Cloth Diapering!

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted... Time flies when you have a baby! I'm dreading my return to work, which is coming up quickly (January 2nd)... Well we finally reached the end of the disposable diapers that we got at the diaper raffle at our shower, so I had to figure out what we were going to do next.  I sat down and crunched the numbers, and realized that even with investing in some of the pricier cloth diapers (pockets and AIO's instead of prefolds), we would save anywhere from $600-1000 with cloth diapers.  When you add on that I got a bunch of diapers (I ended up winning a bunch in a giveaway after I ordered mine-yay!) and I plan to be very delicate with taking care of them so they last, I will hopefully be able to use them for our next baby too.  That would be a huge savings! I think total, after the giveaway and my orders, we'll have 39 diapers(!!). 

I decided on pockets and AIO's because they'll be easier for daycare when he starts next month.  I haven't asked them about it yet, but I looked up the regulations for our state, and it just says that the daycare can't launder them, and they have to return them to us every day.  That's what I was planning on anyway, so hopefully it will work out.  We've been in cloth full time for 3 days now, and so far it's going great.  I'm still working on figuring out a good night time diaper that doesn't leak, but we had issues with disposables leaking overnight too, so that isn't much different, honestly.  When he poops, it all stays in the diaper.  No poopsplosions ruining his clothes! And the poop came out in the wash, even though I didn't use a diaper sprayer and I didn't rinse it in the toilet.  And the wash was fairly quick and easy.

So I really just wanted to share that I love cloth diapering! Also, I love the money it saves us! And I have to say that I'm extremely happy that there aren't any nasty chemicals touching my boy's skin anymore.  Just extra virgin coconut oil to prevent diaper rash, and cloth.  Oh, and the diapers are so cute too!  Here's a picture of my little boy in a Grovia AIO:

So happy to be in cloth diapers! :)

6 weeks down, 6 to go...

Finally!!!! I'm under my pre-pregnancy weight! I'm currently around 139 pounds... When I (unexpectedly) got pregnant last November, I was 140 pounds, 10 pounds from my goal weight... It is so nice to see the numbers under there again... Now if I could just fit into my size 6 jeans... I am halfway through Lindsay Brin's 12 week get your body back postnatal boot camp, and definitely stronger and fitter! I am hoping that another 6 weeks will really help flatten my stomach... That's the reason I don't fit in my jeans (I can close them, but I have stomach muffin top-gross!). I am really hoping to fit into them by Christmas! Then the triathlon training starts :) So here's my 11 week postpartum, 6 weeks into boot camp picture...

Crunchy Update

Alright so I thought I'd give an update on how my efforts to crunchy up my life a bit are going... So here's what I've done so far and how it's going:

1.) "No poo" method- So far it's going great! My hair looks and feels good, and it's easy (and cheap)... I don't smell like vinegar, I look like I wash my hair, so I'm happy with this one...
2.) Homemade household cleaner- Still waiting on my essential oils to get in to make my cleaner smell good, but other than that this also seems successful so far... I made it in a 7th generation spray bottle when we finished up that cleaner, and it worked great for cleaning my sink last night!
3.) Homemade deodorant- Haven't tried this yet... I looked all over for extra virgin coconut oil and couldn't find it, so I had to order it from Amazon... Should be coming in tomorrow or Saturday...
4.) EVCO as diaper cream- See above, still waiting on this one!
5.) Homemade baby wipes- Love it! I made them with water, organic baby soap (no chemicals, no sulfates, no pthalates, nothing I don't recognize on the ingredient list) and extra virgin olive oil... When I get my essential oils in, I might end up adding a drop or two of lavender or tea tree oil to this, we'll see...
6.) Diva cup- Haven't gotten it yet, and no reason to try it... I'm still bleeding postpartum (going on 11 weeks-yay... One of the reasons I want to do a homebirth and placenta encapsulation next time) so I can't use it for that, even if I had it, and I haven't gotten my period yet... I'm actually hoping not to get it for a bit between having the Mirena and exclusively breastfeeding... I know this whole region of the blog is TMI, sorry!
7.) I am using African black soap for my facewash, and witch hazel as a toner... Trying to naturally cut down on my acne... Jury is still out on this one... I plan to look for an organic moisturizer that I can mix with some tea tree oil when I get it... I'll let you know how it goes!
8.) Homemade baby food- Okay I know it's waaaay too early for Aaron to have solids, but I am freezing some fresh, seasonal, local, organic produce now so that when he starts solids in February/March, he'll have some tasty food to start with. So far I have done sweet potato and butternut squash. I did mostly cubes of food for baby led weaning, with some purees if we ever have to feed him.  This weekend I plan to do turnips and carrots and anything else fun I find at the farmer's market.  I think it was quick and easy.  I think I put in maybe an hour of work, plus baking time, and got 60 ounces of food frozen for him... And it was way cheaper than buying organic baby food! Current prices around here (for organic baby foods) are about 99 cents for 2.5 ounces, so about 40 cents per ounce... Mine was about $4 for 60 ounces, or about 7 cents an ounce... And I know what is going in his little tummy, and it's not preservatives, fillers, or pesticides...

