloth (despite their website boasting about cloth diapers).

We perused the expensive strollers and posh bedding.  I happily noted they have a stock of Plum Organics, albeit small.  We played with various toys, hoping to find one that would catch Squirmy's eye.  Looked at some cute, though expensive clothing (I'm sorry, I can't pay $30+ for a t-shirt he'll wear for less than a handful of months...).  Noted the 3 Ergos, 1 Baby Bjorn, and 1 sling of a brand I didn't recognize nor remember.  We left empty handed though we tried hard to find something with which to spoil Squirmy.

All in all...the trip was a total bust, sort of.  It showed me that there is literally no where in driving distance you can go into a store and actually SEE cloth diapers.  It was a very cute, posh boutique style store.

SOOOO....this all makes me want to open a store for natural living.  Cloth diapers, detergent, cleaning supplies, food (for infants through adults), learning and/or eco friendly toys, organic clothing (preferably affordable), recycled who knows what... A store that is marketed as a way ANYONE can get into green living, not just someone who can afford to shop at posh boutiques. I'm so afraid this is a pipe dream, or something we throw ourselves into to find we hate it, or that we invest in something that doesn't have a strong enough market and we fail miserably.

But my mind is racing with possibilities.....

The day wasn't a total waste.  We ended up checking out a new shopping center about an hour away from us (just 'cause we can) and Squirmy got some new clothes since his 3-6 month selection is slim.

Yes, yes, I bought this shirt 60% because it will match not only this diaper, but the majority of his BG dipes!  (the other 40% was because it was $5)

GroBaby update

After my pathetic cry for help with my GroBaby post, whoever was acting on Gro-Via's behalf on Facebook suggested that I use a little more detergent and give them a few more washes.  I guess organic cotton takes a bit longer to prep.  S/he said that organic cotton takes a good 10 washes to prep.  I was skeptical but hopeful.

Well now we're a few washes later, well over the 10 washes...verdict?!?  SUCCESS!!  So far, so good.  :)  I'm so excited that my GroBaby diapers are working just a swimmingly as originally anticipated!

So happy to have a few more diapers in my stash.  Hopefully I can go more than 24hours between washes now.  Wish I had a nice fat pile of spare change so I could buy a whole bunch of diapers...but then we did embark on our cloth journey to save money!!

My first award :)

Nick from A Dad's Take was kind enough to give me my first blogging award.  His blog is a unique view of parenting from a father's perspective.  Head over and check it out!

I guess the rules are I have to share 7 things about myself and then pass this award on to 15 other Bloggers.  Here are mine:

1.)  I have PCOS and was told I'd never have children when I was only 16.

2.) I have a Master's in Mental Health Counseling and quit my job as a family therapist in March.

3.)  I'm pasty white but have just enough Native America/American Indian/Cherokee blood in me to not burn (but I don't tan either).

4.)  My parents divorced when I was 2; I lived with my dad until I was 15 then with my mom.

5.)  One of my best friends and I didn't particularly like each other in the first class we had together in undergrad.

6.)  That same friend is now one of the biggest assets in my life, and currently lives with us :)

7.)  I start each day with a Mountain Dew.  Don't judge!

I would like to pass this award along to the following Blogs (in 

1.)  The EcoChic at TheEcoChic.com

2.)  Lauren at hobomama.com

3.)  Christy at hisbooboos.blogspot.com

4.)  Karen at imitationofmary.blogspot.com

5.)  Melissa at homegrownfamilies.blogspot.com

6.)  Mandey at mamamandolin.blogspot.com

7.)  Crystal at biehladventures.blogspot.com

8.)  Hannah at mommysfirsts.blogspot.com

9.)  Emi at www.theclothdiaperreport.com

10.)  Dawn at mamamonkmee.blogspot.com

11.)  Ida at www.treeswillbend.com

12.)  Mommy of One at diaperadventures.blogspot.com

13.)  Joanna at babygatorsden.com

14.)  Heather at thetreehugginmomma.blogspot.com

15.)  Kerri at www.kmcconnellblog.com

That's all I have for the day :)  Squirmy and I are worn out from the pool and watching a Harry Potter Marathon with my housemate!  :)

This is one of those magically moments I get to experience on this journey of being a mommy.

