**BabyLegs Giveaway** ENDS DEC 12TH

**US RESIDENTS ONLY**

BUY THEM:
http://www.babylegs.com/

WIN IT:
BabyLegs would like to give away one of my readers a grab bag of BabyLegs products including 2 pairs of leg warmers, 1 pair of tights and 1 pair of socks for girls or 2 pairs of leg warmers and 2 pairs of socks for boys. Approximately a $48 retail value.

From personal experience, BabyLegs has amazing product! I cloth diaper my daughter full time and not having to go out and buy pants in the next size up because of a bulky bottom, is SOOOO nice. All I have to do is slip on a pair of BabyLegs leg warmers and my babe is set! They make diaper changing SO much easier and they're are VERY cute and stylish! If you follow their washing instructions, they last a long time and the quality is great!

MANDATORY ENTRIES:
You must be/become a follower of my blog and tell me how I can find you! (example: what name or ID did you use to "follow" my blog?) Make sure you include your email address (so I know how to contact you if you're the winner) in your comment on this post.

Head on over to the BabyLegs Facebook page and become a fan. Come back and comment on this post with your Facebook name/ID along with your email address.

Then, go to BabyLegs on Twitter and follow them (if you have a Twitter account). Comment back here saying you've done so with your Twitter ID and email address.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

***You MUST complete the mandatory entries in order for the additional entries to qualify. If you haven't done so, scroll back up and see what you need to do for the mandatory entries. If the mandatory entries are not completely FIRST, all additional entries will be VOID :-)***

All additional entries count as just one entry unless otherwise stated.

PLEASE make sure you follow the instructions for each entry carefully. If there is one thing wrong with an entry it will NOT be posted and will NOT qualify for an entry. I definitely don't want you guys to miss out on this AWESOME prize, so please read carefully! :-)

Follow Modern Mommy - Paid in Smiles, Giggles & Kisses on Facebook. Leave your name and email address.

Become a follower of my other blog Made With Love By Caty, come back here and comment on this blog saying you've done so with your name and email address.

Follow Made With Love By Caty on Twitter and leave your Twitter ID and email address.

Tweet about this giveaway including @BabyLegs, @madewithlovebyc, #giveaways, #legwarmers and the link to this giveaway, you may tweet once a day until the giveaway ends, just comment here with the link to the tweet.

If you have your own blog, write a blog post about this giveaway including the link to this giveaway. Come back here and post the link to your blog entry about this giveaway.


With this giveaway, you have several ways to win, but you must come back and comment for each of them with your email address if you want to be entered for all entries. All entries must be received by Sunday December 12th by 11:59 PM EST. I will be checking to make sure that each requirement is done and you will want to make sure you do the mandatory entry to qualify for this giveaway. Please remember that I DO LOOK AT EACH ENTRY and if they are not valid for the giveaway, I WILL NOT PUBLISH THEM. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will then have 48 hours to respond by email or another winner will be drawn

Thank you guys so much! Good Luck!

Caty

Took it for granted...

Little Miss K has been sleeping 7-9 hours a night since she was about 2 months old and it's been HEAVEN! Last night, I had a wake up call! It was like she was a newborn again waking up every hour but she wasn't just waking up, she would wake up SCREAMING! Poor thing. I want to chalk it up to teething but can it really make her THAT upset?! She had a slight fever and NOTHING soothed her. It was heart breaking. I was fine, in fact, I think that was the calmest I'd EVER been while she was having a screaming fit like this. I'm a pretty hyper girl and I have always had to have my husband rock Miss K to sleep because he's so calm. I have been trying to make it a HUGE point to settle down more so I can be this person and I FINALLY did it! During her worst night, I was Super Mommy! LOL!

Kaelyn ended up getting an hour of sleep at a time last night, but Mommy had to pull an all-nighter...haven't done that in YEARS! So let's just say, I will NEVER take her 7-9 hours of sleep at night for granted AGAIN!! Haha!

Any of you lovies have any advice when it comes to teething? She had a slight fever last night and didn't want ANYTHING near her gums. There was also a mix of complete exhaustion on her part, which didn't help at all. We also just started rice cereal yesterday so I'm also wondering if this new change in her world is throwing things off for her too??

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thursday! Thank you for listening to my little rant! Haha!

Leg Warmers...Cloth Diaper's Favorite Accessory

Ever since I started researching cloth diapers, I've come across A TON of pictures of babies wearing leg warmers with their cloth diapers and became curious. After trying my first couple cloth diapers I realized why Mom's used leg warmers...

#1 - the bulkiness of the diapers causes Mom's to have to put a pants size up on their babes and sometimes the length of the bigger size becomes a hassle when you constantly have to roll the pant legs up.

#2 - it makes changing diapers a BREEZE! You don't have to constantly take off or unbutton pants at every diaper change.

So, I started looking at leg warmers from Baby Legs...I'm completely ADDICTED!! I just ordered about 6 pairs from their site and then my FAVORITE boutique Bella's Bowtique has a sale on leg warmers for $6.99 a pair!! I ended up getting 4 from them. I JUST got mine today...here they are....

Sorry for the sketchy photography, this was taken with my phone ;-)

Not only do leg warmers make diaper changes a breeze...they're SO SO SO ADORABLE! (If you couldn't already see that from my picture above haha)

Dear Teeth.....

Dear Teeth Hibernating In Miss K's Mouth,

Could you possibly make your appearance within the next day or so? Our family would love to see you in person. This whole, interrupting Miss K's sleep schedule thing you got going, not liking it so much. The poor girl isn't sleeping well at night and her nap times have been cut in half during the day. Our poor baby is restless and teething tablets only work for so long. Don't get me wrong, we're handling this just fine, but it's not very fun watching the babe go through it.

Can't wait to meet you! :-)

Love,

Caty

HELP MIKE KING FUND RAISER/CONTEST! LAST DAY!

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that today is the last day to enter for a chance to win a $55.00 shopping spree at Made With Love By Caty! Click HERE for all the details!

Thank you all so much for your support! Winner to be announced tomorrow!

DAY 2 - HELP MIKE KING FUND RAISER/GIVEAWAY!

For those of you that aren't aware of this yet, please take a couple minutes to head over to my other blog (link below) and check out this fund raiser I'm doing. It's for a great cause and your help is VERY much appreciated! Thank you so much!

