Mommy needs her grown up juice.

It's days like today I just want to throw in the towel. It's days like today I want to pull my hair out and my patience is pushed to the limit.

It's days like today that I am reminded that being a parent is hard and sometimes being a toddler is harder. I am reminded that she needs more than anything else in the whole world. It's hearing her cry out "momma" and seeing her little arms reach out for me to hold her that make all of my frustration disappear instantly.

I'm in awe of how a parent can love their children so unconditionally with all of their being. Toddlers know exact how to push your buttons until you are about to go insane but somehow you can't wait for them to wake up in the morning to do it all over again. 

Cheers to all you parents that can't wait for bedtime but miss their kids as soon as they are asleep.

"Excuse me, ma'am. You can't do that here."

Recently, I've come across a very eye-opening campaign that has sparked tons of controversy. The campaign "When Nuture Calls," was created by two graphic arts students from The University of North Texas who read about a mother who was harnessed in a Texas Target for breastfeeding in public. They were shocked by the story and looked into their own states breastfeeding laws. Once they realized Texas has very weak breastfeeding laws they decided to create campaign posters showing the battle of public nursing many mothers have to go through.

"Welcome to the When Nurture Calls campaign. This aims to protect a mother's right to breastfeed her baby in public by striving to pass the bill HB1706, which will protect breastfeeding mothers from harassment and discrimination when they choose to nurture their child in public." Is the first message you see when visiting the When Nuture Calls campaign site. Many people know is that most states have breastfeeding laws in place, what many people don't know is that there is no penalty for breaking these laws in most of the states. So, nursing mothers have no protection by law to feed their children in a public place.

When Nuture Calls posters show mothers nursing their babies in a bathroom stall after being harassed when feeding in public. 

I think these students have done such an amazing job showing how hard it is to be a breastfeeding mother in the US. I know exactly how these mothers in the posters feel.

When Peeka was a month old my mother and I went to Ikea. I was excited because I knew they had a nursing room so I could feed my newborn without a worry. When we first arrived I went up to the 3rd floor and into the nursing room and nursed my little sleepy baby comfortably. I put her in my sling and shopped my heart out for a few hours until my boobs told me Peeka needed to eat. I headed back to the nursing room and it was locked. I waited a bit and tried again. Locked.

Peeka started to cry her heartbreaking newborn cry and my boobs felt like they were going to explode. My horomones were still a mess and I started getting frustrating and a little panicky. I didn't know where I was going to feed my baby. 

My mom went to get her car while Peeka and I waited. After getting Peeka bundled up and in her car seat (Decembers in Chicago aren't very pleasant) I helped my mom load up our goodies. I still needed to feed my crying baby. I finally just went into a "family" bathroom locked the door and sat on the toilet and nursed Peeka. I wanted to cry. It smelled horrible and people kept knocking on the door. I didn't know what else to do. I felt bad for Peeka and I felt bad for myself. 

After that day I went home and researched my butt off on breastfeeding in public. I searched for local and feeders laws and found that my wonderful state of Michigan only states that breastfeeding isn't considered public nudity. That's it. Most other states that do have nursing in public laws don't have any penalties for breaking those laws. I was so shocked.

After about 4 months of breastfeeding did I really say "Screw everyone." and started feeding Peeka in public freely. I don't just whip out my boobs wherever but I do find a quiet place and feed her. She can't focus if there is a lot going on and gives me nip-flash. I think getting more comfortable with feeding and having a baby who was bigger and could almost sit up alone helped me loosen up and nurse in public. My philosophy is "look at your own risk," when it comes to nursing.

I want all mothers to feel comfortable and able to feed their babies/toddlers in public without feeling pressured to go somewhere secluded like a bathroom. Breastfeeding is natural. You aren't doing anything wrong. You are nurturing you child and no one can tell you that is wrong.

Be strong mama's!

"You're not giving her baby food?"

So, Joel and I decided we wanted to give Baby Led Weaning a try when Peeka turned 6 months old. She has been extremely interested in food since 4 months of age and would constantly try and swipe whatever it was we were eating. So naturally we thought she would enjoy eating solids with her grubby little hands instead of us feeding her mushy purees. Plus, we knew exactly what we were feeding her.

