Review: Sbish OBF

So, I have hopped onto the Sustainablebabyish bandwagon.  And oh my goodness, how fabulous is Sbish?

Really, truly, Sloomb products don't need me to write praise about them, as they have a pretty large following -- a wonderful facebook community of Sbish lovin' mamas, of which I'm now a member.  But, for the sake of all things wonderful and squishy, I'm going to spend a few moments raving about the wonderful, amazing, squishy, Sloomb OBF -- organic bamboo fleece fitted diapers.  They come in a variety of fun and fabulous colors, which makes me want every single one of them.  In fact, they're soon releasing a series of Hunger Games colors.  Fantastic, indeed!  (I'm only slightly obsessed with THG)

But anyway, I know -- they seem a bit pricy.  Well, not seem -- they are a bit pricy, in the grand spectrum.  They're my most costly fitted diaper, running at $24.95 a pop.  But seriously, they are 100% worth it!  I have a very heavy wetter, and it sucks up every ounce of urine in a heartbeat.  She can go twelve hours, multiple nursings during that period (we do 1, sometimes 2 dreamfeeds + I nurse her to sleep) and have no leaks.  It's amazing!  This is the only diaper I've used, so far, that can contain the crazy amounts of urine that my little darling releases during her sleep periods.  Combine it with Sloomb wool and well, killer combo!

For me, the ability to absorb and not leak is a high priority.  This is what makes me love the OBF.  It's still soft and squishy, and works well to absorb all that I need.  We were having major issues finding the perfect solution for a nighttime diaper, because Aria -- the little stinker, I love her so -- wakes up if you change her in the middle of the night.  So we try to avoid it at all costs, otherwise it can take 2 hours to get her back to sleep once all is said and done.  If she doesn't wake, we don't fuss with her.  (And most nights, she doesn't wake -- or only half-wakes to nurse and zonk once more)

These are also very easy to use -- no pins or snappis required, since they're snap diapers.  Grab and go, which is great when you have a squirmy little baby like mine.  :) 

However, it is not stay-dry, so I suggest adding in a stay-dry insert of whatever brand you prefer, to keep it from being cold and damp against your little darling's skin.  Also, they shrink -- I suggest highly that you size up when buying an OBF.  They are not deal-breakers for me, however some people consider them to be cons. 

And, of course, like any fitted -- they need a cover.  I suggest wool, but anything works, and we've paired this with multiple covers.  So far, so good with any and all!   If you're looking for a good nighttime solution, heavy wetter or not, I highly suggest you trot over to any Sloomb retailer -- like Ju-Ju Monkey, which happens to be local to me -- and place an order when they're available.  These may not be the most common household name for the cloth diaper world, but they are a pretty sought after diaper and can sometimes be difficult to come across, unless you know where to look.  :)

See, doesn't she look happy in her OBF, topped with some wonderful Sbish shorties?

Close-up of an OBF in action -- without a cover.

She's very happy about her OBF-clothed bottom! ;)

So if you're looking for a fitted diaper that will be well worth every dollar you put into it, I highly suggest trying a Sbish OBF.  Hopefully, you will be as pleased as we have been with the results!

Ode to the prefold diaper + changing times.

If there's one thing I'm so tired of hearing since becoming a mother, it's, "Well when I was your age and having kids, we did this..." 

I understand, changing times can sometimes be difficult for people to accept.  However, I do lots of research on the majority of my parenting decisions -- at least, the major ones.  And however different they are from times past, they're what my husband and I personally believe to be the best decisions for our baby.  And sometimes, when people make these comments, it's just in revelry -- like when my mother saw a pocket diaper for the first time, then got nostalgic remembering how she pinned a billion diapers when she worked in the hospital.  That was a (rare) cute moment of the former-mommy commentary.  And I'm not trying to say my mom's bad with this, or any one person in particular; my mom's pretty good about being low-key in terms of interference, and I hear these comments from lots of people.  But sometimes, enough is enough.