CHECK OUT THE FUND RAISER/GIVEAWAY AT MY OTHER BLOG - MADE WITH LOVE BY CATY!!!! THE WINNER GETS A $55.00 SHOPPING SPREE FROM MY SHOP!!! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS!

HELP MIKE KING FUND RAISER/GIVEAWAY (Sponsored by Made With Love By Caty)

CHECK OUT THE FUND RAISER/GIVEAWAY AT MY OTHER BLOG - MADE WITH LOVE BY CATY!!!! THE WINNER GETS A $55.00 SHOPPING SPREE FROM MY SHOP!!! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS!

Cloth Diaper Update #2

Hey All!

Sorry I've been kind of MIA lately! I have a lot going on with my little business Made With Love By Caty! There's something AMAZING that I'm working on, so if you're not a follower of my other blog, I suggest you become one SOON! www.madewithlovebycaty.blogspot.com :-)

Anyways, I'm SUPER excited to tell you that I have just ordered two gDiapers! I can't wait to test them out because I've heard both extremes when it came to people's reviews about these diapers. I've heard a lot of people say that they're great and more trim than most cloth diapers out there and then I've also heard that people have had a lot of leak issues with them, so I will keep you posted by doing a review on them once I get them. Wish me luck!

I'm also VERY excited about the fact that we will be ordering EVERYTHING we have left to get to cloth diaper FULL TIME! WOOT WOOT! I've been waiting for this moment for a long time and I'm so excited! Every site that I'm ordering diaper products through, I've already got the items in my cart and just waiting for my husband to say I can click "CHECKOUT"!! :-)

For those of you already cloth diapering or starting to get your items purchased to do so...Nicki's Diapers has free shipping on all Planet Wise hanging pails and wet/dry bags!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Facebook Like You Back Wednesday!!

Are you looking for new Facebook pages to follow and new friends who like your page? Then join us!
 
1. Add your Facebook page to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).


2. Click on the Facebook link for the five hostesses and "like" them on Facebook. Leave a comment on their wall and they will like-you-back.

3. Like as many more Facebook pages as you want, leaving comments with links so they'll know where to like-you-back.


Want to help spread the word and add this MckLinky to your blog?


Write your own post telling your readers about FLYB. Below the linky box, you'll see "Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code". You can also find the code for the Facebook Like-You-Back Button on the sidebar at the right.

The Facebook Page of the Week is Stash Mama! 

She takes the #6 spot on the linky and will get a shout out on each of the hostesses Facebook pages! Next week's page of the week will be drawn from all of the entries from this week's hop.


Thank you for participating and let's have fun!

Made with Love by Caty

As a new Mom experiencing all the new things that motherhood brings along with it, I came up with a couple ideas....

For those of you that are breast feeding or have breast fed, did those disposable nursing pads drive you crazy, or seem uncomfortable? For me, not only were they uncomfortable...I was tired of throwing my money away every time I used them. This brought on idea #1 - why not make my own REUSABLE nursing pads!? SO, I DID! :-) Here are just a couple of the ones I made for myself...

Not only was I not throwing my money away anymore, these reusable nursing pads turned out to be SO comfortable!

Then I got to thinking, I have all this time at home to do things and I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that doesn't like wearing disposable nursing pads or hates the idea of buying another box of them every time they run out so why don't I make more and sell them?!

And then....Made with Love By Caty was born! :-) (That sounded corny, but it made me giggle! LOL!)

Of course, my wheels in my brain kept turning and I wondered what else I could make to go along with my nursing pads....NURSING COVERS! WOO HOO! Here's one that I just made yesterday...

I also make burp clothes, such as these...

One of my newest products (just added to my shop this week) are BABY BOOTIES!! Right now I'm only selling size 0-6 months and size 6-12 months. Bigger sizes coming soon!! Here are a few booties I've made and sold so far (will hopefully be posting a bunch in my shop this week, fabric sneak peeks on my Facebook page)...

 

 Most of these items are available on my Etsy site. You can find the link to it below!

If you have a Facebook account...you can click (HERE) to go become a fan (once I reach 300 fans I will be doing a giveaway, so tell your friends and spread the word!) OR you can visit my website (HERE) on Etsy.com where I sell my products. I'm VERY excited to get things going with it! I'm eventually going to add reusable wipes  and wipe case cover/carriers to my inventory.

With all that said....if you know anyone who is pregnant, or just had a baby and need a gift...these would make great gifts for any breast feeding mother! Just send them to my Facebook page or have them call me directly! (I just had to do a pitch! LOL!)

I also have a blog for Made With Love By Caty so I can do contests and giveaways! You MUST be a follower in order qualify for the giveaways! So, go HERE to follow!

4 Month Checkup and Round 2 of Shots

The dreaded 2nd round of shots at the 4 month check up was this week...let's just say that I was a complete mess!

Last time little miss got shots, just a few hours after it happened she SCREAMED like someone was gutting her with a knife for HOURS and nothing helped relieve her pain :-( The worst feeling in the world is watching your child writhe in pain and there's absolutely NOTHING you can do to take the pain away from them. It's the most helpless feeling in the entire world. I basically cried the entire time she cried. No one could've EVER prepared me for that whole day! Thank God my husband was there to help with her, and help me keep it together to be there for Kaelyn.

So this time, we prepared ourselves to deal with the same situation. We put damp wash cloths in the fridge to have them as cold compresses when we came back, had the medicine ready and on hand just in case! (I don't give it to her unless it's a last resort!)

Off to the doctor's we went. It felt like a eternity before the nurse brought us in, the doctor evaluated her and then for the nurse to come back in to give her the shots. This time she only had to get two injections and one oral. I was so excited to see that Kaelyn didn't even feel the first shot happen, but she felt the 2nd one and started crying...we immediately got to pick her up but this time it took her a little longer to calm down in our arms. When she finally calmed down, we loaded her up and brought her home...a couple hours came and went, and she was still happy as a clam...maybe some hope?!

A couple more hours went by, and she was STILL smiling and giggling like a happy little babe! WOOT WOOT! I just kept thinking that it was only a matter of time! So, bedtime arrive, still no fussy baby! SHE DID IT! She got through this round of shots like a champion and they didn't bother her AT ALL! I was a VERY VERY VERY happy Mama! And my husband was quite relieved as well haha!

