Addie is Three Months Old!!

Happy 3 Months Little Miss! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and have enjoyed every minute we have spent with you. Over the last month you have learned so many things. You growl at us RAWR!, you giggle, you try to eat the bath washrag, you smile all the time, you wake up every morning smiling and babbling, you love to watch people and animals, you get excited for our daily walks (soon to be runs!), tummy time is getting better, you love to sit up like a big girl, and so much more!

Cloth Wipes

When we first started using cloth diapers, I read about cloth wipes somewhere. I thought, "Ew, who wants to wash poop rags to reuse?" Then I thought about it... d'oh wasn't I doing the same thing with her diapers?? So cloth wipes wouldn't be any different.

When most people change a diaper they put the used wipes inside the soiled diaper and seal it all up to throw away. You can't do that with disposable wipes into a cloth diaper. So in theory, cloth wipes should be easier right?

One of my maternity leave projects was to make cloth wipes. Using this website, I bought fleece on clearance at Hobby Lobby for about $4, and cut the fleece into 4x8 inch rectangles. My wonderful mother was so excited that I was finally interested in sewing and she showed me how to use her sewing machine. I have to say, it's a lot harder than it looks and it kills your back! Even so, I enjoyed learning and can't wait for my next project. Since the material we bought was plain white, I wanted the edges sewn in different colored threads. The seams were to prevent fraying after washing. We were able to get approximately 36 wipes out of the $4 fleece!

Then came my next dilemma. How can a dry wipe clean a baby's bum? There are a couple of options for you to use. One is to buy a spray (which I did just for fun) to spray on either the bum or the wipe. I got the Thirsties spray from Tiny Birds Organic Baby. You can also make your own solution for cheap, and that's actually my plan for at home. The spray is great when you're on the go.

Review: Tiny Birds Organic Baby

My little family went on adventure Saturday in Round Rock. We successfully ate lunch at Pok-E-Jos BBQ and then went on a hunt (not too hard... thanks nav!) to find Tiny Bird Organics Baby. I thought Baby Earth was awesome (see post a few months back) but I absolutely fell in love with Tiny Birds for many reasons. One, there was an entire room floor to ceiling devoted to everything cloth diapers! AIOs, OS, fitteds, prefolds, wipes, wetbags, diaper sprayers, laundry detergent... I could keep going but I think you have the idea. Second, baby legs. Need I say more? Didn't think so.

Third, the toys were amazing. We got Addie a Tiggy Bla Bla knit stuffed animal. We were the only ones in the store probably because of the icky rainy day but also because of how secluded it was. Because of that, we felt fine putting Addie's carseat on the floor while we looked at everything there was to look at! While we were looking at these amazing wooden blocks, Addie was talking nonstop to some stuffed animals. Zac figured out it was the tiger, because when we tried to show her Wink (the winking owl) she couldn't have cared less! Tiggy it was!

(image courtesy tinybirdsorganicbabytoys.com)

I can't wait to go back to Tiny Birds -- actually I think my mom and I will go tomorrow! Tiny Birds Organic Baby
1050 Meadows Drive, Suite 407, Round Rock, TX 78681
Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 12-6pm (central time) 512-341-0042

Oh Target how I love thee!

So after a not-so-wonderful morning, my bffally (that's her legal name - to me anyway) and I went to Target. It feels so empowering to be able to take Little Miss to Target on a whim. Although, after a super messy diaper at bffally's house, I had run out of wipes! Good thing I was at Target, eh? I accidentally spent too much money on Little Miss (surprise surprise) but Target had new baby clothes that she didn't already have! What's a mom to do?? Answer - buy it all!!!

While we were there, bffally and I each got a meal planning notepad. Hopefully, this will help both of us plan our meals and grocery shopping for the week. Wish us luck! Wow, we're so old now, eh?

On a sadder note (this blog post is mainly just a bunch of rambles, huh?) Target has put out their swimsuits. Is this a ploy to get all our fatbutts to the gym in time for bikini season? I don't know if I'll EVER wear a bikini again. The mere thought of it is terrifying. So, Target I love thee so much except for this swimsuit situation. Rude.