The most common one, for me, is hearing about babies sleeping on their backs.  The positive side is that Aria hates being on her tummy, for tummy time, sleeping or anything else, so nobody really tries to argue that I should be putting her on her tummy.  But I still get comments when people see the bald spot she's worn into her hair, or when they see her sprawled on her back with her arms splayed.  However commonly I hear it, this one perhaps bothers me the least, since I couldn't get her to sleep on her stomach if I wanted her to -- which I do not.

The one that most bothers me is hearing how I am doing it "all wrong" by following BLW and not giving my daughter rice cereal.  I do not judge anyone who uses rice cereal, purees, whatever.  I also don't judge people who formula feed, yet I get tons of comments about when I'm going to wean her from the breast -- and she's only (almost) 5 months old!  These comments get under my skin, and I sometimes find it difficult to bite my tongue when I hear them.

However.

Lately, I've fallen into an obsession with something that some people may feel is a bit archaic. 

Prefold. Diapers. 

I know, so many people think I'm nuts.  Pocket diapers, AIOs, AI2s, disposables -- they're all "so easy" to just slap on and go, no fuss.  And I own plenty of pockets, a few AIOs and AI2s as well.  But I have a deep fondness now for prefolds, as well.    I'm not quite "old school" because pins terrify me, so I use snappis.  Maybe one day I'll get bold enough to try... maybe.  lol. 

I'm still learning how to do the best folds with prefolds, and have had a few accidental pee leaks from poor folding, but we are getting there; and no explosion of poop has escaped even the poorest bikini twist!  ;)  So however much I sometimes scoff at the old-school views of parenting... I have to tip my hat to the prefold diaper. 

Whoops! (+ zoo)

I haven't posted in awhile -- I have a bunch of reviews saved in Word that are just waiting for photos to be inputted into them, but I've been really unambitious with getting them done.  We haven't installed our AC unit in the main area of the house, so last week I mostly napped/hid in my bedroom because the rest of the house was over 80 degrees throughout the day.  Therefore, we weren't very ambitious here.  But tomorrow my father-in-law is coming to help install the unit, so finally, my life can resume normalcy!

That means, this week, I'll be slamming a bunch of reviews and other nonsense onto my blog.  :)

But for the moment, a few photos from our visit to the zoo this weekend.  We had such a blast, and Aria loved the goats and the butterflies!  (sadly no photos of the goats because we were swamped by a bunch of kids attending a birthday party, but next time... we will get goat pictures.)

My favorite; the regal peacock.

Too cool for words.

 

Watching the butterflies!

These guys were a little too noisy for Aria's taste.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Country Bum-Kids, review

So, I love ordering products from WAHMs.  I love supporting local businesses here in my area, and I just love being able to support mamas like me who choose to stay home with their kiddos.  I wish I had some fantastic ability or creative outlet that I could use to make some extra cash - instead, I just spend cash on cloth diapers.  :3  Whoops?! 

Anyway, I recently placed an order with Country Bum-Kids for a Mockingjay diaper.  I had caught a few Hunger Games diapers out there on sites, but never found one I liked, or for a price I liked, or in a pocket diaper format.  I didn't want a fitted because having it covered would seem like a waste!  And some were a bit out of my price range.  So, I hunted and finally posted on the WAHM group on facebook, asking who could make me a Mockingjay diaper.  I received a ton of responses, but went in order by who posted and I am so glad that Trina from CBK was my first!



Is that not super cute?  My lighting was off as it was a quick snap of the iPhone camera, but it does say, "May the odds be ever in your favor" on the butt.  How. Fantastic?!

Anyway, Trina was a joy to work with for this, and boy is she fast!  I placed the order, she got the embroidery over a weekend (the wording needed to be changed from the original format she found as the quote was incorrect) and then boom, I paid and boom, diaper was at my doorstep.   Seriously, it was incredible.  I've had in-stock diapers take twice as long to appear in my hands. 

