What not to SAY to a new mom

I have been a mother for a little over three years now, four if you count pregnancy. Over the years I have encountered quite a few odd/annoying comments. I often think to myself "what are people thinking," and "how on earth do they find that helpful?"
Of course I realize that new mothers (or moms in general) can be a bit hormonal, first time moms admit later  to being a bit crazy and tend to over react. However, the general population of this great country need to realize that they are NOT helping.
So let me help you say they right thing, trust me that new mom you see in walmart will thank me.

 You look tired, baby keeping you up?- Someone said this to me when L was a few weeks old, I wanted to throat punch her. I had been feeling great, I left the store crying. Seriously this is just plain rude, and never ok to say to a new mom (or anyone for that matter).

 Is she sleeping through the night yet? I realize that your grown child, or your mothers uncles wifes sons bff slept through that night from birth and is the most perfect baby, mine however is not. Do you really want to hear about the poopplosion she had last night that got all over her, mr, me, and the cat? No, I didn't think so.

You're NOT breast feeding?- Guess what, not ever woman in the world can/wants to bf. We KNOW that breast is best. You however do not know the struggles we have had with it. Please stop asking about our boobs, or we might start asking about yours.

You're STILL breast feeding?- Our bodies were meant to do this you know. Sweet baby Jesus was not fed a bottle of similac. *gasp* Our (meaning mine and my husbands) baby, our (meaning not you) choice. Once again, please stop talking about our boobs, next time we'll squirt milk at you.

Well, I (fill in blank here) did this when (fill in the blank here), they turned out just fine.- Yes, but think of all the babies who did die from not being in a carseat and from sleeping with a blanket over their heads. I totally realize that your mother told you to that water was ok for a newborn to drink, me though I would rather not drown my baby.

Don't hold her to much you'll spoil her.-  God designed infants to completely rely on their mothers 110% of the time, how silly of us mothers to think that the crying baby wants to be held by us.

Her fingers are in her mouth/ she is crying/ look at her wiggle she MUST be hungry.- It's my job to know when my baby is hungry, I'm really good at it. I'll take care of it and don't need your help. If I have a newborn we are just getting to know each other, please let us figure it out. If we need your help, we will ask! Otherwise be helpful and go wash some dishes, or hold the baby so I can shower for the first time in three days.

She is so fussy, must be teething.- I was once told to pop my baby's tooth out with a popsicle stick, I hope you can see why I am weary of teething advice. Some times babies cry, some times babies have cranky days, (don't we all?) not every cry can be attributed to teething. If baby is teething, give us a hug we need it.

She looks just like her dad!- This happens to me all the time, "Oh she looks just like Mr, spitting image!" Um really?  Right, because I didn't carry her for nine months, my skin tearing apart, losing my ability to breath. I'm the one to went through labor, ME! The least you could say is that my kid looks a little like me. Thanks

I really hope this helps you next time you talk to a new mom. Remember you can never go wrong with "Your baby is so beautiful!"

Coming soon- What NOT to say to a parent of a toddler, and You are NOT a parent, you don't get it.
As always I LOVE comments and followers. Go ahead, pin this, share this, tweet about it, I really wont mind.

Cloth diaper rant part 5: Where to buy?

So sorry it has taken so long to finish all these CD posts!

So I want to finish my cloth diaper rants with where to buy (that is until next year :)  First CD stores are popping up all over the country (I would really LOVE to open one up myself... ahh dreams.) So be sure to google ones in your area.

Websites NEW
Cottonbabies- My favorite website to order from, this is a christian company, they even have grants for overseas missionaries! Cotton babies are the makers of Bum Genius (by far the most popular CD), Flips (What I mostly use), and Econobums.

Jillians Drawers- They are out of New York, and if you are local you can stop buy and visit them.
Nickis Dipers- Also the maker of Best bottoms.
Green mountain Dipers- This is a great place to buy prefolds! (also another Christian company)
Kellys Closet- Here you can earn reward points for your orders and receive free diapers!
Diperjunction- They have pretty good deals, especially around black Friday!
sunbaby diapers- These diapers have a pretty good review at a great price, they are however from China and do take a while to ship.
hyena cart- This site provides lots of WAHM diapers (work at home mom's), always check the reviews of the seller!
Swaddlebees- Where you can buy swaddlebee/blueberry diaper products.
etsy- Etsy also has lots of WAHM diapers.
abbyslane
sloomb- Popular place to buy fitteds.
fluffenvy- Rewards program!
happybabycompany- Free shipping in orders over $35.
diaperpin- Check here for weekly deals.



USED
Another great way to save money when you CD is buying used. In fact, I got a great deal when I was building my stash for L.
ebay- I have bought most of my used CD's from ebay. I really enjoy getting the best deal possible and have done pretty well. For me I only buy from America, from what I have heard the one's from China are quite cheap and well, you get what you pay for. Always look up the going rate for the diaper, and always count in shipping. Don't forget to check the sellers reviews!
diaperswappers- This site has a great forum!
craigslist- Just don't buy from the craigslist killer ;)

Places like Cottonbabies and Swaddlebees will also post up diapers that are seconds. Meaning they might have been apart of a diaper program and were returned, or they are slightly defected.