The only little bump we ran into was a fever that Kaelyn ended up getting when we woke up the next morning. I ended up giving in to giving her medicine because I was terrified and wanted it to break ASAP! Her fever dropped within the hour! I was very excited!

I really hope that this is what happens every time from here on out!

Sustainable Hemp Products Cloth Diaper Review

Let me start this off by showing you the "parts" of the diaper and how it looks on a a baby...

This is  a fitted diaper for birth to approximately 6 months.

Here are the parts to the Lushies: the diaper, a prefold insert, and a booster.

Here's how it looks on little Miss!

Sorry about the sideways picture...my computer won't fix this for some reason lol. But here's a close up.

Cutest little toosh I ever did see :-)

 I can honestly start this review off by saying, this diaper is by FAR the best! I know you might be thinking, "she just started cloth diaper, and this is her first review...what does she know?!" Well, I can tell you that with all the research I've done so far, there isn't a diaper out there that compares to Sustainable Hemp Products "Lushies"! Not only are they absolutely adorable and stylish, but they're thinner than most diapers I've tried so far. They still have a little cushion to them, but I can still put Kaelyn's 0-3 months bottoms on her, which I couldn't do with the SweetBabyDoll or Nubunz diapers.

I mean, sure, you'll find plenty of diapers out there that are amazing, stand up to moisture and waste very well, but you won't find one that's BEYOND soft! Who wouldn't want their baby's bottoms to be touch with the best, softest, velour fabric?! They only seem to get softer with EVERY wash!

Now, features that I LOVE about this diaper...

• Super soft prefold insert - it's just as soft as the whole diaper itself. When I first looked at the prefold insert, I wasn't sure something like it was going to absorb moisture. It just didn't look like it was made for absorbing liquids, but oh boy, was I wrong! The prefold insert did its job and more. Kaelyn had NO leaks through the times she wore it. Even at night when she slept 5-7 hours at a time, it held up! The big question that everyone wonders about each cloth diaper...can it hold up to those extremely poopy messes?! Well, without going into too much detail, it held up to Kaelyn's poo like a champion!!! The cloth prefold really did its job! (Makes you want something like this for your toosh when you're older and have to wear diaper! HAHA!) 

• Booster - great for night time when you want to avoid leaking when you change diapers less often. These boosters come in hemp or bamboo. Either one will do the job of protecting against heavy wetters! 

•  Snap closures - I prefer these over velcro because the snaps last longer than velcro.

•  Zig-zag stitch all the way around the diaper for maximum comfort. 

Zig-zag stitch all the way around the entire diaper

 This was the first diaper not to leave an elastic impression anywhere on Kaelyn after we used it. I also think that the stitch adds character to the diaper as a whole.

The only thing that makes me COMPLETELY sad, is that Sustainable Hemp Products is based in Australia. (Makes me wish I could go there are personally thank Michelle for such wonderful products!) Australia means hefty shipping costs, BUT I plan on buying more of these diapers, and they're ENTIRELY worth the extra amount of shipping you have to pay to get them to you here in the states. Cloth diapers make up for their cost in a matter of weeks vs disposables, so even if you have to pay the extra shipping, the diapers still make up for it! A great way to cut some shipping costs are to go in on orders with friends to split the shipping, which I plan on doing with my next order! :-)

Here's one of the diapers I hope to get....

Photos taken by Estelle @ www.stellapics.com

 I TOTALLY LOVE THE RAINBOW FABRIC! LOL!

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed my first review! I hope this helps you discover new diaper products that are out there. If you order any products from Michelle, tell her Caty sent you! ;-)

Here's the website again...

Sustainable Hemp Products

Go follow her on Facebook...

Cloth Nappies at Sustainable Hemp Products

HAPPY CLOTH DIAPERING!

Cloth Diapers - Day 1

I'm so excited to report that we finally got all of our cloth diapers we ordered/won in the mail and..........

WE FINALLY DID IT! We finally got a cloth diaper on Kaelyn after a lot of waiting for enough diapers to come to cloth diaper her full time....well, I'm trying to cloth diaper full time, but I have to wash EVERY DAY because we only have 10 diapers at the moment...just 2 shy of the recommended amount you need to cloth diaper a full day. More work for me, but I'm okay with it, I'm home all the time haha.

Here's little miss in her first cloth diaper from SweetBabyDoll

I have a feeling we'll still have to throw in a couple disposables here and there but it's still a far cry from the amount of disposables we were using daily. Since we don't have a whole lot of money, it may take a while for us to have everything it takes to cloth diaper full time and be "true" cloth diaperers, but I will take whatever I can get at this point, since money will be hard to come by for some time. We still need cloth diaper detergent MEANT for cloth diapers, but All - Free and Clear detergent works just fine right now and is gentle enough to use on cloth diapers. We still need 4 wetbags, cloth diaper friendly diaper rash cream, (that we probably won't ever use because you cut down your chances of your baby getting diaper rash IMMENSELY when you switch to cloth) a diaper sprayer and the rest of our diapers! LOL!

Derek and I figured that the ultimate test to put these diapers through to see how much wetness they would hold, would be to have her wear it at night. So, we put Kaelyn's first cloth diaper on her before we went to bed. Now, Kaelyn sleeps a good 5-7 hours most nights, so we figured if this diaper could make it without leaking through the night, it would be perfect!

We woke up this morning...after about 6 hours AND....NO LEAKS! We were VERY happy to see that her first cloth diaper experience went great! Definitely makes you want to try more!

Now, the next thing we wondered, is how these cloth diapers would hold up while Kaelyn was awake and active. We put another diaper on her when she woke up and with all her wiggling, they held up great!

The last thing we had to wait for and see if these diapers would work was if they held up when she poo'd....let's just say that they did just great! LOL! The only thing that kind of sucked about the poopy diapers was the fact that we don't have a diaper sprayer yet....we had to dunk them in the toilet! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, just wash your hands and move on haha!

So, I'm very happy to report that our first 24 hours of our cloth diaper experience was amazing! The only thing that was kind of annoying (because I was unprepared lol!) was that we had to put a size bigger in pants on her because of the bulkiness of cloth diapers. It wouldn't have been so terrible if I had clothes ready to go and use...but all of her 3-6 month clothes are still brand new with tags, hanging in the closet and haven't been washed yet. It wasn't TOO big of a deal since it was quite warm here, so she didn't need bottoms on anyways. I'm looking to order a bunch of CUTE leg warmers to pair with her diapers. I can't wait to get those!