The quality rocks!  It has a ton of snaps, so sizing options are bountiful.  It's super soft, absorbs very well and hello, it's got a mockingjay on it.  Epic!  It is definitely a favorite, and already has been worn quite a few times.  Anywhere we go that it's visible, someone asks me about it or comments about how awesome it is.  And the functionality is to die for; not to mention, this mama makes affordable and high quality customs.   Aria wore this bad boy for 4 hours with only one insert, nursed 4 times during that period and took a nap

So I highly suggest taking any custom orders you may want to CBK.  Trina is a very efficient worker and is thorough in answering questions - not to mention was exceptionally patient with all of mine.  :)  You won't be disappointed! 

(I have to admit, I already have placed another order with her... eek!  Excitement!)

Oh, and another comment, Trina also does diaper credits.  As taken from her FB page:

"CREDITS: I do something not a whole lot of diaper makers do (if any do), I will take diapers you don't want as credit towards a NEW diaper! They must function or be something I can fix. I'll give credit depending on the condition of the trade diapers. Just let me know what you have, message me with pictures of them and let me know if there are any defects and I'll know if I can fix them. If I cannot fix them I cannot accept them. I will give you an estimate of credit solely by pictures and information you provide (this estimate is not guaranteed). Please thoroughly look over the diaper and note any defects, take pictures, etc. I will point out any flaws I find that you did not mention when I get them and if it's something I cannot fix it I can send it back to you or you decide if you want it thrown away but you will not get credit for it. If this is done repeatedly, I will no longer accept credit diapers from you. They must be shipped to me, at that point, I will look them over and confirm credit amount and reimburse you (through credit) for part of the shipping cost to me. I am an honest person and also a parent. That is why I came up with the credit idea. I like to save people money when I can."

So - go place an order with Trina, because you'll never regret it!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have been blessed with the most wonderful, amazing mother in the world.  I hope she has a great day, even though I cannot be with her today.  <3

My beautiful baby girl gave me a card last night that daddy helped her sign, and seal with her drool (lol) and a nice set from BBW of aromatherapy bubble bath and lotion to help mommy relax.  So while she played with daddy last night, I got to savor a nice bath, read and enjoy some wine.  It felt amazing!  I am so entirely blessed.

Cutting this short to enjoy my day with my loves, but wanted to wish everyone a Happy Mom's Day!

do you believe in magic?

Personally, I believe in the wondrous excitement of having gotten a half-decent night's sleep.  I don't know if I would call it magic, but it's some sort of wonderment to wake up and realize, "Hey, she slept 6 (or 7, 8, 9) hours straight - awesome!"  

Just as 4 months was steadily approaching, Aria began marathon sleeping.  I remember a few nights of her sleeping 9 hours where I would wake up, engorged and leaking, and panicking that she wasn't alive.  I'd reach out and just barely shake her, poking fearfully at her... and those bright eyes would pop open while giving me this, "Mom, what the heck?!" look in a frenzied manner.  Whoops!  We had a full week of 8+ hour nights, which was awesome!  I admit, a (very tiny) part of me began to almost miss the late-night feeds, those cuddle sessions with my baby when nobody else in the world (or in my house) was awake.  A very small, minuscule portion of me.  

Apparently Aria didn't get the memo that it was a small portion, because she suddenly began sleeping less - usually 3-4 hour stretches.  And I was getting tired and wondering, "Why did I miss these sleepless nights?"  Granted, I should be grateful for the stretches she did, but selfish me - I had a taste of more and I wanted it back!  

We determined pretty early into the regression that although sleep regression is typical around 4 months, another issue was also the swaddle.  I won't go into the long saga now, but I'll say I am a believer in the swaddle, at least for Aria.  When we stopped swaddling, she stopped sleeping.  I'm not even kidding, she'd be up from 11pm until 5am, without shutting an eyeball.  It lasted about two and a half weeks - pure hell - until we decided to try swaddling again.  She hates it and always fought being swaddled... but she'd sleep.  It was beautiful. 

way back when we first came home from the hospital. <3

She is now, however, almost 25 inches long - a leap from her original 19.  Thus she no longer fits prettily into her cute little velcro swaddles.  And a blanket?  Forget it, she busts out like nobody's business.  We tried swaddle after swaddle method and the only thing to work was a fleece kiddopotamus swaddleme.  But we knew swaddle weaning was quickly approaching, and we were scared.  Or, I was because I feared a lack of sleep - my OH was kind of like, "Well, okay."  

