Cloth diapers

I have been asked a few times about cloth diapers since that is what we use. We use cloth diapers for many reasons, the main reason being cost. For a months worth of disposable diapers it is around $50 pending on your child. When buying cloth diapers it is a bit more of an expense upfront but well worth it. You can buy ALL the diapers you need from birth to potty training for the cost of 6 months of disposables and you can use them for multiple children. ca-ching ca-ching.

I was introduced to cloth diapers when babysitting a friend's son every week. I would have NEVER consider them for I thought they would be far more work than I was willing to do but it was the exact opposite. They were too easy NOT to do! Before I continue if you use disposable diapers that's great -- I am a firm believer that you have to do what works for you and what works for you doesn't work for everyone. I just want to shed some light on a topic that I was once very closed minded on. 

There are three types of cloth diapers (that I am aware of). The insert/cover type, pocket diapers (very popular), and the all-in-one. 

The insert/cover type are the ones that we used at first. The brand we used was Bummies. It was $199 for a starter kit and it was everything I needed to get started. We did buy two extra covers after a while to stretch the laundry from two days to three. 

Diaper insert gets folded differently depending on your child.

I didn't mind using these but it was difficult for Sean to coordinate with the snappie (see picture below) and the insert when she was crying as well as other people who did not watch her often. It does take some getting used to. Basically when the diaper insert is wet or dirty you take it off and throw it directly into your wet bag. If the cover is wet or dirty you throw that in too but most of the times you can wipe the cover down with a wipe and use it again. 

              

You can see the sharp hooks that hold the insert together.

The pocket diaper is a very popular style. Basically you have a liner that slides into a pocket in the diaper and then it goes on all in one piece like a disposable. When the diaper is wet or dirty you put the entire thing into the wet bag and use a fresh diaper every time. A number of our friends use this type of diaper. I have only tried on brand (shine baby) and that ended in one day as the leaking was within an hour every time we changed her so our laundry was huge and she was soaked all the time. Our friends have had great experience with the brand fuzzibuns. I have never tried them but they seem to be a good brand from what I hear. 

                   

                           

My favourite and personal preference is the all in ones. We originally bought these as "babysitter diapers" meaning that only people that watched her used them. But we started using them too as they were so much easier. I would recommend these for many reasons. They are a few dollars more a diaper but they are adjustable from birth to potty training and used for many kids so to never have to stuff a diaper again is awesome. Never having to use a liner is a great time saver and sanity saver for Sean. 

I bought these diapers online for $19/diaper. Then when I bought 20 I got 4 free. The diapers were $399 total (for 24 of them). I like the brand called BumGenius. The site that I bought them from only ships to the USA but you can find them online or in store that ship to Canada. They were cheaper online than in the store tho. I can add an extra liner during the times she becomes a hyperpee'er. 

             

This is the size Rylee is in.

This is what the diaper looks like fully open.

It is really important to buy quality diapers and you get what you pay for. It's very similar to disposable diapers. If you buy cheep no name ones you will have a lot more problems than if you buy the good quality ones. The other difference between diapers is snap closures or Velcro. We prefer snap because then the diapers don't get snags and they are harder for the baby to undo them. 

Washing your diapers: 

I think this is the part that scares most people. But don't fear it is really easy! I open the wet bag, dump them in the washer, toss the wet bag in as well and hit start. I don't touch dirty or wet diapers. Ever. 

My large wet bag came with my bummies kit, I bought the medium one and the small one was a gift.

I do a rinse cycle on cold water then wash them in hot water with special detergent. I toss them in the dryer like normal and voila they are done. Very simple. 

It is important to use the recommended diaper soap which can also be bought in speciality store because your diaper warranty will be void if you don't. Once your warranty is up you can experiment with making your own but I just buy rock green -- it's $22/bag but it lasts a long time (I use 1.5 tablespoons a load). 

You do have to strip your diapers and the frequency depends on your washing machine. Top load washers use more water (which cleans the diapers better) then you don't need to strip them as often but front load washers are more efficient so you have to strip them more often. Rylee is 7 months and I've had to strip her diapers once but we have a top load washer. I just googled how to strip diapers and choose the method I liked the best. 

Stains: 

All diapers get stains even if you wash them often. There is a very simple way to get rid of them. Do a wash cycle then hang them to dry in the sun. If that doesn't work (it has worked every time for me like magic) then wash them and soak them in water and lemon juice then hang them in the sun. Just make sure your wash them again before putting them on baby because the acid from the lemon juice will hurt their skin. 

Diaper sprayer:
Once your child is on solids you have to get rid of their poop and not just put it in the washing machine (when you have runny newborn poop it can just toss it in the wash). So when it is solid you dump it in the toilet. You can get something called a diaper sprayer that hooks to your toilet so you don't have to touch it. 

