Cloth Diapering 103

My update to cloth diapering. Yes we are still at it! We do use disposables when we travel, the beach, and I use on in the morning because it just makes my day a little easier. My goal is until he is at least a year but I would really like to go until he potty trains. Anyways you may come across some issues and they are easy to fix.

Problem: What is that smell?! Ok two months in his diapers starting smelling immediately when he would pee. It was bad. I was annoyed (this was during his teething phase).

Solution: Buy different detergent. We bought the Baby Genius cloth diaper detergent. Haven't had a problem since. My first suggestion would be to bleach them and line dry them outside to make sure that isn't the issue. But switching detergents is a common fix!

Problem: Staining. No one sees the part that does get stained and they are clean they just don't look clean.. so you don't really have to fix this but I'm OCD.

Solution: Line dry outside for 1..maybe 2 days if they are really bad. Problem solved.

How easy is that? And if you researched anything about Earth Day (which was on Monday) you would know that cloth diapering is also AMAZING for the environment.. and your baby :)

33 Weeks

Where have we been?! -Teething, weekend in Indiana, weekend in Vegas, Jamie's 30th birthday, Dustin and Laura's baby shower, and now finally a free relaxing weekend!

33 Weeks

Weight: 19.12 pounds, 27.5 inches

Sleep: BOO. HISS. GRR. Awful for the past month and a half due to teething, traveling, and now an ear infection. I will say he now will not sleep in our bed, on us (unless he's eating or sick), or out in public. He will only sleep in his bed which is great! However, he has decided to cry a lot longer to sleep and wakes up more frequently.... and then stays up. His naps are much longer. So some good some bad but we are TIRED!

Clothes: Moving into 12 months. :( I went out to buy him 12 month pajamas yesterday and almost cried when I couldn't find footed onesies! 12 months apparently moves onto two separate pieces. I can't handle that! He is still a baby! 

Vistors: Great Mimi was here this week. And Uncle Dustin and Aunt Laura last week. It's funny he acts all shy when new people come around but then he will warm up.. as long as he can still see me of course.

Out and About: We finished up swim lessons, still going to My Gym (which he LOVES), and still working on playmates- which is all my fault because I've been pretty busy lately (and tired).

Milestones: 

• Sitting up all the time with no pillow to fall back on
• Pulling to stand even in the crib
• Variegated babbling
• Started to army crawl
• Will rock on all fours..if we put him there
• Lowered the crib :( And took the mobile down :(
• Turns and looks for all sounds- doorbell, cats, etc (he's been doing this for awhile but I forgot to add it)
• First ear infection 

Baby Gear Love:

Play Cube Zany Zoo: This is a great toy for babies who are just starting to sit- it keeps them motivated to sit up and play. This is also great for standing or pulling to stand. Jackson loves this toy!! There is so much to do- four different sides and the top. Great for language too :) My only dislike is that it isn't heavy enough for Jackson, he can easily pull it on top of himself so we have to really watch him with it. It is expensive but we got ours at Target on sale. 

Shopping Cart Cover: Eddie Bauer. LOVE IT! It's not the cutest one out there but it is awesome because it has straps to keep them in the cart... which is especially helpful when they are still learning to stay upright or if they get lazy and try to snooze in the cart or eat the sides... It works well for highchairs too. I had really thought about buying a cuter one but no way it works too well! 

Crying: Getting his diaper changed, if I am out of sight, going to sleep (every. single. time).

Mealtimes: He is eating sweet potatoes, broccoli, beets, pears, and now peaches. We tried apples again and that was awful so we are done with apples. This week we are going to try banana! Keep your fingers crossed!

Medical: Same allergies. And now an ear infection :( 

Postpartum: The weight is gone! It has been for about two months.. I think. I just started the Julian Michael's 30 day shred to tone. After having a very frustrating month and half (mostly due to not sleeping) and just the stress of getting everything done in the day and working... I had to rethink so things. The first thing was I HAD to start working out again (our jogger stroller tires went flat which lead me to a string of curse words and throwing my phone out of frustration- after Jackson was napping of course). I love working out and it's the one thing I can do for myself. So I bought the Julian Michael's 30 minute DVD's and we got new tires for the jogger stroller. Whew. Sanity saved. I think mother's tend to give up everything for everyone else and then where does that leave them? Imagine husband with his six pack and wife with her pooch...You can't loose yourself because you have a family- not to say you should continue being selfish either. But I think 20-30 minutes of working out a day isn't being selfish! Besides it is a great way to start showing your kids that working out is fun! I try to talk to Jackson while working out.. heavy breathing. He looks at me like I'm crazy. I made the mistake of saying "ohhhh man!" and he got really concerned. hahha 

Making Baby Food for MSPI

MSPI=Milk, soy protein intolerance

I will be completely honest (aren't I always) this is a pain. No it isn't easy to keep up with (especially if you are working) because you could spend a couple hours making squash only to find  out your little on is severely allergic to it or the cats decide to lick all of the sweet potatoes.... And no you cannot just blend your dinner unless you too don't eat any dairy or soy (squash, carrots, apples, wheat, etc) in your dinners. I mean I can't blend up tacos for Jackson to eat. Half the foods we do eat for dinner aren't on the approved baby eating list until he is much older. It's not easy to find 100000 organic sweet potatoes so if that's the only food your baby isn't allergic to good luck (now drive all over town to find them and hope your husband doesn't decide to cook/eat the $10 worth of XYZ you drove all the way to the organic food store for. true story.). And I really don't like that it has to take time away from playing with Jackson, doing work, cleaning, hanging out with Jamie or my sleep which I already don't get enough of. OK vent over.