Anyway, I had heard from a few people about this Magic Merlin's sleepsuit.  Right, okay, whatever.  I ignored their comments, read the website and was no way paying 50 bucks for some sleep suit when she has a thousand and one sleep sacks that had been given to her.  That being said, she's never been able to sleep longer than one (dumb luck, perhaps) two hour stretch in a sleep sack.  Normally she wakes up every 15-30 minutes in one.  

So I kept swaddling, and as it began falling lower and lower on her body as her legs grew, the more restlessly she slept as she spent any half-waking moment trying to squirm free.

Cue CraigsList, and a listing for the Magic Merlin sleepsuit.  A girl in my birth club was trying to convince me to try one, and when I found a listing for a lightly used one for 20 bucks, I said okay.  I'll try anything at this point, I just want sleep.  

I'll be darned, the thing works.  I don't understand how.  Or why.  But it works.   She still sleeps in her rock and play beside my best.  She still comes into our bed after she wakes up for the first time each night - usually around 4:30-5:30am.  Hey, that's fine.  I can nurse her in bed and we both drift back off to sleep.  In fact, she's still in my bed while I type this, waiting for Jayden to arrive (whole other story).  But it works!  We went back to sleeping about 6 hours straight - sometimes more, never less - before waking for eating and going right back to sleep.  She doesn't flail, she sleeps soundly... it's fantastic.  Needless to say, I am now a believer.  

Review: Rumparooz (aplix & snap)

Double gussets.  I absolutely, positively love double gussets.  They contain even the messiest of messes; some of Aria's largest blowouts have been in double gusset diapers and have thankfully not escaped.  That being said, the double gusset feature is what attracted me to Rumparooz diapers.  So when I had the opportunity to buy a RAR diaper - aplix style - I leapt at the opportunity.  I was skeptical about the aplix at first, but more on that later.

First of all, doesn't she look so happy to have a heiny embraced in wonderful cloth diaper love?

There she is, rocking the RAR Whale Tale in aplix.  And I tell you what, that aplix is tough!  I haven't had this diaper for very long, but it doesn't get cruddy in the wash and it's strong enough that, should she decide later to undo her own diapers, she won't have an easy task before her. 

And well, I think that pattern is absolutely adorable!  Who wouldn't love that??  As taken from their website, here's a bum view!  (Aria hates tummy time so any time I tried snapping a photo of her own bum, she's thrash and squeal and cry and it wasn't working well... lol)



Adorable!

Anyway, this diaper has lots and lots of room into which she can grow, and is a very soft diaper, inside and out.  Like I said, I praise the double gusset feature!  The inserts also are super-absorbant and we have had no leak issues, and she's worn one of these for 5 hours straight during an unexpected naptime without a double-insert.  Hurrah for dry pants!

We also have snappies, and I love them just as much.  I do have a fondness for snap diapers over aplix, I won't lie.  But for this brand, I'll make an exception over my aplix disliking.  I'm still not convinced I would trade all my snaps... but they're still a great addition to the stash!

I find that RARz not as trim as some of Aria's other diapers, but they do contain any and all messes she's made and I just cannot help but love these diapers.  I find myself reaching for these more often than some of the other brands in my possession.  I know what Aria will be asking for at Christmas this year! ;)

Check out their site or find a retailer near you, because I assure you, you will not regret purchasing one (or more) of these lovely diapers!

Baby Kanga: Review

So today, a review of the Baby Kangas diapers that I recently purchased at Sweet Little Blessings.  Baby Kangas are Canadian-made one-size pocket diapers, made to fit approximately 10-35 pounds.  The outer layer is stretchy, to help fit any baby's body type, and the inside is a very soft stay-dry fleece.  They are unique compared to any of my other pocket diapers in the fact that they have a zipper pocket on the diaper's outside where you unzipper, slip in the insert, zip and boom, good to roll! 