If you are unsure of what ones you want I would suggest buying a few different ones and seeing what you like best. There are websites that will send you a few different kinds to try then you can just return the ones you don't like and you are only charged for the ones you keep.

You can send me an e-mail if you have any questions or leave a comment below.

Mental visualization

What a whirlwind few weeks it has been with some highs and some lows. I got home on Sunday night and have been dragging myself around since then barely able to function. My nerves were still shot and I was having a hard time bouncing back.

Since yesterday I have been trying to figure out how to snap out of this short lived funk and get back into my momentum that I had going so well. This morning as I was snuggled up with Rylee going over some things I had learned over the weekend in Chicago, I remembered something that Kim Lyons said. She talked to us about mental visualization. Taking a step back and sitting there with your eyes closed visualizing your goals. How do you feel at your goal weight, was does that look like, what do you need to do to get there ect. Look at a picture of either yourself at that weight, or if you don't have one a picture similar to what you would like to be (not an unrealistic one).

So this morning I laid there and remembered how I felt when I was at my goal weight, how my clothes fit, what they felt like touching my skin, putting on make up because I cared more about my appearance, being able to shop in regular size clothing, what my workouts felt like. Then I looked at my picture of me at goal and visualized how it would feel to be back there again and what I would have to do to get there. 

The past few days I have been pretty negative because it seemed like one thing after another was going wrong and it was wearing me down and burning me out. For the past few months I have had very good, positive, headspace and I have been wanting to do a gratitude post. I have been feeling extremely blessed and grateful lately so I am going to start putting that together for you in the next few days.

I was going to do a post about Chicago since I learned SO much there, but I think I will integrate it into posts like I have today instead of doing one big post about it. That way I can leave the negatives out of it and behind me and move forward with the awesomeness that I got from the training.

I'll leave you with the picture of myself that I used for my visualization this morning:

A little break away

Although our trip was filled with lack of sleep, Rylee and I still had a great time. Here are some photos of things we did: 

They had a frozen yogurt place called Qoola. I may or may not have gone 4 times while I was there. The coconut one was so good I didn't even get anything on it most times! It was so good I don't know if I'll enjoy it at home anymore. 

Lots of snuggles with Rylee. 

On my last night in town I really wanted something kind of seafood-ish. So we went for fish and chips. I had two pieces of fish and some fries. This is what was still left over when I was done! The portions were CRAZY!

One last snuggle with great Nanny. 

So our flights home were not too bad. She was fussy on the long plane ride for a bit but not too bad. When we got home tho they had lost my luggage. Normally this would not be a problem, however, my parents were taking my suitcase with them to Chicago...

You'll have to wait until my next post to find out if we got the luggage back on time or not...

I'll leave you with this:

Rylee very happy to be back with her daddy (for a few hours anyways!!!) 

Moms know a lot -- but Grandmas know more

I know it has been a while since my last post and I promise you that I wish I had been able to write more but as you read what I've been up to you'll understand why I've been a little bit busy. 

The first few days of the trip did not go as smoothly as I had anticipated. In fact it was total chaos for me. Rylee was not adjusting well and was having quite a few meltdowns. This was totally not like her at all -- so understandably I was frazzled. This happened day and night too. I was feeding her at her normal times (even with the time change) and this was not a tired cry. 

Her screaming escalated and I started to think that perhaps it wasn't just travel like I had thought but maybe something was wrong. Everyone was being so helpful and trying to figure out what was wrong but nothing was working. 

Then a few days into the trip my aunt says "maybe she's going through a growth spurt". I had been feeding her enough by normal standards but maybe she needed more. Then it dawned on me that they have a 6 month growth spurt. 

Rylee has never acted and different in a growth spurt so I didn't know what to expect. As soon as I started feeding her more she was back to her normal happy self! During the day anyways. She was waking up often during the night to feed (at home she sleeps through the night). 

By the end of the trip she was fully back to herself during the day (minus the normal long naps) but was not sleeping more than 45-60 mins at a time. She would wake up every time she was out down so it made for very long nights. 

We had a really good time with my family and I got a new appreciation for single moms (granted my family was right there and a BIG help but it's not the same as her daddy). 

We are still on route home -- stock up the diaper bag -- turn around and fly to Chicago tomorrow! 

I'll write more about my trips and such soon. I'm really looking forward to getting back to our normal schedule soon! 

Travel queen

Hello from the West coast! Sorry for the lack of posts this week but as you can imagine I have had my hands full with traveling and the baby and that fun stuff. 