Reviews of all the diapers we used COMING SOON! :-)

"The Child Comparison Game" by Kassandra

This is just something I had to share with all of you. A friend of mine, who is also a blogger, wrote a post that I know speaks to most Mom's out there!

As Mom's, we already criticize everything we do when it comes to raising our kids, we also worry about their well being along with dealing with all the other tough things that parenthood brings, and the last thing we need are outsiders looking in on us and judging what we do when we're the ones that ultimately know what's best for our families. This is just a little taste of what you will come to read in Kassandra's post here...

The Child Comparison Game by Kassandra

Any of you have stories to share regarding this post?! Please, feel free to share by commenting, I know I have some readers out there that would love to hear about your experience with this situation, especially readers who are first time Mom's (like myself) who would love some encouraging words and support to know we're doing a great job and that we're only human! :-)

Cloth Diapers - Let's Get Started!

Starting from the beginning, do your research, and figure out which types of cloth diapers you want to try. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, after doing my research, Derek and I decided that OSFM (one size fits most) pocket diapers would work the best for us because they are the closest to disposables as far as ease of use. Plus, I wanted to use whatever it took to get Derek on board with using cloth so he helped me with the research and this decision. (Gals, if you need help convincing your husbands to get on board with switching to cloth, I'd highly recommend going through this entire process with them. If they're willing of course! I found that keeping Derek in the loop and showing him the things that I found [articles on why cloth is best, different kinds of cloth diapers out there, etc] really helped keep him more as ease and he didn't feel like he was getting thrown into this without knowing what to do! haha!)

Basic materials needed to get started with cloth for 1 full day (although not ALL are necessary if you don't want to wait for everything, like us, to get started).

• 10-12 cloth diapers (Double this for washing diapers every other day)

• 10-24 cloth diaper inserts (Depends on the diapers, we use 2 inserts per diaper but some only require one. Use the inserts that come with the diapers or what the company recommends you using because this will allow you to get ideal use out of your diaper. All of our diapers came with 2 inserts)

• wetbags (1 large for home, 1 small or medium for diaper bag. Double this for washing every other day)

• diaper pail with liner

• diaper sprayer (If you don't get one, it's not the end of the world. Dunking your diapers in the toilet to get the poo off isn't as bad as it sounds! When you become a mother, you seem to get grossed out by things less and less lol!)

• cloth diaper friendly detergent (Here is a chart of cloth diaper friendly detergents)

Wetbags

Diaper pail and liners

Diaper sprayer

 Depending on the ages of your babes, I recommend having some toys nearby to give to your little wigglers so they stay distracted during their diaper changes! It does take just a little more time to snap those cloth diapers so keeping that baby still helps! :-)

Pre-washing your new diapers...

Most companies send you instructions on how to care for their diapers, which include washing instructions, but just in case, here are some simple instructions for you...

Separate all the diapers and inserts from each other. Toss them in the wash. First, run them on just  RINSE cycle only with cold/warm water. Then, add your choice of diaper friendly detergent (usually only put in half of what you would use for a regular load of clothing) and wash them in hot water. Depending on how strong your rinse cycle is on your washing machine, you may need to run an additional rinse cycle to make sure all of the soap is out. Keep repeating the rinse cycle until you don't see anymore suds in the water. The soap could cause irritation to baby's skin. It's recommended to line dry your diapers and inserts but all of us don't have the luxury of being able to do that. If you live in an apartment, like us, there isn't anywhere to line dry your diapers. So, just put your diapers in the dryer and dry them on LOW HEAT, NO FABRIC SOFTENER! This is VERY important because high heat could damage the cover of your diapers and the fabric softener can cause build up in them. Make sure that your diapers and inserts are COMPLETELY dry before using them.

There has been much debate on how many times you should pre-wash your diapers before use. I read in some places that you should at least wash your diapers three times before use and others say that one time is just fine. What's being achieved by washing the diapers before hand is creating maximum absorbency of your cloth diapers and the inserts. You'll achieve this no matter what with every wash after you start using them.

After using your diapers for a while you'll need to think about "stripping" them. NEVER USE VINEGAR to get odor out of your diapers! The vinegar breaks down the elastic inside the diapers.

NOW YOU'RE READY TO CLOTH DIAPER!! WOOT WOOT!

Hopefully my next post will be to tell you about all my amazing diapers once they are come!! YAY!

I hope this helps all of you! If anyone thinks I forgot something PLEASE feel free to comment! I don't want to lead my newbie cloth diaper buddies astray!

Help Mike King

My cousin's fiancée, Mike King, was recently diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and must have emergency surgery on his heart Sept 9th, 2010 but he does not have health insurance so there is a website that is set up to help him with the costs of the surgery that you can visit HERE. ANY help would be greatly appreciated! Mike also has a 6 yr. old daughter Aidien so please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers thanks!

You can also follow Mike and his progress on Facebook - Help Mike King

Thank you for all your prayers and support while my cousin, Brittany, and Mike go through this tough time! If everything goes well and donations cover the costs of Mike's surgery, they're hoping to get married next year!

Cloth Diaper Update #1

On Saturday I ordered 5 new pocket cloth diapers from Sweet Baby Doll and I can't wait to get them! So my new count is...

10 cloth diapers down (which includes the one I won & the one I'm getting sent to me to review), 14 more cloth diapers to go, 2 more large wetbags and 2 small wetbags to go! HAHA!

I just got the cloth diaper that Michelle from Sustainable Hemp Products sent me and can I just tell you, when I pulled that diaper out of that mail package...it was AMAZING! Stayed tuned and I will tell you why it is so amazing! The one she sent is basically a cloth diaper cover with an prefold and insert that just lay inside the diaper.

I'm still waiting to get my other cloth diaper that I won from a Facebook contest from Little Bums. I will post pictures of my diaper stash soon! :-)

As far as emailing cloth diaper companies goes, haven't heard from anymore of them so I'm doing more research and finding new companies to email! Wish me luck! I'm REALLY trying to get a company to send me a diaper to try out and sponsor a giveaway...hopefully someone will help me out! LOL!