I have this diaper in the above red ladybug color - totally adorable - as well as in turquoise surf.   First thoughts?  Very fun and colorful - and I liked that the inserts were added on the outside.  All my other pockets, you put the insert in from the inside of the diaper and on a few of them, the closure isn't very good so there's a chance of the microfiber insert rubbing against my poor baby girl's body.  As soft as that is, definitely not good for her!  So I liked the idea of having the kangaroo pouch on the diaper.  Though, the website claims you can just open the pouch and shake out the dirty insert... definitely had no luck with that in this household.  However I don't mind touching a dirty insert and dumping it, since I just wash my hands after every diaper change anyway.  No big deal.

Baby Kangas do not come with inserts, so I've been doing trial-and-error with trying to determine how best to prevent leaks.  Admittedly, this diaper has leaked on me more than any of my others, so I have found that in order to prevent leaks (and I'm talking daytime use, not nighttime) I need to at least double-stuff, preferably with a microfiber insert on top of a bamboo insert.  Triple stuffing makes it even bulkier, but beefs up the absorbency and prevents leakage.  It's contained all poo messes nicely, but I've had a couple of wet diapers since starting use.  It seems to me that it just needs some thought and testing to determine which insert combination works to suit your baby.

I like their trim fit, they suit Aria nicely and look as though they'll fit her well as she grows.  I know my sister used a few on her son, who is 16 months and 30 pounds.  So she was able to squish his bum into them.  :) 

Here's the ladybug on Miss Aria:



She's wearing a bit of a skeptical look, but she was also very tired and crabby when I took this photo.  Thankfully, right after she took a nice hour-long nap, so hopefully that'll improve her mood.  (She is just waking up as I type, hubby dashed off to collect her.) 

So as you can see, they fit my 13-pounder nicely and should give her nice room into which she can grow.  Though it's a little annoying testing out combinations to figure out how best to prevent leaks, this is not the only brand with which I've had to undergo that process, so I personally feel it's just part of the cloth diapering experience.  Nothing's ever perfect!  ;) 

If I were rating this diaper on a 10-scale, I'd give it a 7.  Not my favorite of the pocket diapers, however there's no major flaws.  It tends to be one of the last diapers I grab when we're waiting on the clean wash to dry, however I have no regrets in making this purchase.


  Look at those cute colors!

As I said, not my favorite, but not a regrettable purchase.  

Update + Seattle Sky Natural review

It's been awhile since I updated. Things here have been very busy but we are finally resuming normalcy. I have some diaper reviews to type up soon, now that I've been able to try some of them multiple times. 

But until I get time to write them up, I'm just going to toss out a quick shout-out to Seattle Sky Naturals. I ordered a ring sling from Boutique Bella Bambini last year and when it arrived, I received two samples from another business. One of them I'm testing right now - a bath tub tea bag from SSN. It's a giant tea bag that you toss in the bathtub for relaxation purposes. I am LOVING it. It smells great and I am thoroughly enjoying my bath. I am savoring a glass of Spyglass wine (Spy Cat - so good!) and am completely at peace. It's not a strong and offensive smell, but a pleasant scent that is rather relaxing. Reminds me to wonder why on earth I don't take more baths and less showers. 

Cue baby crying. A reminder as to why I get less opportunities to take a bath haha. 

Anyway, if you want a fun, relaxing bath tub addition, I suggest trying the relaxing tea bath from SSN. It's glorious!! 

And now, back to motherhood. Tomorrow, a diaper review on Baby Kanga diapers.

Finally, normalcy resumes.

Yesterday at 8pm, Chris walked through the door and announced that another insane tax season has come to an end.  I was so happy to see him so early!  I know they were blessed in being ahead of the game this year, thus having gotten their stuff done long before midnight.  I bet his coworkers were relieved to go home as well!

So far, cloth diapering is going well.  Everything fits Aria nicely, some are better than others but I don't want to do any 'reviews' until I've had a few more wears from each diaper.  Everything is working well though, and her diaper rash has completely gone away, so we're very happy! 

