My cloth diaper stash :)

For some reason, I just felt like taking a pic of my stash. This isn't everything; there are a few in the wash, and, as always, a few more on the way ;)

Up top are my prefolds, Flip organics, and 4 grovias

To the left, night-time diapers. From top: Bummis Bamboozle stretch fitted, Spicy Kolache fitted tester, Summer Sky Bamboo fitted, The Giving Tree fitted tester

Top row, brand name diapers: Babykicks, two Drybees, Kawaii

Middle Row, WAHMs: Bunkyfluff tester, Summer Sky Bamboo, Full Tilt tester, Two Anna Banana's

Last row: from-swap pink, from-swap owls, Kissaluv fitted, from swap pink fitted

Right column, covers: two Baby Beehinds, Blueberry, Flip.

 I love my cloth! I want more, and more, and more! They are so cute. I seriously never thought I could ever say that I enjoy diaper changes. You just don't get the same kind of love from 'sposies. These make every diaper change an exciting experience.

Ahh, the beauties of babywearing!

Oh, how I wish I had known about babywearing when Isaiah was a baby. That poor kid was so insecure (because of his hospital experience, but that's another story...) that I could never put him down. Ever. For any reason. And nobody else could hold him either. Not even his daddy, usually. So I had to hold him, in my arms, and walk about trying to clean and cook and what-not. Ask any mama who's ever done it; it's no easy feat! My poor aching arms never got a break.

This time around, I am fortunate enough to part of a very loving and knowledgeable community of babywearers on BBC, and have learned the benefits of babywearing. This is for when you are staying around the house and your baby is fussy, or possibly just being high-maintenence for no other reason than because she's a girl (le sigh). Put that sweet little needy baby in a ring-sling or a mei tai and you are virtually hands-free. You can do whatever you need to, and usually your baby will go to sleep. We use it when Rosy's teething or back when she was colicky. It always worked like a charm.

Babywearing is also great when you are out-and-about. I keep a couple of RSs in my car, so I can take her in and wear her whenever we go shopping or run errands. I absolutely hate to see babies lugged around in carseats and strollers all day, and I personally feel that a baby needs to be close to it's mama to help form the secure attachment that all babies need, along with breastfeeding and co-sleeping. So anywhere we go, Rosy rides along on mama! She gets to see the world from our point-of-view, and also gets to lay her head down and go to sleep if she so chooses.

Anyone expecting a baby, or know someone who is expecting, I highly urge you to check into babywearing. The lovely mamas at BBC would be more than willing to answer questions and direct you as needed. I just recently gave my friend a Sleeping Baby Productions ring sling for her little girl (just born days ago!), and hope to help her learn of the joys of having her precious little one near her always, and also be able to continue with her daily life with both hands!

(And here's one of Isaiah wearing his puppy, just because he's so stinkin' cute!)

Summer Sky Bamboo: A Review

 So, I have found a brand new favorite in the world of WAHMs. Her name is Cheri, and her store is Summer Sky Bamboo. She is on Hyena Cart. I must say, I kinda wish ALL my diapers were made by her! She has fantastic prints, in woven, knit, and minky fabrics. She uses bamboo velour (BV) and bamboo fleece (BF), so her diapers are sooooo absorbent, not to mention squishy-soft. I love knowing that I am putting silky smooth BV against Rosy's most sensitive skin.
I get all of mine without snaps, as I have found I get a better fit with fitteds if I can adjust them myself.
Did I mention, they make excellent night-time diapers? Miss Autumn Rose-Marie has not leaked out of any of these diapers AT ALL! Not even once! I have three so far, but plan on getting more, as they are so terrific. I have a custom-made Winter Ooga fitted. It has a snap-in BV soaker, as well as a BV (with 3 layers of BF inside) prefold-type deal that I  can trifold and put on top of the soaker, to add extra absorbency.

 I also have this owl fitted. It has a snap in BV prefold, so I just snap it in the back of the diaper, and trifold it (sometimes around a home-made booster), and it's ready to go. Also an excellent night-time diaper. And the owls are so cute!!



And, of course, y'all need a super-cute pic of my baby girl wearing her owl dipe, with a snappi. I don't use a Snappi with them anymore, since I don't really like the way they pull the diaper out of shape. I only use pins on my SSB dipes.

I really and truly love 

my SSB diapers, and will probably work on replacing most of my Bumgenuis diapers with these. I am super-happy with Cheri's customer service, and awesome, quality materials. I will be recommending her to everyone, with the very highest praises. Thanks for the excellent diapers, Cheri!

Spicy Kolache: Review

 I bought a gorgeous Ooga fitted tester dipe from Spicy Kolache a couple of weeks ago. Here is my review:

First of all, just let me say that the customer service is sensational! This is one sweet mama, and she will help you in any way she can. She answered my questions promptly, and tried to accommodate me when I asked about other prints. Unfortunately, her store really is in the newborn stages right now, so her selection is limited. I'm sure this is only temporary, though, and that she will be doing much more business in the near future, because the diapers are wonderful! For a fitted, this diaper was not very bulky like I had expected it to be. It was quite absorbent, though, after a couple of washings. I will say, I did not think it very absorbent at first, but that was just because it needed a little more prepping. Two hot water washes with a little detergent, and a few hot water rinses, and it was much better. It is super-squishy soft, and also very stretchy, which for me is a must in any diaper to get a proper fit. The tabs could be just a little longer/wider, in my opinion, but that may be changing. I do not use a Snappi on this diaper, because I did not like the way it all caved in on itself, so I will definitely be using pins. From what I understand, though, she will be offering snaps soon.