How are you guys doing with your cloth diapers or how are you doing starting your cloth diaper journey?

Baby Wearing...

I can't say enough that if it wasn't for baby wearing, I wouldn't have gotten ANYTHING done when Kaelyn was a newborn! haha! She never wanted to be put down or rocked all the time.

We got this Jeep front carrier at our baby shower...

But the only problem we had with it was that Kaelyn was just WAY too tiny for it. It has special settings for tiny babes, but Kaelyn just wasn't having it at all! I was really bummed out about it because it's the only carrier we had.

 I told a friend of mine about how I was kind of getting frustrated that I couldn't get anything done and she said she had a baby wrap that she used for her son that I could borrow and try out. It's called the MetroWrap (a close "relative" to the Moby Wrap, but it's said to be that the MetroWrap is more user friendly and quicker to put on and have ready). Here is what the MetroWrap looks like...

Let's just say, this wrap, was a GODSEND! Not only is it SO stinkin comfortable, Kaelyn LOVED being in it. It snuggled her right up against me and mimicked like she was still in my womb. She was tight up against me and her head was right next to my heartbeat. It's a great thing my friend won this from a contest because theses suckers are pretty dang pricey! The jeweled ones (pictured above) go for $129.99 and the ones without jewels go for $79.99 on there site HERE. I won't lie, I would pay the $79.99 for this wrap because it is SO amazing and worked WONDERS! I'm just really bummed I didn't get to use it as much as I wanted because it got to hot here and Kaelyn just couldn't sit in it anymore. I'm just waiting for it to cool off so I can use it again! YAY! Here's a semi-good picture of me and Kaelyn using the MetroWrap...

4th of July. You can't see the fireworks really well though. 

Since we couldn't use the MetroWrap anymore, we decided to try out the Jeep carrier again since Kaelyn is a little bigger and can face forward in it, and now she absolutely LOVES being in that one! haha! Derek will wear her around the house in it all the time. She just can't get enough of her surroundings right now so it's perfect for all of us. The only small problem we face with this carrier is that it isn't really great on a baby's spine and hip development. There are a few warnings out there about using these kinds of carriers, so we moderate how often we have her in it. A think a little time here and there in this carrier will be okay.

However, there is a carrier out there that I've been hearing about all the time lately and how AMAZING it is...it's called the Ergo. Here's a picture of it...

This carrier has had great reviews! It's a favorite for two big reasons...#1 - you can use it up until your kids are about 40lbs (which is the recommended weight cut off) but it has been tested up to 90lbs (which they definitely don't recommend doing). It all depends on you and the child though. #2 - it disperses the weight of your child in places on you to ensure the best comfort. The weight is placed on your hips instead of your back and shoulders which, from personal experience with the Jeep carried and MetroWrap, is really hard on you after a little while. These run for about $105-$150 depending on what you get, if it has embroidery, etc. You can either find them HERE on their website or you can find some on eBay, where they can be selling for great bargain prices. Everyone that I know that has one, says they're worth every penny and more!

Derek and I are trying really hard to save up to get one of these suckers! haha! If we can't get it before Kaelyn fits in it, we'll definitely be using it religiously with Baby #2. Another added bonus is that it has a GREAT resale value!

Please feel free to share your stories about your personal experience with baby carriers. I know I'd love to hear about them! Maybe there's something else out there that I should know about! :-)

HAPPY BABY WEARING!

Besides My Family, Photography Is My True Passion

I don't do it often but taking pictures is what I LOVE to do! I got an opportunity to take some maternity photos of some close friends of mine and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out!! I just HAD to share some.

This one is my ABSOLUTE favorite! I just love how you can see how much they love each other and their little boy that's due to come any day now!

This was a fun one to take, he was giggling when he did this.

I really dig the angle on this one.

Got a casual shot. I'm glad he thought of doing it on our way back to the apartment.

Maybe someday I will be able to pursue photography as a "career" but for now, being a stay at home Mommy is the best career ever!

Thanks for letting me share you guys!

Friday Follow Back and Blog Hop!

COME ON AND JOIN THE FUN! LET'S HOP!





















GRAB MY FRIDAY BLOG HOP BUTTON!


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FELLOW BLOG HOPPERS! PLEASE HELP!

I'm VERY new to this whole blog hopping thing and I can't seem to get the linking to work to add the list of blog hoppers on my list. The directions say to click the "blog hop" button on my dashboard...but I don't see it ANYWHERE! Can anyone who uses Blogger help me out? THANK YOU! Oh, and can you also please let me know if my Friday Blog Hope Button works?!

From one "Crunchy" Mom to the next...

For those of you who are already practice "natural parenting" or aren't quite sure if you are, or will be yet, here are some blogs from a few other natural parenting Mom's out there that I wanted to share...

Fellow Natural Parenting Bloggers (to name just a few):

Sausage Mama - this gal...what can I say about her...she's absolutely WONDERFUL! My friend Amber "introduced" me to Sausage Mama on her Facebook page HERE. It's a place where a lot of "crunchy" Mom's have come together to support each other. When I first started thinking about getting into cloth diapers and was OVERWHELMED at all the different kinds out there, I asked Sausage Mama if she could help me out and help me narrow things down a bit so I could figure out what I wanted to try out for cloth since I couldn't do any trial packages because we are tight on money. She dedicated an entire blog to me HERE on where to start with modern cloth nappies (diapers, they use the term "nappies" in Australia hehehe). She has a couple videos on all the different kinds out there and shows you how they all work! It was SO helpful for me! I can't thank her enough for all the help she's given me and how she's able to take the time to help me personally with all the followers she has asking questions and how busy she is with her son and another babe on the way! THANK YOU SAUSAGE MAMA!

Meg-isms - I love this entry because this Mother goes on about how people are too quick to follow what others (especially doctors) tell them to when it comes to parenting their own children and she believes as new parents (or experienced parents) we should ask questions, research EVERYTHING and more importantly FOLLOW OUR INSTINCTS!! We are the ones that ultimately know our children the best, so why do we sit here and listen to others telling us how we should raise our own babies when they're not here living the daily grind with us?! (Sorry for the rant, just can't stand other people telling me how to raise my baby, if you couldn't tell lol!) Don't get me wrong...I follow the advice of the doctors when I think it's necessary...but I can't tell you enough that if I followed the doctor's advice over my own instincts...Kaelyn SURELY would've been admitted into the ER to get IV fluids when we had that scare with her!