NIP--WIN!!!

In light of the most recent controversy surrounding nursing in public (NIP), I figured I'd share a flip side of that coin.  Who am I kidding?!? I'm bursting at the seams to tell my tale and the negative media makes it that much more satisfying!!

Today my best friend and I decided to escape the FL heat by walking at the mall instead of dying outside.  We picked one of the bigger 2-story malls in the area thinking it'd give us more ground to cover.  This was all good in theory...  I should note that this mall is probably the swankiest mall in the area.  I did see a diaper bag for $120 and the most adorable outfit for Squirmy...so adorable that it was $56!!!  Moms with all too expensive strollers kept giving me and my Chicco Cortina dirty looks; Yes, I'm serious.  (Side note: we almost turned around and went to a different mall for all the cop cars and people standing around outside....until we realized it was the iPhone release day and the insanity was limited to just that entrance.)  Of course we couldn't manage to just walk the mall without shopping.  So I tried on some shirts, desperate to add something to my wardrobe that is flattering and accommodates this baby weight I'm working on.  No such luck.

So I'm feeling fat and "unworthy" when I felt my sugar start to crash.  We hadn't eaten before hand and it was well past 1:00pm.  So, off to the food court.  Nice little boost to my feeling fat thing :(  I'd fed Squirmy before we left the house, but we'd been gone awhile.  That in mind, I plowed the stroller through the impossibly crowded seating area in hopes of finding someplace where Squirmy and I would both be comfortable eating (and my friend, too).  I was about to give up hope in finding any of the more comfortable, booth style seating and just settle for the minimalistic, hard plastic chairs at the incredibly small, closed in tables.  Finally, at the FAR end, I found some seats that were comfortable for all of us and not too many people around.

I quickly polished off my meal while Squirmy sat on my lap smiling at his "aunt."  Before too long, as I expected, Squirmy started to fuss.  You know what I'm talking about...the "I'm letting you know...I'm not obnoxiously demanding just yet...but I'm letting you know" that goes on for about a split second before the real demands are voiced.  I looked around, gaging my "audience."  Sitting directly across from me was a well put together gentleman, probably in his 60s.  Great!  I decided to toss a blanket over my shoulder to keep from offending anyone too much, all the while worried that someone was going to say something to me :(  Once Squirmy was content doing his thing, I took the blanket down.  I was fully covered by my white nursing tank and white shirt.

Well someone did say something.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman trying to see what I was doing as she passed behind us.  I didn't really think much of it (figured I was being paranoid) until she reappeared on the other side of us.  She was clearly trying to catch my eye.  She was smiling so big and was giving me the thumbs up.  Her husband threw his hands over his head and applauded.  I blushed and got a bit choked up as I mouthed, "Thank you!" (I'm getting choked up typing this).  Their daughter was all confused, and the happy little family moved on.  My friend asked who the family was, assuming our interaction was based on previous encounters.  Nope, just an amazing family, doing something amazing for a first time mom who was doing her best to care for her son.

I'll probably never cross paths with that family, again (they looked about as out of place as we felt in that mall).  But, they will forever be in my heart.  Ironic how, on our way to the mall, my friend and I were talking about the impact strangers and their acts of kindness can have on someone else's life.

Thank you little family!!  I will be sure to pass along the kindness and encouragement you bestowed upon me the next time I see a mother nursing. :)

Google reader

So I know this is probably not news to most of you...but I just discovered google reader!  No more checking my blog a million times a day to see what's happening on my blog roll!!

That is all....  Goodnight!

Wordless Wednesday/Photo Challenge

Challenge: Friends!