Early Tuesday morning Rylee and I got on a plane to come visit my family in British Columbia. On our first flight we had the two seats to our self and rylee just slept the whole time. On our second flight they moved us so we had an empty seat beside us which was very helpful! 

Rylee did sleep for part of the flight - did fuss for a bit but not a ton - and I had her bottle ready for when her ears started popping and she was quite fine. Although if I didn't have her bottle ready we might have been in for a major meltdown. 

By the time we got on our third flight she had had enough. She was tired and grumpy but seemed to enjoy the lady next to her playing peek-a-boo with her. Thankfully it was only a 13 minute flight. 

Since we have been here Rylee has been quite fussy and having a hard time adjusting her schedule. Rylee is usually quite laid back and chill so compared to a normal day for her yesterday was rough. She was up lots in the night and didn't want to go to sleep. 

Given how Rylee has been I have been doing really well staying on plan. I made a plan for the day of traveling and brought lots of healthy snacks to munch so I was we'll prepared. Yesterday I made a meal plan for while we are here and got some groceries so staying in track will be pretty simple I'm thinking. 

Yesterday morning Rylee and I went for a long walk -- which we do everyday at home -- however the difference is the hills here! They are massive compared to our flat land! Yesterday and last night my

Knee was REALLY hurting but it seems to be okay today. Next time I'll be sure to stretch before walking here to prevent injury. 

We have been having a lot of fun with my family so far. Today we are going shopping then I am going to see my Nanny's new apartment before going to my WW meeting. I think we are having sushi for lunch -- the sushi out here is so good it has ruined sushi at home for me so I try to eat it often while here. 

This morning we had a FaceTime chat with Sean and Rylee just stared at the phone and couldn't figure out why she could see and hear her dada but not touch him. The look on her face was super cute -- my little snuggle monkey! 

Until next time! 

Spaghetti squash

Over the weekend we got our house deep cleaned and it is all finished now. It feels SO great to have it so clean and organized. 

For dinner last night I made spaghetti squash with meat and veggie sauce and topped it with crumbled light feta. It is probably my new favorite meal!

Last night we went to Walmart to get a bunch of things that we need for Rylee's and my trip to BC tomorrow. I could not get over how picked over the shelves were. I mean I knew school supplies were going to be sparse but we didn't need any of that stuff so I thought we would be okay. Boy was I ever wrong they didn't even have parchment paper or whip cream! 

My meal plan for tomorrow is:

Normal breakfast

Snack: cheese string, apple, almonds

Lunch: tuna sandwich, pepper strips, snow peas, pudding cup

Snack: apple sauce cup, diced peaches snack cup, apple

Dinner: eat when I get there. 

Once we left there we came home to finish up the cleaning and do some

laundry so I can pack for the trip. 

Over the next couple of weeks Rylee and I are going to be doing a lot of traveling. At first it seemed very daunting to be traveling alone with an infant however I feel that I am very organized and made lots of lists so it should be very smooth. The airports are really good about allowing you to take your stroller with you right to the door of the plane which helps a lot. 

Tonight my parents are coming over for a little while to watch Rylee while I pack and to say goodbye to her and me of course (but mostly her). I think the person it will be hardest on will be Sean as he's going to really miss Rylee a lot. 

A little while back we had Rlyee's six month photo shoot here are a few pictures for you to check out:

Until next time!

Cleaning house

Today was a very productive day. We had a meeting at church this morning then went to get a few groceries. After we had lunch and Rylee went down for her nap I used the time to get some much needed cleaning done. 

Lately I've been having the urge to do a good deep clean so I've been working room by room at it. Last week I got the two most disorganized rooms organized and so today I just had to clean them. I cleaned every nook and cranny and even vacuumed all the ceiling corners for cob webs. 

Then I moved all the furniture in my dinning room and living room and swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the window ledges, the ceilings for cob webs and put everything away. 

After that I tackled the kitchen - cleaning out all the cupboards and re organizing things. I cleaned out the fridge and the freezer as well. I plugged in a wall sentsy and popped in a pumpkin harvest cube and my whole house smelt amazing! Now tomorrow I will tackle the lower level. 

When I had finished all of that I started staining the threshold for our kitchen:

It still needs a few more coats before it's done. 

Since Rylee and I will be going to BC on Tuesday we went out to dinner with my in laws to spend some extra time with them before we leave. We went to the Palasad and I had the most amazing salad. It is called Apple and Goat cheese. It was delish!

Rylee had mangos tonight for the first time in a baby fruit bag:

They were a big hit but quite messy! 

Tonight we are going to put our feet up and watch the season 5 finale episode of SOA to get us ready for the season premier on Tuesday. 

I hope you are all having a good weekend! 