Peaceful Parenting - this Mom is always looking for new articles on different things and she has great information on her older posts as well. This is where I have found a lot of my information about co-sleeping/sleep sharing, baby wearing, etc. One of my favorite, more recent posts of hers, was about how to "make" your own maternity clothes with just "pennies". Here is the link to that blog (Nursing Without Wearing A Bag Or Spending Your Life Savings). I wish I would've thought of this idea when I had to start wearing maternity clothes...however I was fortunate not to have to buy all my maternity clothes because my wonderful Mother got them for me for Christmas! I will definitely be using this idea next time we have a baby to change up my maternity wardrobe just a bit.

I will leave it at just these three for now because with just these ones, you have your reading cut out for you! haha! HAVE FUN!! :-)

I WON A HIPPYBOTTOMUS CLOTH DIAPER!!

While I was away visiting family this weekend the baby woke me up at 4:30am on Saturday monring (which I wasn't too thrilled about haha). While she was playing on the floor on her playmat I got on the computer for a quick second to check my Facebook account and came to realize that...I WON A CLOTH DIAPER!! WOOT WOOT!!

Little Bums Enviro Nappies had a random drawing of all their Facebook fans and I was the lucky winner of a Hippybottomus cloth diaper! I can't WAIT to get it! When I do, I will post pictures and a review of it!

THANK YOU LAURA AT LITTLE BUMS ENVIRO NAPPIES IN AUSTRALIA!

KAELYN JUST GIGGLED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!

Sorry for the excessive blogging today guys but this just COULDN'T wait until later....

KAELYN JUST GIGGLED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! We got it all on video! She just did it about 30 minutes ago!

I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as we loved experiencing this precious moment! We are such proud parents! Derek and I can't stop smiling! What a great moment!

Cloth Diaper Giveaways at Coupon Mommy of 3!!!

It's Cloth Diaper Week at Coupon Mommy of 3 (check out the Cloth Diaper Week button to the right of my page to visit her site!)

Here are the giveaways that I'm currently taking part in:

Krap Katchers Giveaway (ends Aug 6th!)

AppleCheeks Giveaway

AppleCheeks Giveaway #2

Prairie Tales Giveaway

Doopsy Cloth Diaper Giveaway

Bummis One Size AIO Cloth Diaper Giveaway

Maxwell Designs Wetbag Giveaway

If you're totally interested in winning the prizes, get your bums on there and start entering NOW! GO! :-) Have fun everyone!

My Journey of Switching to Cloth Diapers

CLOTH DIAPERS VS DISPOSABLE DIAPERS.....

I actually never thought in a million years that I would even be comparing the two diapers before I had Kaelyn. I always planned on using disposable diapers because I never thought to use anything else! Whenever I thought of cloth diapers, I always pictured ugly white fabric, lots of pins, diaper covers and disgusting messes!

A good friend of mine put a bug in my ear about cloth diapers just after Kaelyn was born...and that little bug kept talking to me, so I looked into them a little more. Surprisingly, the more I read up on cloth diapers and saw that they're NOTHING like they were some years ago and how stinkin' adorable they are (unlike disposables), the more I really wanted to make the switch from disposable diapers!

To get my feet wet, I ordered a cheaper cloth diaper from eBay to try it out and see how I liked messing with it. I honestly didn't mind doing the washing and cleaning part of it at all! So, then I ordered two "factory seconds" cloth diapers from Nubunz to get my cloth diaper stash started and I'm so excited! I've read that in order to cloth diaper full time I need at least 24 diapers and 2 large wetbags for the nursery and two small wetbags for our diaper bag, so I only have to do laundry every other day.

3 diapers down, 21 more to go. 4 wetbags to go also! haha! I guess I have some work ahead of me!

I came across an idea about 2 days ago to see if cloth diaper companies/small business owners would send me one of their diapers to try out on Kaelyn and review it on my blog as I start out on my cloth diaper journey. So far I've sent out about 30+ emails asking these companies if they'd like to participate. As of right now, I've heard from 3 companies and 1 of them agreed to let me try one of their diapers!! Michelle Stapleton of Sustainable Hemp Products in Australia is sending me one of her "lushies" to try and I absolutely CAN'T WAIT to get it! Stayed tuned for my review :-) Maybe I can also convince some of these companies to give me an extra diaper or two to do my own giveaways!

I guess my total now is 4 diapers down, at least 20 more to go! haha!

I'm also entering a BUNCH of giveaways to see if I can win any diapers to add to my stash. I will be blogging about these giveaway separately. WISH ME LUCK!

So, if you're strongly considering cloth diapers, already using them, or never even thought of using them before...follow me along on my journey as I go through trying out different diapers to see which ones I like best! There are SO many different kinds out there! Let's hope I don't get too overwhelmed with the variety. Thankfully I have a starting point. After much research and help, I wanted to start with pocket diapers because I heard that they were the closest to disposable diapers as far as ease of use. I would like to try some all-in-one diapers, pre-folds, and side snap diapers as well.

Some helpful definitions/terms/and more:

Diapers - (Courtesy of The Cloth Diaper Experiment)

Flat Diapers:
-A Large square or rectangular piece of fabric
-Must be folded to fit
-Versatile
-Work for a large range of sizes
-Require a waterproof cover

Prefold Diapers:
-Pretty much a flat diaper that has been, you guessed it, "Prefolded" into smaller sections
-Made up of several layers. For example: 4x8x4 -- 8 layers in the middle section with 4 layers on either side
-Inexpensive
-Effective and easy
-Need folded to fit
-Require a waterproof cover

Contour Diapers:
-Shaped like disposable diapers
-No elastic at waist or legs
-Require pins or snappi to fasten
-Require a waterproof cover

Fitted Diapers:
-Shaped like disposable diapers
-Have elastic at waist and legs
-Most fasten with Velcro or snaps
-Require a waterproof cover

Pocket Diapers:
-Have a pocket where an insert is placed for absorbency
-Are not effective without an insert
-Most have a waterproof cover built in
-Removable insert = faster drying time

All-in-one (AIO) Diapers:
-Works like a disposable diaper
-Fasten with snaps or velcro at the waist
-Built in waterproof cover
-No folding or inserts

All-in-two (AI2) Diapers:
-Works like an AIO
-Has a removable doubler to add absorbency
-Removable doubler cuts down on drying time

One Size (OS) Diapers:
-Designed to fit all sizes
-Probably won't fit premature babies
-Probably won't fit big toddlers
-More cost effective than sized diapers
-Can be bulky on small babies

Here are some other cloth diapering terms that are a little confusing:

Diaper Sprayer: It looks like a kitchen sprayer and attaches to your toilet to make the clean-up of soiled diapers extremely easy. When a diaper is poopy, take it to the toilet and spray it off!