We just used this diaper over-night for the the first time last night, and I must say, it performed even better than I had hoped. I used: a Flip cover, this diaper, a Thirsties hemp insert, and my very own double-thick microfleece stay-dry liner. She slept in this for about 12 hours (I know, right!?), and it never leaked one bit. Her skin was still mostly dry, and the very outside of the ooga dipe was only slightly damp.

So if you are looking for a new fitted to try, please give this WAHM a shot. You won't be disappointed. All in all, I would definitely buy from this mama again!

WAHM

So I have just recently entered into the world of WAHM-made diapers. What is WAHM, you may ask. Why, it stands for Work-At-Home-Mom, of course!! Mama's such as myself, who are home with their children all day, cleaning their house, and basically NOT going to work outside the home, because they want to spend as much time as possible raising and loving their children. Of course, speaking from experience, we could use some extra supplemental income, for things like gas, taking the kids out to lunch, and fun stuff (like diapers!). So what's a mom to do? Open a business!
I am a member of BBC community and have found that a lot of mamas make diapers and wipes and baby carriers and so on, and that they tend to be of exceptional quality. So far, since deciding to cloth diaper Rosy, I have just been going to Kelly's Closet to order diapers from big-name companies, such as BumGenuis and GroVia (both of which I still love!), but now I am delving into a whole new experience. 
I just received my very first WAHM-made fitted diaper from Anna at Spicy Kolache, and even though I haven't used it yet, I am in love! Yes, I realize that being in love with a poo-catcher may seem a bit strange, but if you've never CD'd before, then you really can't know the beauty of a perfectly made, extra-soft, squishy diaper against your baby's bum, instead of the bleached-paper-and-chemicals of disposables. I now have about 5 more dipes on the way, by various different WAHMs and will be doing a review on each here on my blog, so stay tuned, mamas! I'll let you know which are super-awesome, and which (if any) are more hype than happy.

Different Uses for Breastmilk

It's not just for feeding babies anymore! LOL! 
No, seriously. I was looking at ehow.com and found this list of things that you can use breast milk for. If you make a lot, or if you're like me and pump a HUGE stock for your freezer, just to find out that your precious bundle would rather starve than take a bottle (sigh...), then you may want to try out some of these ideas:


Drop some milk in irritated eyes using a needless syringe or medicine dropper. This works for infected or plugged tear ducts, pink eye, sties and ophthalmologic allergies (watery eyes). You can also use for contact solution on soft, hard, or gas permeable lenses, or use it in place of or in addition to tea bags or cucumbers to soothe red, puffy, tired eyes.


Rinse your skin with plain water, pat dry, spread breast milk on skin and let it air dry. This can help soothe and heal a number of skin calamities, including diaper rashes, cracked or bleeding nipples, acne, eczema, chicken pox, chapped cheeks, and rashes or hives due to allergies or poisonous plants like poison oak or poison ivy. You can use a cotton ball moistened with the breast milk to spread it on the skin. This will also help any bite or sting, whether it comes from an insect, a pet or another child.


Gargle it. This will heal a sore throat very quickly. In addition, giving your weaned older children or your husband/partner a cup of expressed milk will help them get over a cold or flu occurrence quickly. It's a great remedy for chapped lips, canker sores, cold sores, and other mouth sores in both children and adults.


Use breast milk to ease the symptoms of colds as well. It can be used in place of nasal saline drops to loosen mucous of the nose, and it can be used as ear drops to ease the pain of an ear infection.


Remove makeup with breast milk. Alternately, you can use it as a general facial cleanser.


Treat injuries like scratches, abrasions, ingrown toenails, scrapes and burns with breast milk. Just dab it on and let it heal, or in hand/foot injuries, let it soak in a cup of milk.


Calm the pain of teething or toothaches. Experiment with different temperatures to find the one that brings most relief. Chewing on a cloth soaked in breast milk really helps.


Cook with it. It can be used in the same proportions that you would use cow milk in cooking and baking.


Donate it. If you are a super-producer with your pump, consider donating some of your overage. Milk banks will use this precious commodity to heal babies who need it the most, such as preemies and babies with severe congenital problems.


I know I filled Isaiah's cup with breast milk when he had a cold, and the next day, he was all better! See, breast milk is the miraculous, magical elixer...

PHOTO BOMB!!

Here's Rosy being cute. We're rocking in our chair.

Here's Rosy in her duckies from Miss Lorraine. I love how she just happened to be centered in the wings on my shirt. Like a little angel!

Kory at the apple orchard. That bucket was heavy! (I'm not sure why this pic is small and blurry. Can't fix it. Weird...)

Isaiah on his birthday. Sorry it's sideways. I'm still trying to figure this out.

Rosy in the cutest outfit EVER! Given to us by Miss Regina.

Isaiah on his birthday again. Wearing my shirt. He was so cute in that great big shirt!

Isaiah opening presents, wearing his Curious George hat.

Rosy at the apple orchard, in her Kozy mei tai. Knocked out!

Rosy again. Hmm... This pic is small and blurry too. Wish I knew why.

That's all! Thanks for looking. Thought you would all like to see some pics of the cutest darn kids in the whole world.