I miss cloth diapers.

My son has been in only cloth diapers since the very first day he came home (until recently). This hasn't been without its challenges. There have been type/brand changes, and then change again once he got bigger. I'm pretty sure we have used every single style that they make. I love using cloth diapers on him. I think they are much safer and better for his skin, and I know they are loads better for the environment and my bank account.

Because of a strange series of events my son, husband, dog, cat, and I are living temporarily at my parents house. It was supposed to be for a month or two, and has turned into almost 5 months. Don't worry we are moving into our own house soon. Like I said, it was a strange series of events that brought us here for this long.

Back to the diapers. I had zero intentions of putting my son into a disposable diaper from the beginning. I would much rather make cloth work regardless of our situation. However, the washer I must use while at my parents is not cleaning the diapers very well. Actually, it isn't that it doesn't clean them it is that it doesn't rinse them well. If you have ever used cloth diapers then you understand what a huge issue this is. Not only are they smelling funny, but they aren't absorbing much (if anything). This is a major problem when the whole purpose of a diaper is to absorb! So I was faced with a decision. Continue fighting with the washer and be stressed out about this issue every day. Which was the choice I made for 3 months. I boiled the diapers weekly, I worked day and night trying to keep them like they should be. Finally, I decided to give myself a break and take the other choice. Which was to put him in disposables until we get into our house and have a washer that isn't ruining his cloth diapers. I did not come to this decision easily, nor did I give up without a fight. It has made things easier and less stressful during this already challenging time. It still isn't a decision I am happy about having to make. So very often I wish I could just make this stupid washer work like I need it to, or that the diapers didn't have to go through a crazy long process just to get back to working order. Which I plan to start ASAP when we move.

Disposable diapers are simply trash. They leak, poop oozes out of them very often, and they smell funny. Never mind how unhealthy they are for my son, and how dry it makes his skin.

I really miss using cloth diapers! Most people probably find that statement strange, but for us disposables simply do not make the cut. Even my husband says he can't hardly wait to get our son back in the cloth diapers, because they are so much better.

My breast feeding journey. The first 3 months.

From the very moment my son came into this world until he was about 3 months old he wanted to be latched on the boob. I'm not making this up! It wasn't because he was starving, it was because he is what some people consider a "high-needs baby". My personal opinion is that he is just smart enough to know that it was the best place for him to be. I will back up a bit and tell you about our day to day from the beginning.