Challenge: Talent (he's holding his toy by himself at 2.5 months)

HELP!! Leaky diapers...again

I was all excited about my GroBaby diapers when we first got them.  Since then the excitement has waned a bit. :(  We continue to have leak issues.  I never considered Squirmy a heavy wetter, but we've had our battles with finding sposies and cloth that don't leak every time we put them on.  I'll give you a leak here or there due to user error or just sheer tricks of nature (seriously, how can so much come out of someone so little?!?).  But certain sposies and certain cloth have leaked nearly continuously.  I was so hoping GroBaby wouldn't be one of them.  I love how cute they are and I love the hybrid ability for longer outings.

Someone out there MUST have some solution for me.  Please HELP!

Here's the deal.  Squirmy leaks pee out of the BACK of diapers!?!?  The back of the diapers are never wet, but the front is soaked and his clothes are wet in the back.  The only thing I have been able to figure is that he's overflowing the front area and it leaks up, out, and down around his waist.  He's done this consistently in Huggies newborn diapers, gDiapers, and now GroBaby dipes.

When the GroBaby dipes started leaking, I was chalking it up to not fully prepped diapers.  Now they've all been fully prepped and are still leaking.  If I put the extra soaker pad in they are really bulky and gapping in the front (he's skinny and long).

Today I put the diaper on him, played with him for about 30 min before he decided he was tired and wanted another nap.

I dressed him and put him down, only for him to wake 30min later.  When I picked him up, I knew why he hadn't slept very long...he was WET!

Please, please, please!  I don't want to give up on these :(

I'm a "published" writer!!

Check out my post on Knickernappies Blog!  :)

http://knickernappies.blogspot.com/2010/06/no-looking-back-new-mother-explains-how.html

Happy 1st Father's Day!!

Special bonus for NOT setting the patio/house/development on fire today :)

First Dip in the Pool

Well, today my little boy turned 3 months old.  It's so exciting and yet, I want him to stay small a little longer.  He's holding his head up well and can sit and play with toys on the couch.  He's in the 90-95th percentile for height, 20-50th percentile for weight, and 20th percentile for head circumference (25.5/26 inches long, 13.5 lbs, 16 inch circumference).  In short...he's a string bean!! It's exciting to see each new development and milestone, but a little part of me is sad that he's slowly gaining his independence one moment at a time.  Three months ago I didn't know I could love someone as much as I love my Squirmy.  Today I am amazed at how much more I love my husband and my son than I did 3 months ago.  My heart is bursting, though I know I'll love them both a little more each day.

Okay...enough of the gooshy stuff.  Today was also the first time we took Squirmy to the pool!!  We have a pool in our development but hadn't made it there with him just yet.  He wasn't too sure about it, but seemed to have a good time.  He was a little miffed that it interrupted his cluster nursing and nap time (had to get out there before the sun got too bright).  Though I think my smile was brighter than the sun could ever be!!

Episencial Playful Foaming Wash & Pocket Charlies Review--And Eco Mom GC giveaway!

Since starting my green journey, my goal has been to find ways to incorporate a green lifestyle without making things overly complicated for my husband or me.  I may not be the greenest or healthiest person on the planet, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.  EcoMom's website says, "Healthy living doesn't have to be overwhelming.  Small steps matter, and make a big difference."  Suffice to say, I was intrigued almost immediately.  :)

The website goes on to state, "Founded to address the connection between the health of our environment & the health of our children, EcoMom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, & rewarding with education, support, tools & products."  Sounds like a perfect match for me!

Recently EcoMom sent me Episencial Playful Foaming Wash and Pocket Charlies to review.  I was so excited to do my first product review, especially for a company that matched my ideals!...added bonus, EcoMom is giving away a $20 gift certificate to one of my readers!!