The bump Cloth Diaper Board- Is a great place to ask questions, just make sure to read the Faqs at the top before you ask one.


As always you can email me here if you have any questions, or find me on facebook! Comments are WONDERFUL.

It never fails... nap time woes

Today while getting the girls to nap I had an idea about a weekly post called "It never fails." Basically, they will be about the things that drive me crazy with parenting/homemaking/being a wife. I need something creative to call it so we'll see about that. Anywho, here is this weeks "It never fails..."









The only way to have a successful nap through out the day is if I lay down with BOTH the girls at the same time. Usually L is to my right at the "buffet," while A is on my right side literally almost on top of me. Its normally quite the ordeal to get them to sleep, I mean most of the time I even wonder why I even do nap time at all. L is pretty easy, as long as I let her hold my hand and rub her face a litter, she is normally asleep with in ten minutes. Some times if she is not ready she will talk a little, if she does that I let her be and wait for the "rubbing eyes out" cue.

A however like always is quite the project. The talking, oh the talking, the kid talks herself to sleep. She wiggles incesivly and does not stop making noises. It use to stress me out some because the noises and the moving makes my eyes start to twitch... Somedays it takes me an hour to get her to sleep (indcluding 7 rounds of the "Go to sleep" song, then somedays she doesn't go to sleep at all. Those are the days when I go for a second cup of coffee. (It makes me a better mom, more on that another day.)

So today it only took Addy about a half hour to fall asleep. I was nestled between two sleeping beauties, laying between them is the most peaceful environment ever. It makes the work of nap time so worth it. There I was thinking about what I was going to make for dinner when I heard it. The low throat growl of our ferocious pekapom Max.  I lay there frozen for a moment thinking, if I don't breath maybe he'll stop. Nope. Of course not, he gets a little louder, I try a quiet whisper "max," unfortunately he has learned the art of selective hearing (I blame Mr.). His growls turn into a full blown bark, I try again to quietly get him to stop he or course keeps ignoring me. I succumb to having to raise my voice just above speaking voice "Ma please." Nope. My pleading does nothing. "MAX SHUT IT." Success, he stops. Failure, both girls wake up and it takes me another ten minutes to get them to sleep.

It never fails that as soon as the kids fall asleep the dog starts barking at a piece or dust flying through the air.

Would you like an apron with those heels?

I am starting to get the hang of this sewing thing. I honestly thought it would be another phase or pipe dream of mine, however it has become one of my favorite things to do. Since I still have a ton of left fabric from the Christmas stockings, I decided to make my self an apron. Then I thought of my little helper who drags her potty seat (she doesnt actually go potty in it anymore, just to clarify) over to the counter every time I am making something.
"Can I help?" "Can I mix it?"- Sometimes she drives me crazy with it, escspially if I need to make something quick, but I think it is important to let her try things so more often then not I have a pound of sugar on the floor (or chocolate milk...).
I decided that I could make A and I matching aprons, I mean what little girl doesn't love to match her mama? I am going to give it to her for Christmas, and can't wait to see her face when she realizes that we match!

Pretty cute huh?
Since I am now famous for my tutorials I am going to make one (with pictures) when I make my own apron which should be some time this week.

Can I just say look at those skills! I even made a POCKET! Go me!

Pretty much I am famous.

A few weeks ago I decided to bring out my sewing machine and get creative. I had a TON of fabric that I had originally bought for curtains that were going to hang in the apartment we lived in before we moved into this house. Needless to say like many things, they never got done, so I decided to try to make Christmas stockings! Since we have been married (coming up on four years!) we have always had cheesey stockings from walmart, or Christmas tree shop. I decided it would be nice if we could all have coordinating stockings, ecspecially since this is our first Christmas out of the apartment life. I ended up making four stockings for us! I'm pretty proud of how they came out, since I made the pattern myself. Just like I do with a lot of my crafts I shared it with my online mom group, that is when Jennifer a popular blogger asked me to do a guest blog and write a tutorial on how I made them.

Let me tell you, it is NOT that easy to type up step by step on how you make something. Of course I had serious writers block... anyway she put the tutorial up in her blog. So there you go, I am famous. :) You can find the post on Jennifer's blog at AKAthewife, check out her other stuff too! She is pretty crafty and has beautiful baby!

Yes I am alive.

It's been a while!

Who knew that having two kids could leave me so busy?

I am going to try an update this once a week, probably sometime in the weekend. After all how can I get paid millions of dollars for my whitty writing if I don't actually write?

So here is where we are at. L is five months now (getting close to six), time seems to just be flying by. In a month and a few days A will be 3 years old! Since I was sure that we would never actually make it out of the terrible two's this is really quite the milestone. Also I have a birthday coming up, super close, two close. I'm sure you'll do a huge *eye role* when you realize I am turning 24, but I'm pretty sure I never saw myself living past 21, so any time past that is a strange new reality. It's the last year before my mid twentys, to me it's the last year before *real* adulthood (does that even exist?)