6 month shots

The past few days have been a bit rough with a fussy baby. Rylee is usually very good and doesn't give me too much grief, however, this week she had her 6 month needle so for Tuesday afternoon and yesterday afternoon she was fussing.  Yesterday afternoon was by far the worst -- it was a solid two hours of screaming. 

I some how still managed to make it to my work end of summer BBQ last night although there were a few moments I didn't think we would. 

I made a cobbler dessert that much to my surprise turned out really good! I gobbled it up and it was very low points. 

It was also very simple too -- which is just my kind of dessert! 

Berry cobbler:

Bag of frozen mixed berries

Box of vanilla cake

Can of diet sprite/7 up

Cover bottom of a glass cake pan with the frozen berries, sprinkle cake mix on top of berries, pour pop over cake mix. Do not mix! 

Cook on 375 for 40-45 mins. 

It is watery as you can see but the berries are so good! Serve warm. 

It would also be good served with ice cream or cool whip. 

Today Rylee and I went to the states with my dad - I got some good deals at Hobby Lobby (I am in love with that store!). 

Tonight I have weigh in the business stuff. Still haven't decided on what dinner will be...

Until next time! 

A "me" day

The first of September has come and gone and the labour day weekend is drawing to an end. Where did the summer go?! 

Although I enjoy the summer I do really love fall the best between the cooler weather and more comfortable clothes, the hot apple cider and the apple picking -- not to mention the beautiful leaves changing colour that I never really appreciated as a child I really love this time of year. 

As school starts again it is often a time for new beginnings and changes and that often involves recommitting to goals we had previously made to ourselves. 

Today I had the treat of having a me day. My first in a very long time. Sean has watched Rylee in between feeds before so that I could have a break but it was not the same. Now that Rylee is on some

bottles she is not as dependent on me -- which gives me some more freedom. Sean offered to watch her all day so that I could have some "time off". 

I had a very simple agenda today which was to do what ever I wanted! I slept in a bit and then went to the gym with a friend and did a good solid cardio session. Afterwards I went to get some fresh veggies for dinner from a local corn stand. 

When I got home I had a long hot shower which felt SO nice. In the afternoon I met with my parents and did some business stuff while painting my toe nails. 

For dinner we had an amazing, oh-so-simple crock pot dinner of shredded chicken tacos:

All you do is put frozen chicken breast in the crockpot and cover with salsa. Cook on low for 8 hours and voila -- shredded chicken. 

We added it to wraps to make the taco part and had some fresh green beans and corn on the cob on the side. 

Very very tasty! We will be having this again soon I am sure. 

So September is back to basics. Time to start focusing on yourself and your healthy and making your self a priority. Today I was able to reflect on some goals that I had set for myself and make sure that I am on track or re-evaluate and make some new plans. It feels great to be able to spend some time on me, which will only make me more effective to my family. Retreat - to take a step back and then propel yourself forward!

Let me know if you are interested in trying some of our products to help you get back into the swing of things! 

I'll leave you with these two pictures of Rylee who is quite possibly the cutest baby girl I've ever seen:  

Until next time! 

Material things...

I am quite excited that the weather today is a bit cooler for a VERY exciting reason...I got into a pair of jeans comfortable that I haven't fit into for a while now. Friday I thought to myself, maybe I should just try them on...and low and behold they fit great. What an amazing feeling. I'm now down 16.6 pounds and I did not retake my measurements. 

I don't do it as often as I should being a new mom and all the excuses come too easily. But I know that when you put the time and effort into yourself but grooming and dressing nicely it makes a world of a difference how you feel about yourself. I'm not saying that you need to buy designer clothes and always have your hair done, but a little self loving goes a long way, at least for me it does! 

I had good intentions yesterday of waking up early and going to the gym before a long day with lots of food challenges. But I didn't get a restful sleep the night before so staying in bed was too much of a temptation and it won. I did however map out my meals for the day and tracked it all before I ate it. 

We went to a birthday party for a friend and I opted not to have a bun with my burger or a cupcake in order to save points for home made pizza we had with friends. Over all it was a good day and I am happy with my self control and the food choices I made. 

Today we are going to Kitchener to celebrate Sean's parent's anniversary and his Opa's birthday. I like going to Kitchener because we get to see Sean's older brother and sister in law. We don't get to see them as often as we would like to. 

Yesterday afternoon I had to do something that was much harder than I ever thought it would be. I packed away some clothes that are too small for my baby girl now. I went through her drawers and pulled out stuff that was too small and went through new clothes that now will fit her. It is hard to believe that just a few short months ago she was only 8 pounds - now she is growing so fast and I know time will fly by!!! 

Tomorrow Sean is off work so I am going to spend the day doing "me" things while he watches Rylee - I just don't know what I want to do yet haha!

Until next time...