I was in the middle of making dinner one night when Squirmy spit up all over himself.  So I took his clothes off and continued making dinner.  Hubby comes in with the mail (and EcoMom's package).  I was excited to dig in, but had to finish dinner first.  Hubby went to pick up Squirmy to discover he was soaked in more spit up!  I mean soaked.  This kid NEVER spits up.  So Hubby is standing there hold him at arms length while I tear through the house collecting bath time stuff...good a time as any to try out new soap!!  Enter Episencial Playful Foaming Wash!

I was a little nervous trying a new product given everyone I know has only ever used the leading name brand baby wash...until this night, so had I.  But the product boasts a more natural formula:

• Won't irritate eyes or sensitive places. Rinses off fast!
• Gentle and hydrating cleanser using thyme oil and plant-based surfactants. Sulfate free!
• Fragrance free. Organic orange extract is our mild and fresh scent.
• Organic ginko biloba and calendula extract to sooth the skin
• Organic aloe and soothing oat extract to moisturize naturally.

Sounded better to me!!  I like that it really was as sensitive as promised!  Squirmy didn't seem to notice a difference, which was great by my book.  The light orange scent was pleasant but not overwhelming.  I loved that it was way more natural and eco-friendly!

Classic Squirmy face as we got things started!

My little model posing for the camera.

Just being silly (but you can see the foaming aspect of the soap)

So I LOVE that it's eco friendly and infant safe and all sorts of wonderful!  I think the only "downside" is that he smells of a lovely, natural orange scent instead of the chemical, "clean baby" smell we've been acculturated into recognizing!  You can buy it for $8.99 which is about the same as it's popular, chemical counterpart.  So for me, why would I spend the $$ on chemicals when I can get this great product instead?!?

The next product EcoMom sent was Pocket Charlies.  I have to admit my stain fighting methods aren't exactly green nor economical: if it doesn't wash out after a few runs through the laundry, I cut my losses, toss it and replace it.  I know, I know...but I'm too impatient to try to get stains out.  So I was anxious to try Pocket Charlies.  My roommate helped me out with this one.  She'd recently nicked herself shaving (hate it when I do that) and had lovely brown stains on her yellow sheets to show for it.  The stain was certainly dry, but not terribly old.

She sprayed some Pocket Charlies on it,

rubbed it in, then tossed it in the wash.

We have a favorite hand towel that we got shortly after getting married with our name monogrammed below a Mickey Mouse design.  We got it to commemorate the annual passes Hubby got us as part of my wedding present.  Not exactly something I can toss and replace.  Because it's our favorite hand towel to put in our half bath (the only bath on the main level), it gets used A LOT!  The part where you dry your hands has gotten this nasty dirty tinge to it.  GROSS!!  EcoMom's description of Pocket Charlies says, "Give Charlie's Soap a little extra time as it was meant to gently remove stains - not blast them off."  I figured it was worth a shot.  I taped off half of the hand towel to see if I could notice a difference.

This is the before shot.  I sprayed to the right of the tape, rubbed it in, and tossed it in the wash.

This was the after shot.  It might be kind of hard to tell, but the right side is a bit lighter.

So not the whooping, dramatic difference I was hoping for, but definitely a difference.  It does say to give it time and there was a difference.  I'll spray it each time I wash it and hopefully it will turn white again :)

The biggest drawback to me was the scent.  It smells like you're spraying your laundry with windex/ammonia. NOT what I want my laundry to smell like.  I could smell it on my other clothes when I pulled this load out and put them in the dryer, but by the time the dryer was done the smell was almost gone.  Even with the scent set back, I'm all about using it to get stains out of my laundry from now on!!

So now that I'm sold on all these wonderful eco-friendly baby products from EcoMom I was starting to wonder about the cost and shipping and all of that.  Enter in the EcoPass!!  With the EcoPass you get 15% off all your orders, free shipping on all your orders (no matter how big or small), and get exclusive offers and promotions.  Bonus, if you order it before the end of the month (June 30), you'll get a $50 gift card to EcoMom.  The EcoPass is for a year and costs $99.  With all the Episencial products, Plum Organic foods, and everything else, that's a amazing deal.  Plus you never have to leave the house (which is always better for me since it's a production to get out of the door some days).