Alright I think that's everything for now... Maybe next time I can do a crunchy Christmas present post!

Happy Halloween!

Wow, another week already... That went by quickly! Tonight I'm answering the door for trick or treaters with my boy in a Moby wrap... Makes my life a little easier until my husband gets home from school.  I'm doing my best not to eat any more Halloween candy, but that's not easy! I am one pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight, and so desperate to get there, and then to lose 10 more pounds... On a positive note, I felt like Aaron was getting lighter today, so I weighed him.  He's 14.6 pounds, so I must just be getting stronger! Guess I have Lindsay Brin's postnatal boot camp to thank for that! Tomorrow is the triathlon sign-up, which is also exciting! I will be back in shape in no time once I start training for that... Aaron just woke up and spit up all over me and the Moby wrap, so I guess it's time to end this.  I will say that my chicken project from last week worked out great... 3 awesome meals from one whole chicken! Roast chicken, chicken barbecue, and chicken noodle soup... Definitely something to try again! Here's a bit of motivation for the day:

Crunchify Me!

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post! Last week went by so quickly... I made an impromptu visit home to see my parents last weekend, so I could get a little extra sleep while they watched Aaron... It was nice for me, and nice for them, because they don't get to see Aaron enough and he is their first grandchild... For this week I will share a few things that I am planning on doing in my quest to become more crunchy (and save money)...

1.) I plan to start the "no 'poo" method of hair-cleaning today... Basically, instead of shampoo and conditioner I will be using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for cleaning my hair...
2.) Homemade Household Cleaner
3.) Homemade Deoderant
4.) Coconut oil as diaper cream
5.) Homemade Baby Wipes
6.) Diva Cup (TMI, I know)

And as far as crunchy (and cheap) food ideas go, this week I purchased a whole chicken, and I'm currently roasting it for dinner tonight. I then plan to take the leftover chicken and make chicken BBQ for Wednesday's dinner, and chicken noodle soup for Friday.  I am also going to make a chicken stock from the carcass, and use it for the soup, in addition to freezing some.  More updates on that later in the week.  If it works out, we'll have gotten 3 meals and some chicken stock for less than $6.  Win!

Check back later in the week for an update on the chicken situation, and probably a post on the pumpkin whoopie pies I'm planning to make for my landlord tomorrow.  At some point I need to post about my crunchy Christmas gift plans... Aaron just needs to give me more free time! :)

2 month appointment!

I can't believe my little boy is about 2 months already, but he is!  So crazy!  He had his 2 month visit today, and it went very well.  He was 13.5 pounds and 25 inches long.  He's over the 97th percentile for height, but his weight and head circumference are right around average.  He has a weight to length ratio of 5-10%! I think he's going to end up being tall and skinny like his daddy :) He did not enjoy getting his shots, but he did nom the oral vaccine up pretty quickly.  He fell asleep in my arms after crying for a few minutes from the shots, and has been pretty sleepy since then.  I have been keeping him with me (as usual), but he hasn't seemed fussy at all since then.  I did give him some infant tylenol last time he woke up, because I know the tetanus vaccine can be painful for a bit, and the doctor recommended it.  At least he doesn't need to go back and get more shots until December... I almost cried when he was getting them, so that's probably best.  I am going to leave you with a picture of him sleeping on my lap at home after getting the shots, and try to figure out if I can get my workout in before my husband gets home.

Doula Workshop

So this past weekend I attended a doula workshop to get started on the process to becoming a DONA-certified doula.  For those of you who don't know, a doula is an individual that helps a mother through the process of childbirth.  They are available for prenatal support and information, as well as continuously throughout the entire labor, generally starting during active labor, unless the mother decides otherwise.  They don't do anything medical, but they provide support in other ways, such as natural pain management through relaxation techniques, guided imagery, massage, and counterpressure.  They also suggest different positions for laboring and pushing, and help support the mother's partner and family as well.  They also provide postpartum and breastfeeding support.  Generally they are sought out by women desiring a natural birth, but that's not a requirement.  I think that every woman deserves a doula, no matter what her birth plan is.

The presence of a doula at a birth has been shown to shorten labors by 25%, reduce all interventions (including C-sections) by 40%, reduce the risk of postpartum depression and child abuse, increase mother's satisfaction with the birth, and increase breastfeeding success by 40%.  Having a doula also helps empower women and make them feel like they had a say in how their labor happened, even if it didn't go as planned.  I wish I would have had a doula for my labor, because I think it would have been a shorter, easier labor if I had, and it wouldn't have been so hard on my husband and mother.  Sometimes having an impartial support person who has seen many labors is easier than just having people who love you, and have a hard time seeing you in pain. 

Anyway, the workshop was amazing, and such a great way to spend a weekend!  I got to be surrounded by women that love childbirth and pregnancy as much as I do.  And here's my shameless plug, for anyone in the area: Peace Love Doula