And I had another great shopping experience - I ordered diapers from Jack Be Natural, and am very pleased with their service.  Not only did my Kawaii diapers arrive in record time (and free shipping + earning credit toward future orders), but they came with samples!  So I now have, to also test and review:

Lexie Lotion for the baby's skin
Crunchy Clean baby detergent

Things have been a bit crazy, I just got home yesterday - we leave again for my mom's tomorrow night, so I likely won't be posting again until Sunday.  But hopefully I'll have some good photos and will definitely have a review or two to post. 

Also received a great FuzziBunz off the cloth diaper swap, and a great fitted made by Star Baby Designs, which has since shut down sadly.  It's the cutest Three Little Pigs print - I love it!  So, yes.  Lots to test, and lots to review in the near future.

Cheaper by the Dozen.

Today, I had quite the experience.  I'm visiting my mom in Lancaster, because Chris is so busy with tax season, it's too lonely and difficult for me to be home alone while he works 18+ hour days this week.  I'm so ready for the 17th to come and go! 

Since I am here, I set up an appointment to meet with Coleen from Sweet Little Blessings, which happens to be down the street from my mother's house.  A few things you should know about Coleen:

She is a wonderful, sweet woman who knows her cloth diapers.
She should know her CDs, because she has twelve kids.

Not all, but the majority, have been CDed.

Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed when we walked into her basement shop and saw her stock.  I wish I had taken a mobile photo - it was amazing!  She has so many brands, so many fun colors and patterns, and everything is so organized.  Mom and I were completely blown away by everything she had - it was awesome.  And any questions that I had conjured since my visit to Blake... were easily answered there. 

So of course, I purchased diapers.  :)

Baby Kanga OS pocket in Turquoise Surf

GroVia OS hybrid in Mandarin
Best Bottom in Hoot
(again with the owls... lol)


I cannot wait to get them on her tomorrow!  They've been washed, prepped and are all ready to go.  So, reviews and such will come as I get time, and get to test-run them. 

So, if you live in or near Lancaster, or get the opportunity to visit - set up an appointment with Coleen.  You will not regret it!

 

A crunchy adventure.

Since Chris is so busy with tax season, my mom came out yesterday for the big Just Between Friends
consignment sale in Oaks.  Since I am a first-time mom, I got into the presale and my mom joined me.  We had a blast!  I got a couple of nice, barely-used Oh Katy diapers to test, as well as a FuzziBunz.  We found all of what we were looking for, too, so that was great.  Well worth standing in line for an hour to wait for the presale, and I'm so glad that Aria just snuggled up in her Ergo the entire time.  I also ordered a Thirsties cover from Amazon, so I am waiting for that to arrive.

Today, we went on an adventure.  I was on the prowl for some bumGenius diapers, so we started at Whole Foods.  Although that location was listed as a carrier of the BG, they only had gDiapers - what a bummer!  So we headed to Macy's where grandma bought a few dresses on sale - difficult to resist a good sale - then headed to my mom's main goal, Ikea.  After meeting with hubby for lunch, we headed to Ardmore in search of the store Nurture.  As promised, they did carry BGs so we got three OS pockets, as well as a Flip cover.  I cannot wait to try them out this week! 

Then, we began a hunt for the Snappi.  After doing some hunting on Google, it said that there was a cloth diaper seller in Phoenixville - not far from my own house.  The name was listed as Wee Essentials, but there was no working contact information.  Since an address was listed, we decided to be super-creepers and drive by, just to be nosy.  We reached the address where there's a house and a sign out front for Blake's Diapers... interesting.  Aria is screaming at this point, so I pull over and nurse her in the backseat while we look on Google for more information.

At this point, I'm so grateful for my iPhone.  haha.

Anyway, we call the number and there's no answer, but mom keeps saying how there is a car in the driveway, so let's just knock and see if anyone's manning the store.  She runs up the driveway, knocks and chats with the young woman who answers the door.  She then comes back and tells me to get Aria and let's go, Blake's waiting!