SOOOOO....Here's the part you've been waiting for....what's in it for you?!?

All readers get a 15% DISCOUNT on orders placed before July 30, 2010 when you use the code SBBL408.  So go grab all your Eco-friendly baby products at www.ecomom.com and save $$ in the process!!

********CLOSED********

*While these products were provided to me free of charge, I was not compensated for this review.  The opinions expressed here are honest and my own.

Kerri McConnell Photography

Through the luck of the universe, my path crossed with that of Kerri McConnell about a year ago.  We became fast friends because she's just amazing!!  She loves life, always has a smile, and can always make me laugh...even when life gets rough.  Come to find out, not only is she an amazing person, but an incredible photographer!!

I so wish I had known her before we got married, but alas, I did not.  :(  Instead we had her shoot our maternity photos (opted for these instead of a 4-D ultrasound) and Squirmy's infant shots.  For our maternity shots, she took us out and we had a wonderful afternoon playing and laughing.  Hubby and I are terrible with photos, but you'd never know by her pictures.  Here's a sampling of the beautiful shots of our last days as a couple.

Fast Forward a month and a half....

"Aunt Kiki" came by to meet our little Squirmy when he was just 6 days old!  She asked for a sleepy baby, but our bright eyed Squirmy would not comply.  :)  She captured his incredible personality and his sweet newborn look.  (I still can't believe this was 3 months ago, already.)

Lastly, I offer a couple of pictures of our family in it's first days as a family of 3 (or 4 as our furbaby would have you know).  Can I just say that my heart is bursting looking at these wonderful photos?!?  I'm immeasurably thankful that Kerri was able to capture such heartwarming moments for us to look back on for years to come.

If you need a photographer, take a look at www.kmcconnellblog.com!!

Wordless Wednesday/Photo Challenge

GroBaby already rocks my world!!

In our cloth diapering quest, I wanted to find a hybrid diaper.  I love my cloth, and I do use cloth for short trips out of the house.  For long days out of the house we were still using sposies,  Just something about carrying around a day's worth of wet, gooey diapers while hot as can be with a million tourists around you at Disney just didn't appeal to us.  Though a hot day with a non-breathable diaper against Squirmy's toosh isn't exactly what I wanted either.  And then there's the leaking issue with sposies (they leaked more often than our cloth does).  Image A:

Notice the awkward way I'm holding Squirmy...okay so it's not totally obvious in the picture, but I was.  While waiting in line to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time, Hubby sudden says, "Ut oh!"  Sure enough, Squirmy's pants had a nice wet spot in the back (Thankfully BF poo and khaki pants are a good color match!).  It was all we could do to hold him a few more minutes and try to keep the mess off our clothes (he may have had a change of clothes waiting in the stroller, but we didn't).  But I digress...


There's my long winded version of our dilemma.  I had a couple of mom's tell me about gDiapers.  Sounded promising and we could buy them with left over gift cards at Babies R Us.  I was excited about getting a hybrid diaper for days just as described above.  After a couple of weeks, we gave up and determined gDiapers weren't for us.  I sold them to a friend who was dying to try them.


My paypal account sat with money to burn right as GroBaby was rebranding to GroVia.  I was able to get 5 GroBaby diapers for a STEAL, PLUS a box of Bio Soakers thrown in!!  SCORE!!  I tracked my 2 shipments like a mad woman and was down right giddy each day they arrived!  Now the part I *hate* about cloth diapering is getting amazing fluff mail and having to wait several days (wash cycles) for them to be ready to use.  Though truth be told, I haven't prepped a diaper a single diaper the 5-7 times suggested.  How could you not get excited when these were in the mix?!?