Ok enough on the "like omigoshI'msofreakenold."

L is really coming into her own personality, the middle name Joy really seems to fit her. She is easy going, and has a pretty hilarious sense of humor. Finally she discovered the fine art of rolling, she tends to get herself stuck underthings and will yell until we fix her. Daddy always makes her smile, mama does too, but A certainly gets the most smiles and laughs. L loves her sister so much, is amazing to see the bond and attachment forming between them. L's favorite thing right now is her jumperoo, I was pretty nervous when I bout it since A hated anything like that. I guess that is what I get for thinking that they would be anything alike! A few weeks ago L started to shows signs of being ready for solid food, she stopped sleeping through the night, was mesmerized by our food, and would try to bat at our hands and food while we were eating. So we started her on a few simple purees, and to be frank she pretty much hates them. I'm not sure if it is the texture, the different tastes, or just that she is not ready. So for now we are holding off on them. (Oh and she is sttn again so no worries there!) Another thing, she seems to have some sort of food sensitivity, I went on an elimination diet and I am pretty sure she has issues with dairy. Do you know how hard it is for me to not have dairy? From the time I was little I remember my grandmother calling me the cheese queen. *sigh* the sacrifices we make for our kids!

I am convinced that A is absolutely brilliant. I know that all moms think that they have the next Einstein, but A is really smart. Her vocabulary astounds me, and he imagination is just amazing. I really believe God has big plans for this kid. Anyway, she is potty trained (yay), and is pretty excited for Christmas. We really want to instill giving and humility in her, so we are trying to think of some ways to have her give back. She currently loves her baby dolls, play dough, and of course her best friend Max (our dog). She'll take his toy and make him chase her around the house. Most days she shuts him in her room, I'm not sure what goes on in there, I hear tons of giggles and him running around like a loon. As much as we complain about him, I am pretty thankful he is hear to give her a moment of entertainment. Did I mention that A loves to do yoga with me? It's pretty cute to see him in downward facing dog and cobra, maybe it will help her calm down a bit.

I can't forget about J! His job has slowed down a town, it's been nice to have him home earlier. Recently under the direction of the youth pastor he is preaching for the Sunday morning teen service (and doing worship too!) We are pretty excited to see where God is bringing us. He is also taking another class this semester, its nice to seem him excited and learning about things that he loves.

I am really truly blessed by this family. How wonderful it is to be the mama of this group!

Cloth Diaper rant Part 4: Washing and Caring for...

Many people care for cloth diapers in different ways. I am trying to cover most of those ways and then add in what I do.

Washing and Caring for
This is probably the part you worry about the most, washing! Have no fear, if you have ever washed clothes before, you can wash diapers! Some people wash every day (I think they are crazy and wasting water...) Some ever other day, and others on the third day. I would not wait until after the third day because you may be dealing with some stank issues after that!
 Prepping
If baby is being breastfed or bottle fed with out solids then you just put your diaper in the wet bag (or pail) with out rinsing. The waste disolves in the washer. Once baby is on solids you can either hook a spray up to the toilet and spray the waste off, or you can "plop" it in (depending on the waste of course), or some people scrap it in (which icks me out.) After scraping or plopping the diaper should be swished in the toilet. I should note that some people soak the diapers in the toilet, this seems REALLY yucky to me but I guess it is personal preference.
 Washing
When you are ready to wash simply take the bag or liner to your washing machine and start a pre wash in cold. Prewashing gets all the waste and wet out so your diapers are not actually washing in it. When the prewash is done wash the diapers on HOT (this disinfects) at the highest water lever. You want the highest water level so you can get the most soap at as possible. Add detergent (make sure the detergent is CD safe, that post is coming soon), and let the diapers complete the cycle. Many people do one to two extra spins and rinses to get all of the soap out.
Drying- When I say line dry it can be indoor or out.
 Some people strictly line dry, others only dry in the dryer. I recommend reading the caring instruction's that come with your diapers.
Prefolds, fitteds, inserts- All can be dried in the dryer, but beware of shrinking! (they will shrink its a fact of life.) They can also be hung on a rack or on a line to dry, once dry you can fluff them in the dryer to make them nice and soft for baby!
AIO- I find most people who use AIO's line dry for most of the time then finish drying in the dryer.
Some who just use the dryer for them find that they need to go in for a second cycle.
Covers, Pocket Shells- Most line dry these, as they dry very quickly and last a lot longer if they don't see the dryer often. How ever, they do need to be put in the dryer every so often to reseal the lining. This helps keep them water proof.
Wet bags- They can be either line dried or be put in the dryer.

 Sometimes because of weather or time the dryer is just the best choice.

Stains
 Poop=stains need I say more? The best way to get stains out is to hang or lay in direct sun light. 98% of the time the stains come out. (If you live in a snowy area like NH a window works fine.)