Liners: Thin layers of cloth that lay inside of the diaper to make the clean up of poopy diapers easier. They protect the actual diaper from stains and make rinsing the mess easier.

Flushable Liners: You use these instead of cloth liners and you can then flush the mess and not have to worry about rinsing. I use flushable liners and I love them! They really do make clean up easy and if any gets on the diaper it is just a small amount and is easy to rinse off (with the help of my handy diaper sprayer!)

Inserts: Absorbent soakers that absorb moisture. You stuff pocket diapers with these.

Soakers: The middle part of the diaper that absorbs moisture when your little one wets...they can be sewn in, snapped in, partially sewed in, stuffed, or just laid in.

Wicking: When moisture is pulled to the outside of the diaper.

Stripping: Removing buildup from detergents, ointments or hard water from your cloth diapers.

There is also a whole set of terms that are for wool covers. I haven't used wool yet but hope to try it out this fall!

Longies: Pants made from wool that are used as a diaper cover.

Shorties: Shorts made from wool that are used as a diaper cover.

Wool Soaker: Wool diaper cover.

Skirty: A wool soaker with an attached skirt.

Wetbag: the bag you put your soiled cloth diapers into before you wash them.

Factory Seconds: diapers that have a 20%-30% chance of having a flaw and are sold at a discount price.


WEBSITES:

FAQs About Cloth Diapers

Diapering Basics

PLEASE let me know if you guys have any questions! I would love to know who's using cloth or thinking of using cloth...so comment on this post so we can share some good stuff and keep in touch!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Attachment Parenting Part 2 (Crying it Out Continued)

My good friend Amber just shared this blog post she found that someone wrote about the "crying it out" method!!

"Just Let Her Cry"

Attachment Parenting

I'm an attachment parent. We are attachment parents. What is attachment/natural parenting you ask?

There are MANY different opinions as to what attachment parenting is but it's basically meeting your babies needs in some of the most natural ways possible and following your parenting instincts. Some things may include: NOT letting your baby cry it out, baby wearing (wearing your baby in a wrap or sling as much as possible), feeding on demand, safe co-sleeping, bed sharing, natural birth, using cloth diapers, extended breastfeeding, no circumcising, no vaccinations, etc. That is just a taste of what can define attachment/natural parenting. Here are a couple sites that explain attachment parenting or are sites entirely based on  attachment parenting.

KellyMom.com

Attachment Parenting International

What is Attachment Parenting?

Attachment Parenting

Now, I don't practice all of the things that I listed above and you don't have to to be an attachment parent. I vaccinate, I didn't get to do extended breastfeeding because I stopped when Kaelyn went through her scare but I would have breastfed her until she was 2 years old, I had Kaelyn in a hospital and had an epidural, we bed share, etc.

I found this comic that basically paints the perfect picture of the criticism attachment parents face everyday...

Another thing that I've faced as an attachment parent is many people telling me to put Kaelyn down when she falls asleep, otherwise she'll never learn to sleep on her own. This may work for some parents and babies, but it just doesn't work for me. Don't get me wrong...there are days where I wish I could put Kaelyn down and she'll sleep on her own and then there are other days where I wouldn't mind holding her morning and night. On the days that I struggle with, I just keep telling myself that she won't be this little forever and before I know it...I'll just wish that I can hold her in my arms again. I always remember to tell myself that the laundry and dishes will eventually get done...they'll always be there waiting for me...but the time I have with Kaelyn is precious. All that other stuff can wait! :-) However, if Kaelyn wants to sleep alone, she'll sleep alone. I have been able to put her down most times if I want to but other times she just wants to be close to me and I REFUSE to let her "cry it out"! It's SO emotionally stressful on a baby, and just as stressful on the mother having to listen to her baby cry hysterically like that! Here on some articles on "crying it out"...

Excessive Crying Harmful to Babies

Dangers of Leaving Baby to Cry It Out

'Babywise' Linked to Babies' Dehydration and Failure to Thrive

There are MANY more articles on those pages that you can look at but these three are to get you started.

There is a huge difference in letting your baby "cry it out" and putting your baby down for a few minutes to collect yourself and your sanity so you don't end up doing something drastic to yourself or the baby. I had to do this a couple times when I was exhausted and nothing I did for Kaelyn would sooth her!

I do want you all to know that I understand that my parenting style doesn't work for everyone and that I completely respect EVERYONE'S method of parenting because that's what they chose to work best for their family. Attachment parenting just ended up working best for ours and we love it! :-)

3 Months Young

Kaelyn is 13 weeks and 2 days old today! Where is the time going!?

I don't know what it is about getting to that 3 months mark...but some one lit a fire in our little munchkin! She came to "life"! Derek and I are having SO much fun with this stage of hers because she's CONSTANTLY "talking" and smiling. It makes our mornings so amazing when we get to wake up to her smiling face. She's also not fussy anymore, she only fusses when she needs the basics or is teething.

Quick Tip: For those of you with teething babies and have extra pacifiers, get them wet and put them in the freezer! A-MAZING! For those of you not using pacifiers, a wet wash cloth put in the freezer for a couple minutes to get cold enough did the trick too! :-) 

She has discovered her hands more now, and LOVES laying on her play mat on the floor batting at her toys. The main toy that hung on it was a huge pink bird that made noise every time she touched it, so when she discovered this for the first time...the look on her face was priceless! She had no idea what to think when she made that thing make noise. Sadly, her friend the bird died so we had to replace it with something else. I love that the toys on this play mat are interchangeable with most toys out there so we got a toy that vibrates when you pull on it, it's a large lion with polka dots and huge feet that she loves to grab. She doesn't quite have the motor skills to pull on it yet...but I'm sure that will happen in no time!