The first day, I mistimed my laundry (AGAIN) and ran out of diapers before the wash/dry was done.  Before adding my GroBaby dipes I only had 24 hours of cloth.  I'd been using our leftover sposies for such failures on my part.  BUT!  I had new Bio Soakers and GroBaby shells to try out!  So I slapped one on Squirmy as we waited for the dryer to finish.  Turns out this was a night Squirmy fell asleep in our arms and didn't wake up when we went to bed.  I was so nervous about having an untested diaper on him overnight.  Granted he really doesn't go much at night; he saves it up for the morning and blows through several diapers in a matter of hours.  Still I was super nervous, but waking him to change his diaper seemed beyond reasonable.


We woke up the next morning to a dry baby and a successfully wet Bio Soaker!!  I was so happily surprised!  I was cautiously optimistic that we'd found our hybrid solution.  Just had to wait for the cloth soakers to be prepped and ready to test...


I gave up waiting after they'd been washed twice...shhh...don't tell!!  Let me just say, they're AMAZING!  Even my hubby, who was cautious about non-AIOs, loves them.  We did have one poo that managed to not stay completely on the soaker pad, but the shell caught it all!


I'm so glad I've got these in my stash and can't wait to get them into the regular rotation!  I think I'm even more excited to have an eco-friendly, chemical free solution for our long days out and trips to Disney!!

Conveniently Crunchy

So I've seen this term "crunchy" thrown around a bit.  I wasn't really sure what that was all about.  A friend of mine enlightened me...  Apparently being "crunchy" is living life naturally and subscribing to ideals that have been abandoned in our modern society.  There's quite the spectrum, apparently.  My friend said she's at one end of the spectrum: she cloth diapers part time.  Though no one I know IRL or online is at the other end of the spectrum of lotus births and such.  Through our conversation we dubbed me "conveniently crunchy."  I ascribe to many so-called crunchy practices, but only as I seem them convenient (but then that's probably true of all of us on this spectrum).

Ways I am "crunchy"

• I exclusively breastfeed and don't hesitate to feed in public, in large gatherings, or even at dinner (whether in or out)...most public nursing experience was while waiting in a packed crowd at Disney
• I cloth diaper...started for financial reasons and foot print, continued for health/ecological reasons
• We're seriously considering homeschooling (with a state that is ranked something like 48th nationally and a budget that won't allow private schooling, what options do we really have?)
• We coslept for the first month and I cosleep half the night (he starts the night in his bassinet right by the bed and joins us in bed after his first feeding)
• We recycle
• We use reusable shopping bags (and have for a few years now)
• We try our best to live as ecologically friendly as we can
• I baby wear when we go out and sometimes to do chores around the house

Ways I'm not "crunchy"

• I had a hospital birth with an OB (a c-section at that)
• I fully plan to birth future children at the hospital
• My husband cut the cord :)
• I use a dryer for all our clothes and diapers
• I don't baby wear 24/7 nor use a sling or wrap

I'm sure there's more to add to either list.  I'm proud of the way I'm raising Squirmy and if that makes me "crunchy" so be it!!  :)

Hot Car Seat solutions?!?

I'm hoping some moms out there can help.  Squirmy is still in his Chicco cortina KeyFit carrier car seat/ stroller system thingy.  I do my best to keep the car as cool as possible in the awful record heat in FL.  I keep a sun shade up when we're out, keep the car seat inside even if he's not in the seat, turn on the car before I put him in, and keep the a/c BLASTING (not very green and it's killing my gas mileage).  I dress him coolly and have given up on socks and/or shoes (I love having him dressed to the Ts when we go out).  He does much better in the car if he's swaddled (via SwaddleMe cloths...love them!).  I've started leaving his feet out and just swaddling his arms in the light cotton SwaddleMe.  If I don't swaddle him his moro reflex startles him too much with stop and go and he cries the whole time...which makes him hotter.

And yet...I still pull out a sweating baby EVERY time :(  I'm afraid to swaddle his arms to make him hotter, but if I don't he fusses and makes himself even MORE sweaty.  At home he's not a typically warm baby.  In fact, at night he wears warm sleepers, gets swaddled in a fleece SwaddleMe, and dons a hat....and never sweats.