I do like it because my food tastes much better than the can. And you can make different combinations of things that the cans don't. And it actually isn't that much better than canned organic baby food so don't try that one with me either.** I do enjoy cooking and making food for Jackson but I would like to be able to do half/half so I'm not so stressed with the a million things I need to get done in a day.

Whew. Ok so you need:

1. A good cutting knife
2. A good peeler
3. Cutting board
4. Filtered water
5. Steamer/blender- I really like the This Especially if your baby is MSPI because there is no way you can get dairy or soy in it if you are only using it for their food. It's all in one. Easy to clean. It doesn't fit a lot of food which is the only down side.
6. Ice cube trays- BPA free. I really like the Beaba food storage but if you get a bunch of them it's $$$.
7. Foil, baggies, permeant marker

YUM! I do like mama's food!

I try to make all of Jackson's food during his 45 minute nap that I'm actually home for... but basically
1. Peel your fruit or veggie
2. Chop it
3. Steam it (2 cups of water for fruits, 3 for veggies)
4. Blend
5. Stick in the ice cube tray- label it. Freeze
6. Then stick all the cubes in a plastic baggie and label them.
Vola! It doesn't seem like much but once your little one starts eating 3 times a day- 6 ice cube amounts it adds up. And like I said you may end up making 1000000 sweet potatoes and trying to figure out what they can and cannot eat. Our freezer is full of food he can't eat. Boo.

*My other advice is don't try cans until you have gone through all the homemade food first. We couldn't do this because we were traveling but I am pretty sure even though the jars have no D or S listed in it caused him to have allergic reactions (to sweet potatoes)! From what I read Healthy Times is the best cans for MSPI and Earths Best is second (which is what we have that's not working out too well).

**I also know you cannot add any seasonings or anything like that if you are concerned with allergies.

So far we have tried:

• Squash
• Carrots
• Plums
• Beets
• Sweet Potatoes
• White Sweet Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Apples
• Pears
• Avocado

The biggest pain to make is squash and the easiest is avocado. I always mix a little water for consistency and I chose water because if you add milk/formula it takes away from the taste of the food. I think the whole point is for them to get used to different textures and flavors. I want the beets to taste like beets not purple formula. Gross. I taste everything to make sure it's good. And so far so good :)

He is really enjoying it! In fact he screams when I tell him all done. Jamie always comes in and is like what is going on in here?! Umm the bowl is empty duh. 

7 months!

Jackson,

      You are seven months old! This was one tough month on everybody. You got two teeth at once (it too nine days)..yikes! Poor baby, you were miserable- crying, fever, not sleeping, I hated every minute of it. The only way to comfort you was lots of snuggles..and tylenol and hylands teething tablets. And then I took you to Indiana which was not a good idea. You did great on the flight there but the rest of the trip you had trouble sleeping and napping. My happy, easy going baby was nonexistent in Indiana! I felt so bad! Then on the flight back you screamed the whole way- most likely because you were overtired and your ears hurt. Needless to say we will not be traveling for a long time!!! You like your routine, your own crib, and just being home which who can blame you? 

       You are still 100% mama's boy. You prefer to be held by me at all times and I cannot leave your sight without you crying! I'm getting really good arm muscles :) 

Milestones:

• Clapping! You do this all the time! 
• Waving! The first wave was out the airplane window- totally prompted by yourself. Since then you haven't waved to people to say hi or bye but you are practicing.
• Blowing kisses. Hello adorable! You love to imitate our mouth movements and sounds. I took you to work one day (where four women just sit and stare at you). One of them blew you a kiss, you worked really hard and then blew one back! Of course everyone cheered! Now you do it all the time.
• You are sitting more and more but I still have to watch you because you like to throw your head back.
• First attempts at riding in the grocery cart and sitting in a high chair at lunch (out to eat).
• Inch worm crawling. Seriously you look like an inch worm it is quite entertaining.
• First Play date! You loved the little boy. You tried to take his socks off apparently since you don't like them he shouldn't either. You were very chatty. You also tried to hold his hand and take his jacket off at lunch- quite the helpful little burger aren't you?!

     Health: Healthy! We are still trying to figure out what you allergic too which has been extremely frustrating. So far you are allergic to: Squash, Apple, Avocado, Carrots, Apricot (not 100% on this one), Plum... basically all you can eat are sweet potatoes, broccoli (which you don't really like), beets (not to crazy about this one either). This week we are trying pear... Your favorite foods were apple, avocado, and sweet potatoes. 

       Jackson love watching you discover and meet new milestones everyday! We can't wait to see what next month brings!