This was when the big, pink bird was still alive! haha! 

Her newest thing she discovered was the mirror on her mat...now she can't stop smiling and looking at herself! It's the cutest thing EVER!

Admiring her pretty self :-)

Mine and Derek's favorite time of day is changing table time! Kaelyn can stay there and "talk" for HOURS if we let her. We also get the BIGGEST smiles while she's on her changing table too.

Table "talk" and smiles with Mom and Dad

Derek has been having a little fun of his own when he's doing things around the house. Kaelyn is now old enough to fit comfortably in her Jeep front carrier, so Derek always has her strapped to his chest and she loves it!

Hanging out with Dad in her Jeep carrier!

PASSED OUUUUT!

 As far as an update for Derek and I, Derek is still working both of his jobs at UPS and Martin Hall Juvenile Detention Center. We are also getting VERY excited about him returning to school this Fall in September! He will be finishing his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management/Operations!! WOO HOO! He should be done Spring/Summer Quarter of 2012. I'm FINALLY getting our apartments cleaned out! I can't believe how much stuff can fit in here! I think we've made a thousand trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army to drop stuff off! All I know, is that we desperately needed to gut this apartment. We have so much stuff that we don't even use, so it's been SO nice having a little extra room around here.

Can you believe it's August already? Enjoy the last full month of Summer!

Happiest Baby On The Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

Every new parent should buy this before their baby is even born! All I know, is if I got this DVD in time, I would've had more sanity the first couple months of Kaelyn's life! haha! It's a DVD that shows you different techniques to sooth a fussy newborn when you've changed her and fed her but she's still fussy. It's to help them cope with the outside world after their born.

I HAVE to give a special "shout out" to Danielle Gardner who told me about this DVD! Thank you girl, you're amazing for referring it to us! We will DEFINITELY be using the techniques on the DVD from day one for the next babe.

We would've gotten it sooner but Netflix kept telling us that it's arrival kept getting pushed back so we didn't get the DVD until Kaelyn was 2 weeks shy of 3 months. We would've bought it if we only knew what we were missing out on! Definitely would've helped me get more sleep for a month. The DVD is ideal for babies ages birth to 3 months but for those last two weeks before she turned 3 months...the techniques on this DVD STILL WORKED! We couldn't believe it!

It just may be the one gift I get all new Mom's!

Here is the website to purchase this DVD. But if your unsure about getting it...do the free trial on Netflix and rent it to see for yourself!

The Happiest Baby On The Block

My New Full Time Job...

The first few nights with Kaelyn were as expected, she woke up every 2-3 hours to eat, Mom fought her eyelids for 2-3 hours haha. By day 3, the sleep deprivation was AWFUL! I have NO idea what I would've done if my Mom wasn't there when Derek had to go back to work. There were a couple times where I was completely terrified of falling asleep while I was feeding Kaelyn and lose her off my lap (I never did though haha).

The newest challenge that I was facing was getting breastfeeding down...wow...it was one of the most challenging things I ever had to learn. Thank goodness it only took her a week to get it down. (Mom was VERY thankful for this!) I never could figure out why it takes 3-5 days for milk to come in but all I know, is that when mine didn't come in until DAY 5 I had at least one emotional breakdown. It was tough trying to learn this skill that was VITAL for the well being of my daughter while trying to get her to learn at the same time. MY HERO'S - The Lactation Consultants at Sacred Heart! My Mom and I LIVED there the first couple of weeks because they helped me keep my sanity and my hope up. When we finally got Kaelyn to eat right...we ended up hitting another brick wall...

When Kaelyn was almost 1.5 months old she became fussier than normal (yes, I know babies are fussy to begin with haha). Something just didn't feel right. At this point I noticed that the fontanelle (the soft spot on the top of her head) was a little more sunken in then normal but not extremely sunken. I called the pediatrician and told him my concerns, he asked if she was having regular diapers (yes), fever (no), eating every 2-3 hours (yes), and alert after eating (yes). He said she sounded find and that there wasn't any red flags to have me bring her in. Being stubborn...that answer wasn't good enough for me so I called the lactation office to schedule a free baby weight check. We got in, they took us to the room, the nurse weighed Kaelyn, handed her back to me and left the room without saying a word to me. Of course I went into complete panic mode.

*A little side story...when Kaelyn was born, she weighed 7 lbs 7oz but by the time we left the hospital she weighed 6 lbs 11 oz (which is normal for babies to lose weigh after they're born). While we were working on breastfeeding she was gaining weight. The last time she was weighed she weighed 7 lbs 1 oz*

The nurse came back in with the head lactation consultant who looked me in the eye and said "Kiddo, it's not good. There's no easy way to tell you this but Kaelyn only weighs 7 lbs 4 oz. She's still 3 oz under her birth weight and she's almost 2 months old. She should have been back at her birth weight 2 weeks after she was born. So she starved, malnourished and dehydrated." It took everything I was to hold it together as they tried to explain to me what the game plan was. She said that we were 2 seconds from being sent to the hospital but they wanted to try something first. It was a Friday when I went in. We came to realize that my milk supply was nothing. By the time Kaelyn got eating figured out, I was almost completely out of milk. SO, they said that over the weekend, Kaelyn had to eat formula religiously every 3 hours and when I came back in on Monday, she needed to have gained 3 oz, otherwise it was the emergency room for us!

During all this my Mom came over to help us out while Derek went to work. A GODSEND! There was NO way I was going to be able to hold it together emotionally and do this on my own.

We showed up on Monday. They put her on the scale...my Mom and I held our breath...and 7 lbs 14 oz flashed on the scale!!!!! My Mom laughed with excitement, I started balling...she didn't just gain 3 oz, she gained 10 oz!! What a good little over achiever.

The lactation specialists said that it was possible to get my supply back up, but there was a drug I had to take in order to do that but they also said that there was a 50% chance that I would get depression as a side effect. There was no way I was going to take it because I was already an emotional mess so I decided to just stick to formula and Kaelyn has been thriving since. In the beginning I felt VERY guilty about not sticking with breastfeeding but Kaelyn's rapid growth and health was way more important to me.

So for those of you that knew about this as it was happening and prayed for us...you have NO idea how much we appreciated it!