The basis of Baby Led Weaning is that you ditch the bowls, spoons and purees and trade them for soft, unprocessed food that baby can feed herself. In theory baby can eat whatever you are eating. We went on the steamed veggies path for the first few weeks. We figured Peeka is going to have a sweet tooth like her dad and grandpa so we should get her comfortable with vegetables before fruit. Also, I am too lazy to puree Peeka's food and feed it to her which works well because she demands to feed herself. There are tons of great resources online and on youtube of how you can start Baby Led Weaning and what foods to avoid for a few months. Six Month Old baby Eating Steak happens to be one of my favorite YouTube videos. Just listen to the dad get into it.

Of course, our families think we are new age Hippies for cloth diapering and breastfeeding Peeka over the age of 3 months. So, when we tried to explain Baby Led Weaning to them they kept asking "So, you're not feeding her baby food? Doesn't she need to eat?" Naturally, I told them she is still getting all of her nutrients from breast milk. The next question is always "How long are you going to breastfeed? It's been 6 months." Of course, I have to remind them that I will breastfeed as long as Henly wants to. The subject usually gets changed after that.

The turning point with our families is always when we let them feed her food. It's quite amusing watching a baby try a bite of carrot for the first time and laugh at all the silly faces they make. We started with steamed carrots, then steamed broccoli, next was cauliflower and now we are onto steamed sweet potato; which she hates.

I was oblivious to Baby Led Weaning until Peeka was about 3.5 months old. I am still learning about it everyday. It's not for everyone though. Some parents and babies aren't comfortable with solid foods until close to a year old. Some parents feel uncomfortable with watching a baby's gag reflex. For our family it was something we felt was best for Peeka because she showed a huge interest in food; she would creeply watch us eat while drooling up a storm. Peeka is also very independent and wants to try new things on her own. Baby Led Weaning was a no brainer. We of course do try and give her things like unsweetened apple sauce and veggies mashed with breast milk but she rather eat solid mushy foods.

Enjoy the hilarious pictures of Peeka's Baby Led Weaning Journey:

Resources on Baby Led Weaning:
Baby Led Weaning - The Mush Stops Here
Baby Led Weaning | Is Baby Led Weaning the Best Way to Introduce Solid Foods?
Baby Led Weaning The first week of solids


-The Soggy Mama

Smart Bottoms Smart One 3.1 Cloth Diaper Review

Ease of Use- 4/5: These diapers are very easy to use. My husband does have a hard time figuring out how to fold the tongue style insert but he also has a hard time snapping diapers on straight. These wouldn’t be the diapers I’d leave for a babysitter or grand parent. I do fold the insert before I put them away so my husband doesn’t have to money with it but it might be a little confusing for someone who doesn’t know what the insert is. Also, these diapers take forever to prep. I prepped our first Smart One about 3 times and it leaked really badly. After about 3 more rounds of washing and sort of drying we have been 100% leak free. Smart Bottoms uses U.S. milled organic cotton that has not been treaded with any chemicals, which leaves all of the natural oils in the fabric. More oils in the fabric means you will have to wash these a lot more than any other diaper to get them to become absorbent. I love that they don’t want any unnecessary chemicals on our babies but I am so impatient to put new diapers on Peeka. The wait to fully prep is definitely worth it.

More for Your Money- 4/5: I always have buyer’s remorse when I spend over $20 on a diaper so when I bought my first Smart Bottoms I bought Smart One 3.0 AIO, which was on sale for $18 to make room for the revamped 3.1. I ultimately bought it because it was made locally. After trying the 3.0 I fell in love and had to buy more. I bit the bullet and bought 2 3.1’s. These diapers go from about 8lbs to 35lbs. Every piece of a Smart Bottoms diaper (and other products) is made in here in the US AND the cotton they use is 100% certified organic cotton milled in the States. “Made in the USA” products are always the best quality. The best quality also means spending a few more dollars for the best.