On that note, I'll put it out there... my weight right now is 131 (sigh). My goal weight however, is 115. Shoot, I'd kill to be 120 anytime this year!! I have WAY too much flub to fit into my normal clothes. I honestly don't even care about the numbers on the scale. I just want to lose inches. I'm a flubby mess. Woe is me.

Thank you to anybody who got through this bloody mess of a post. It had absolutely no point except for me to hear my nails clickclacking on the keyboard. And yes, I'm British this afternoon. Cheers!!

Cottonbabies Seconds Sale!!

I live for these sales! I got most of my BumGenius 3.0 OS stash from a seconds sale. Their seconds are still exceptional quality and I can't tell a difference except for slight pilling on the inserts. Well worth saving 30%!

If you friend Cottonbabies on fb you will be in the know about upcoming sales (like tonight's!). I'm super excited that I got five BumGenius 4.0 OS - including two Artist series - for a grand total of $51!!! That also included extra newborn inserts for $1 each. I can't wait for my fluffy mail to arrive!

I'm actually excited to compare the difference between the hook and loop (velcro) of my 3.0s to the snaps that the 4.0s offer. I'll give my detailed review once my package arrives!

Amazon Mom = Amazing

Quick PSA for all you moms out there. Amazon Mom is a totally free membership that offers free two-day shipping, 30% diapers and exclusive discounts and coupons via email. It's basically like Amazon Prime (which I have and LOVE) but there are limitations on what you can buy.

Sign up here now!

Shop til you drop.. SUCCESS!!

Addie and I spent literally the entire day shopping... and it was awesome!! Amanda, a fabulous friend from college is expecting a baby girl in March and wanted some advice and tips for baby items. I was all in. First off, I love shopping, especially if I'm not buying. Second, it's shopping for BABY stuff. How do you say no to that!? Here's a time line of our day...

We started off the day by meeting at Steak 'n Shake. Amanda was running late which was actually perfect because A had been sleeping at home when it was time to leave so I knew she would be hungry when she woke up. As we waited I changed her and fed her in the backseat. Amanda got there just as I was finishing burping her.

We went to my favorite store Baby Earth and just like the last time I took A, she screamed while we were there. Dangit, and I wanted to use the Ergo. Oh well, Amanda got her adorable Dwell Studio Sparrow bedding. (I must admit, I'm a little jealous. It's beautiful!!)

We thought A needed a nap so we chose to go to Buy Buy Baby and hope she would fall asleep. She did. (YES!!) Once we got close, we realized we were starving so we wanted to eat at Carinos. I was nervous taking A into a restaurant for fear that she would fuss and cry so I fed her in the car before we walked in, which was perfect because preggo had to pee. New diaper, newly fed. Let's roll! A was mostly awake while we were eating but slowly started to drift off about the time we were finishing up.

We drove across the street to Buy Buy Baby where we spent close to an hour in the baby abyss. If you haven't been there before, it's owned by Bed, Bath & Beyond and has everything from Graco ($) to Bugaboo ($$$$). Amanda wanted to buy the UppaBaby Vista but couldn't decide on a color. I just smiled. A slept the entire time!

When we left we both decided we NEEDED Starbucks so we got our drinks and off we went back to Baby Earth so Amanda could buy her Chicco Keyfit30 in Miro carseat. A finally woke up so I changed her (twice) and fed her again before it was time for us to go home.

All in all, we had a wonderful day. I was anxious to take her out but she was an angel. Now I have the confidence to do it again!!

La Leche League

After my sad blog post the other day regarding nursing, one of my friends invited me to a La Leche League meeting that's on the first Thursday of every month just minutes from my home. I was stoked to go and immediately told her SURE!!! when asked. I actually wanted to go back in November, but at the time I was exactly one week post partum, and it was just too soon. Had I known that I could (should) go during pregnancy, I would have gone months ago!