Does anyone have any tips to keep our boy cool in the car?

Sposie fail :(

When I originally switched to cloth diapers my list of reasons looked like this... 1) Save money, and 2) save the planet.  I know there are a million other reasons to switch, but that was my list.  Soon after I added 3) less diaper rash.

Today I add another to my personal list of why I cloth diaper...4) Less chemicals against my son's skin!

I have about 24 hours worth of cloth diapers.  I have to time it just right to make sure I wash as many at a time as I can and still have enough to get me through until the whole washing/drying process is complete.  Well...I mistimed that today :(  I ran out of clean cloth and had to use one of our remaining sposies.

Squirmy was in the diaper for about an hour.  When I went to change him, I could not believe what I saw.  His entire butt was bright red :(  I felt so bad for him.  It wasn't like diaper rash red, but it was definitely darker than just skin creases from being pressed up against it.  My heart broke and I vowed to do my best to keep his skin only against the best!  I'll be sticking to my bumGenius diapers for now.  My Gro baby diapers should be coming over the next couple of days!!  I really hope my Gro baby diapers are my hybrid solution for long trips away from home!!

Mommy and Me...Fever addition :(

So I started feeling cruddy the other night.  My throat got all dry and icky and I tried to chalk it up to scooping the litter boxes and the dust I inhaled in the process.  But it didn't go away....

That night Hubby and Squirmy both tossed and turned.  They were both asleep the whole time, but both being loud and clearly uncomfortable.  Thus, I was up!  My throat got worse and worse and I tried to chalk it up to not being able to sleep.  But it didn't go away....

Yesterday I felt miserable when I got up.  I tried to play it off as feeling off from not getting any sleep, but my throat hurt too bad and I was too miserable.  I was sick!  :(  I was hoping Squirmy would get all my antibodies through my milk and he'd be just fine...praying and hoping and crossing my fingers.  But the fact that he had, uncharacteristically, tossed and turned the night before stuck in my mind.  By early evening I had a fever and his temperature was rising.  I called the ped and he told me to give him Tylenol if it got over 100 and to call him back if it reached 102.  Sure enough, next diaper change his temp was over 100.  Poor little guy!  A round of Tylenol (generic, I promise it's safe) brought his temperature back down.  I gave him another dose at bedtime just to make sure he got a good night's sleep.

Today we've been hanging out on the couch, just resting.  He had me up at 5am and I couldn't get back to sleep, partially because I had to take my best friend back to the airport this morning (so going to miss her).  His temperature has stayed down, but my great-aunt told me to watch it as the afternoon/evening progresses. Apparently the late afternoon/evening is when temperatures start going up.  So far today my little guy has just nursed and slept.  I'm glad he's nursing, at least.  Don't need him getting dehydrated.  I'm drinking as much juice as I can (water makes me gag when I'm sick) so I stay hydrated for him.  When he's awake, he's happy and his normal smiling self...just looks worn out and goes back to sleep quickly.

I'm hoping tomorrow brings a happier, healthier day for both of us!

One year ago today

One year ago today my nephew was born.  I was in the middle of fertility treatment that hadn't been working.  I was so frustrated and defeated.  Actually, I had given up on my fertility specialist (reproductive endocrinologist--RE) and had an appointment scheduled with a new RE on the high recommendation of a friend who was fighting a similar battle.

This day last year I was cursing my body for bleeding and begging a nurse to find me a tampon because we were at the hospital much longer than anticipated.  Then I called my mom to pick up my Femara from the pharmacy before they closed.  She knew it was a drug from the RE but didn't know what it did or why (Femara is a cancer drug for post menopausal women that is used to help women ovulate).  Don't think I ever paid her back for that.....Don't think she cares much.... :)  It would still be another month until I ovulated and a couple of weeks after that before I thought to test (thought I hadn't ovulated and was using progesterone cream to hold off my period until I saw the new RE).

Kind of crazy!