Well, Blake is a lovely and super-helpful WAHM who runs Blake's Diapers from her basement.  She was kind enough to welcome us in, even though her business is typically run by appointment.  I got all of my questions answered, and made the purchase of the Snappis as planned, as well as a few unplanned purchases.  Isn't that always the story with cloth diapers?! :)

From Blake, I purchased two amazing Indian cotton prefolds, a Sweet Pea cover (the coveted Owls), a WAHMies pail liner in sage and a WAHMies medium wet bag in the owls pattern - can you tell I love owls?  After thanking her immensely for visiting us with such short (read: no) warning notice, we headed back home feeling quite successful. 

So the diapers have been washed and are currently drying, and I look forward to test-driving them with Aria tomorrow!

Ohhh Katy!

Just a quick update, will elaborate tomorrow...

Aria is loving her Oh Katy diaper!

(and no leaks, woo hoo!)

frugal pondering.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. 

I am going to be a SAHM for a few years, at least until Aria can attend preschool.  Obviously, the lack of income from my corner is being replaced by a new sense of frugal behaviors.  The other day, I put pen to paper on how much we spend on diapers in a week.  Then by a month.  Then to a year.  If we continue buying Wegman's brand diapers, which are inexpensive and I admit, work wonderfully for Aria, but... we will pay at least 500 dollars for diapers this year. 

That. is. insane.

Then you think about how Aria will likely be in diapers until she's at least 3... there you have it folks.  Sure, compared to some things, perhaps not an insane amount of money but when you just cut back on one full income, it surely is a hunk of money that I would love to not have to be spending.

So... I've started researching cloth diapers.  It's overwhelming!  There's so many kinds of them - prefolds, pockets, AIOs - not to mention how many brands exist.  I feel completely lost.  But... I'm going to give it a go.  The trick will be convincing Chris to hop on board... eek. 

beware of primitive mom.

I am tearing up I'm loling so hard.

So, I've neglected to update.  Not that this should come as any surprise, especially because I don't really plan to publicize this blog - it's mostly a personal record for myself.  But after a fabulous little experience today at Target, I've decided I need to start updating my blog more often so, if for nothing else, I can remember the crazy moments in life.

I got in just recently from running errands. It's a nice day and since I'd rather wear Ari and push my groceries in a cart than push her and carry them, I had her in my Ergo. We're at Target and I'm looking at breast milk bags when I hear, "Oh good God there's another one of those dirty hippie moms. Will we ever escape the caveman era?" I begin glancing around curiously, wondering who these two girls to my left are looking at...

Then I realize, they're glaring at me!

I'll add, they're looking at formula (which I have nothing against, don't get me wrong), pushing a Stokke stroller (again, I have no problems with it, other than refusing to pay a month's worth of mortgage on a stroller lol) and glaring at ME while whispering loudly between themselves. We make eye contact ...and I arched a brow while the one girl continues going, "Oh she even breastfeeds. How primitive and... hippie of her."

I was having a really hard time biting my tongue, but I just smiled sweetly and said that yes, I wear my baby. I breastfeed my baby. She even sleeps in my bed. And oh my, I left my house without makeup and a shower.  How primitive and caveman of me!  They gave me a disgusted look and quickly buzzed away, whispering to one another. 

Ignorance is obnoxious.

Note, I did shower, but still. lol. Good heavens, though. I don't make snide remarks, let along ones that can be heard, about other mamas. I try very hard not to judge, because you never know what someone's circumstances are.  So who are you to criticize me?

Anyway, this encounter made me realize I need to blog and remember these moments... because life's too short to not pause for a moment and laugh at the crazier parts of our lives.

the chaos begins... now

as if I already didn't anticipate motherhood being a crazy round of chaos... Aria Adelle decided to make her grand appearance one month early.  due on February 7, 2012, Aria made herself known to this world officially on January 7, 2012, after over 30 hours of labor.  she weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces and is absolutely beautiful.

I am truly and entirely exhausted, but completely enthralled.  so for now, any updates on chaos shall be postponed. 

xo