Performance- 4/5: After using the 3.1 for 3 months we have only had one leak, which was user error (I didn’t prep it enough times). Peeka is a tummy sleeper and with a double fold of the insert in the front she has always had dry naptimes. We haven’t used these overnight yet but with a doubler or an infant prefold underneath the insert I wouldn’t have any concerns with leaks. After prepping (5 or 6 washes, I didn’t dry in between washes) this diaper is a super soaker. After a 3-hour car ride and a giant EBF poop the 3.1 kept everything in. Peeka is almost 6 months old but can pee like a toddler and we never worry about leaks when she is wearing Smart Bottoms.

Fit- 4/5: The 3.1’s have a wider front waist than it’s predecessor the 3.0 which means they now fit babies longer. Peeka was about 11lbs when she first wore a Smart Ones and at almost 6 months and about 19lbs she is still on the smallest rise and 1 row out on each side for her waist (she is tall and solid). The waist elastic is very wide and doesn’t leave any red marks on Peeka like some other diapers.

Overall- 4/5: These are my favorite AIO diaper. I love that these are 100% made in the United State AND a Michigan company; it makes my heart so happy. The fit is great, the color and patterns are to die for and the quality of fabric and snaps is out of this world. I have a few of these in my stash and would buy more.

Where to Buy: smartbottoms.com, Click here to visit Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique, Click here to visit EcoBuns

Homemade Cloth Wipe Solution

I have been cloth diapering Peeka for just over a month now and it has been wonderful. We even traveled 3.5 hours to Chicago to MommyCon (our adventures at MommyCon will be my next post) in cloth diapers. Granted most of the babies there were in cloth, it was our first big trip without disposables.

When I first started using cloth I never thought about using cloth wipes too. Why wouldn't I just use disposables? They are so convienent, right? Wrong! It is such a pain to have to have a wet bag/pail for cloth diapers and a diaper genie/trash can for wipes. I want easy. I want to be able to throw the wipe in the dirty diaper and put it in my wet bag and call it good. Cloth wipes just make more sense.

So I have been trying to use up what we have left of our disposables wipes. I am calling it quits today. I will always have some disposable wipes around and in the diaper bag for messy hands or quick clean ups but I will not be using them to clean bottoms anymore.

Freedom!

I have about two dozen bumGenius Natural Flannel Baby Wipes that I'd been using as wash cloths because they are so soft and 12 Planetwise Flannel Wipes I got on clearance from Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique (I get most of my cloth goodies from them if my local store doesn't carry the product). So I was set on wipes but I need the solution to go with them. I had been researching all kinda of diy wipe solutions and premade solutions online. Being lazy and cheap I decided to try my own with things I already had on hand. I found a simple recipe that I had to try from cleaningouttheclutter.com.

Basic Wipe Solution (Can be used with your favorite soap and oil.)

• 1/4 cup oil (Coconut Oil , Grapeseed Oil,Sunflower Oil, Olive Oil, etc.)
• ½ cup liquid soap or baby wash (only 1 Tbsp. if using Dr. Bronners Magic Pure-Castile Soap Baby )
• 2 cups water

So I whipped up a batch.

I used Organic Coconut Oil, and a 1/4 cup of each Aveeno Baby Wash. I mixed it up and it looked like this.

I've read that some people put this solution in a spray bottle and spray the baby or the wipe and use, some people will put this solution over wipes in a wipe warmer and have premoistened wipes ready at hand and some people leave it in a container with a top and dip their wipes in when cleaning baby.

I realized I have no wipe warmer, no extra spray bottle (we just moved at a pitched anything empty) and if I had an open container of anything on the changing table Peeka would kick it and spill it everywhere. I do have a OXO Perfect Pull Wipes Dispenser that is awesome. I have 17 wipes folded up and ready to go in it.

You can watch this video from my favorite DirtyDiaperLaundry.com to see how to fold wipes so they come out one at a time.

I did pour an extra cup of water over top just because the solution seemed really soapy once I poured it on the wipes.

Now time to test these bad boys out! Peeka wanted to put them to the ultimate challenge, she pooped... A lot!

The wipes cleaned up Peeka's bottom so well. A+ on clean up. The thing was the wipes were so soapy I had to ring them out and I felt like I was leaving so much soap and oil on her bum. There were soap suds I had to wipe off with a dry cloth. Not squirmy baby friendly. Not to mention my wipes stuck together when I tried to pull them out!