It was empowering being around such strong mothers with the same views as myself. After introducing ourselves we played the ABCs of Breastfeeding. Sitting in a circle we went around thinking of a benefit of breastfeeding for each letter of the alphabet. Liza (friend who invited me) had B for bonding. I chose C for calming both for mommy and baby. Other C's could be convenience, cost-effective. It was fun! Then we did a Q&A. I borrowed a book from their library to help me when I go back to work, Nursing Mother, Working Mother. Then I got to show off A's BumGenius 3.0s AND my new Ergo.

It was quite a struggle for the first three weeks of A's life. (Possible TMI) My boobs HURT like they'd never hurt before. They would get so engorged that I'd get in the hot shower to relieve them. I used heating pads multiple times a day. I was constantly applying Lanolin to my poor, sore, cracking nipples. I used gel packs stuck on to my boobs to soothe them. When A would latch on, I would SCREAM in pain. I didn't scream or make hardly any noise in childbirth yet breastfeeding made me scream. Something wasn't right. Why was something that is so "natural" this hard? Why was I choosing to be in so much pain? Quick answer = For A. I knew breast milk is best. I knew I could fight through it. I knew the pain couldn't last forever. And you know what? I was right!!!

Now breastfeeding is a wonderful time for A and I to bond. She's a pro at it and knows exactly what to do. I'm starting to feel like an old pro, too. She's actually so efficient now that she finishes before I'm ready for her to be done. I'm like, "Aw, done already?" :)

If you're a new mommy struggling these first few weeks, know that it will probably get better! Don't give up unless you know you can't give it any more. If anybody wants to go to a LLL meeting, the next one is Thursday, Feb 3.

This is hard.

Today is just one of those days. I thought yesterday was one of those days, too. So now I guess it's two of those days. Not fair. These aren't supposed to be consecutive.

So, now I sit here finally able to take a break because Little Miss just went down for a nap. Wait, she's opening her eyes. Not fair little one.. it's been FIVE minutes! I'll just type quieter... and slower...

I do appreciate how well she sleeps at night, especially since her daddy is wonderful and gets up with her on the occasion that she does wakes up. I got to sleep until 9 AM today and it was fabulous. The best part of the mornings are when I go over to Addie and tell her good morning. I get the most precious smile in the world from my daughter. That makes the hard stuff seem not so hard.

Sometimes nursing her is a challenge. Like last night I sat on the couch from 6:00 until 9:30 nursing her on and off. My butt was numb by the time I could finally put her down to sleep. I was crying, cursing, and miserable. Then she fell asleep and I saw her angelic face sleeping so peacefully. That makes the hard stuff seem not so hard.

Little Miss hates tummy time. I don't understand quite why because she's so strong and she could hold her head up so easily but once I put her on her tummy time mat, she hates it after only one minute! I try to soothe her before picking her up but she just screams. I keep telling myself each day will get a little better and we can't give up. When I finally pick her up she stops crying immediately. It's because she knows she's safe in Mommy's arms. That makes the hard stuff seem not so hard.

Baby smiles. Coos. Giggles. Kicking. Wrapping her tiny fingers around one of my fingers. Bathtime. Big blue eyes. Seeing her ducky. Peek-a-boo. Singing songs. This makes the hard stuff seem not so hard.

Cloth Diapers

We finally started exclusively using our cloth diapers and so far have had zero blowouts or other icky things. Washing them is a piece of cake for all you nay-sayers out there. ;) For all the people that said we wouldn't make it one day I have this to say to you, "Nayner nayner nay nay!!" Honestly though, I love the softness of the cloth and if I was a baby, I'd prefer the fluffy cloth to the scratchy paper sposies have to offer.

ERGO

Today my ERGO baby carrier came in the mail! So excited about this purchase because this ERGO retails for $135 and I got it on BabySteals a few days ago for $65 (I think.. it was sixty-something). Yes, that's flipping half off!! I want to be a crunchy mom and I think I'm off to a decent start: CD, EBF, BW/APish. Or, for my non-bumpy friends, Cloth Diapering, Exclusive Breast Fed, Babywearing/Attachment Parentingish mommy.