BUT it was nice to throw everything in one place instead of having a trash and a wet bag!

I think the next batch I will use a lot LESS soap. I think I will also wet the wipes and squeeze out the extra solution before I place the wipes in the box.

All in all cloth wipes will be much more convienent that disposables once I figure out the solution thing.

Back from the Dead...

...Sorta.

We moved!!! So my time has been spent dealing with packing and keeping my 4 month old happy. Which was hell. Pure hell.

Now I get to nest! Living in an apartment I knew we were going to move out of kept me from getting Peeka's things nice and organized.

On another note, cloth diapering has been going so well! I love it. The GroVia hybrids and AIO's are amazing. We have also found Smart Bottoms Smart Ones AIO fit really well. Plus they are 100% USA made AND the company is from Grand Rapids Michigan! Literally a hop skip and jump away!

More to come...

-MommyCon!

-Babywearing!

-Marriage

-"Just let me pull your hair Mom!"

-Cheap Drunk

"You're going to start doing what!?"

When I decided I would start to cloth diaper Peeka most people thought I was crazy. I guess nobody knew why I was trading the life of simple easy disposable diapers to be constantly doing laundry and having to scrap poop out into the toilet constantly. I don't blame them. I had no idea what cloth diapering would be like until I did a little research.

When I say "a little research" I would be lying. I spent countless hours watching cloth diaper reviews and learning what AIO, AI2, pocket, prefolds and wet bags were. I literally had no idea cloth diapers came in so many different shapes, sizes, colors and styles. It was quite overwhelming for me being a first time and a new stay at home mom.
I was a little grossed out with pocket diapers. I honestly couldn't imagine myself sticking my hand into a dirty poopy diaper to get an insert out. I know that some brands you can just shake out the insert but I know I would shake mine onto the floor or something horrible. Plus, I wasn't ready to pay $20+ on one diaper that only got one use before needing to be washed. Though these are some of the most popular I am just not mentally ready for pocket diapers.

bumGenius One-Size Snap Closure Cloth Diaper 4.0 

Thirsties One Size Pocket Diaper Snap

So when I came across the Hybrid Diaper I was very very interested. The idea of a Hybrid or All In Two diaper is that you can reuse the shell/cover multiple times while changing the insert as it gets soiled. That means less laundry, less touching "ick", a longer lifetime for diapers and my favorite they are cheaper!

The two hybrid systems I looked at was the Flip by the same makers of bumGenius and the GroVia Hybrid diapers.

GroVia Cloth Diaper Shell - Hook & Loop

Flip: 1 One-Size Snap Closure Diaper Cover & 1 One-Size Organic Insert

The Flip diapers are a great Hybrid. They come with a One Sized snap closure diaper cover that is waterproof and breathable. The inside of the cover can be wiped out and and new insert can be put in. Each of the flip diapers come with a one size insert. These inserts get folded down to fit the size of the diaper you are using. You may also use any other insert you like in these covers. I like that you get one cover and one insert with each diaper and that they are the cheapest of the major hybrid diapers. I don't like that the inserts can move and bunch while your little one moves through out the day. Also, the flip disposable inserts (a major plus for the hybrid line) are just one flat pad-like insert. They just sit in the cover and can move around.
The GroVia Hybrids are my favorite. You need to purchase the shell and "soaker" inserts separately unlike the Flip. I really like that the soakers snap into the shell so you know that no matter how much your baby squirms the soaker is where it needs to be. I also love how GroVia shells come in Hook & Loop (Velcro) or Snaps. The GroVia is also a much more trim diaper, which for my skinny tall girl these fit very well.

After thinking long and hard we ended up going with the GroVia Hybrid Diapers.

I bought 13 shells and 24 GroVia Organic Cotton Soaker Pads - 2 Pack that were used from a wonder lady who's boys are no longer in diapers and bought 6 new GroVia Stay Dry Soaker Pad (2-pack) and 3 new GroVia Hybrid Snap Shell Diapers. After a day of use we had 3 pees and 3 poopy diapers that all stayed contained! Even after 2 two hour naps with our heavy wetter she stayed dry.  I am very impressed.

I will report back on how our night goes with the Stay Dry Soakers!