It started with 25hrs of labor that led to an emergency c-section. Once I could finally hold the little man he went right for the boob. He needed very little encouragement and latched on right away. It was a bit of a shallow latch, but he was only an hour old so I was patient and let him learn. He nursed for several minuets and fell right to sleep in my arms. I loved every single second! My sweet baby was finally here, and he was latching on, things were going great! I decided to avoid pacifiers for as long as I could, I wanted him to learn to nurse well before I gave him other things that might confuse him. Little did I know, those things weren't going to make the cut anyway so it wouldn't have mattered. We did a lot of skin to skin and nursing at the hospital and after a couple of days we finally got to go home. I learned the hard way (as in he screamed at me for what seemed like hours until I washed it off) that he HATES lanolin, so I used coconut oil instead. My milk came in on day 3. It leaked all the time, everywhere. I was covered in milk, he was covered in milk, my clothes, his clothes, the bed, the couch, the floor, the rug...there was sticky breast milk everywhere! Thankfully I had purchased a pair of bamboobies while pregnant. They saved us from the sticky milk that was taking over our life. It didn't take long before I had purchased a whole pile of them!
While at the hospital I talked to a lactation consultant and had gotten some great tips on positions to nurse in, what to look for to make sure he was eating and things like that. I knew I was "supposed" to make him eat then take him off the boob if he fell asleep. The problem with that for us was that he liked to nurse in his sleep. So I decided it would be okay because I wanted to get a good supply of milk established and he wasn't happy with being taken off the boob unless he unlatched himself. He would eat, sleep, suckle, wake, and eat some more all right there doing skin to skin at the boob. I wore him in a sling and various other baby wearing devices so I could do things like grocery shop. In the car I would give him a pacifier, that didn't last long though. He wasn't impressed with any of the 10 different types of pacifiers I gave him. Which resulted in him screaming until he was out of the seat and back on the boob.
At bedtime for the first two months I would nurse him, lay him in his bassinet to sleep, and when he would wake up I would change him, nurse him and repeat until morning. I was exhausted, but before the little man came into my life I was very firm about not co-sleeping/bed-sharing. It was fine for the first couple months to have my baby in a bassinet beside the bed, but I would not let him sleep in my bed. Yeah...that was a great rule to have until I actually had a baby! Not sleeping and having what some would consider a "high-needs" baby forced me to reevaluate some things. I started researching co-sleeping, in particular bed-sharing. It turns out that when it is done properly bed-sharing is much safer then a baby sleeping in their own space. Of course a lot depends on the parents, the bed, the situation, and a lot on the personality of the baby. For us and our "high-needs" baby it sounded perfect! So during nap time I practiced the sideline nursing position for a couple of days. When I felt comfortable I even took a nap with him. Then one night I was exhausted, all the little man wanted was to be close to me, so I picked him up and laid him beside me. He nursed to sleep, I fell asleep, and we slept for 8 hours! It was amazing! At that point I started putting him to bed in the bassinet, but once he woke the first time (usually around 2-4 hrs later) I brought him to my bed and we slept another 4-6 hours. He could nurse whenever he needed and we both slept much better.
Around 3 months there is a major transition babies go through. Which causes some rough nights. He nursed even more during the day. Which I didn't actually think was possible because he nursed almost constantly as it was. The little man was suddenly having trouble going to sleep, and staying asleep. He hate the bassinet, and wanted nothing but to be held close to the boob if he wasn't latched on. This was a very short phase, it would have been much more difficult had we not read in advance that it was coming. We comforted the little man and did everything we could to help him and his developing brain through the transition. While doing that it eliminated the use of the bassinet all together. He would just lay down beside me when I went to bed.
A lot during those first three months I wondered when it was going to change. I wanted so desperately to be able to lay my sweet baby down somewhere safe while I did things like shower, use the bathroom, get dressed, or even fix something to eat. Never mind cooking, cleaning, or anything "productive" I simply craved proper hygiene and food! Of course it was possible to lay him down, I'm not saying it wasn't, however, he would scream at me until I picked him back up. I could get about 10-20min a day when his dad would hold him, as long as I stayed within a few feet of where he was. This was better then nothing and I couldn't stand to make my sweet baby cry more then he absolutely had to. When I was home alone with him and needed to fix food or do something that required me me not to hold a baby I would do it as quickly as possible and as little as necessary. I knew someday it would be different. Days would go by that I didn't mind at all, other days I was just happy we made it through and that we were one day closer to the little man being happy somewhere else besides only in my arms.
This is how we spent our first 3 months. It was extremely challenging, and at the very same time it was amazingly wonderful! When it would be too much to handle I would try to focus on the fact that had a beautiful, healthy baby that latched on great, I was making plenty of milk, he was eating plenty, and we slept 10-12 hours every single night! I knew I would be able to push through. Many thanks goes to my amazing husband that helped so very much during that time as well. He would come home from a long day at work and cook, clean, do laundry, do diaper laundry (did I mention we were cloth diapering), take the baby so I could shower and have a tiny break, bring me chocolate and make sure I was eating, make me ice water and watch whatever show I wanted on tv. He was and is simply wonderful! If the little man was having trouble going to sleep (during the transition phase) he would take him for walks at 10pm up and down the street even though he had to be awake at 4am for work. Those first few months were challenging and wonderful for all of us! I am here to say it has been very much worth it and it really does change quickly.

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To read about the "second 3 months" click here.

Check out others breastfeeding stories here!

Educate yourself! Soy formula and rice cereal are terrible for baby humans!

*Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean it is right*

**Disclaimer** I am VERY pro breastfeeding, however, I realize there are choices that are made and/or situations that result in giving a baby formula. As much as I am for breastfeeding I am even more for feeding babies, and feeding them the best you can. If that means no breast milk, then at the very least I ask that you look into the formula you choose. There are MUCH better options then soy and/or rice formula/cereal.**

I wish more people would educate themselves about the food they provide for their children. It makes me so sad when I see people making very poor choices, and I know most of the time it isn't because they don't care, it is because they simply do not know better. I was at the store today and saw a young mother purchasing food for her around 6 month old baby. It made me so sad for the baby, and I really wanted to let the mom know what she was planning on feeding her precious child just wasn't the best choice. She had; soy formula (if you must use formula then try to get one with the least soy possible), rice cereal to thicken the formula (if you give cereal then please DO NOT use rice) and jarred baby food. The jarred baby food was the least concerning items. Even though I do not think a less than 6 month old baby should be fed baby food, especially from a jar, at least that is less of the soy and rice crap she will have to eat. In my opinion (and experience) it is so much better and easier to just wait until the baby is ready for food, and then give them regular people food. No need for baby food. Have you tasted that crap? No wonder kids grow up to be picky eaters. I realize this mother wasn't doing anything differently than almost everyone else these days. That still doesn't mean it is the best decision. She probably never received very good breast feeding advice or support, and I'm sure she thinks she is doing what is best. This is where it makes me the most upset though. Why don't people look into things for themselves? If she had done any sort of research on her own there is no way she would have been feeding her child such a terrible diet. It makes me want to just tell people to READ! Find out what the ingredients are, and if your child should consume those particular ingredients. Also, check even a little more into it and find out if they are physically ready to digest such things. Just because the jar/box (that by the way is trying to sell you something) says its okay does not mean it is best! As you know by now I love the quote: When you know better, do better. I think I should add to that...and spend some time learning to do better!

More info on rice cereal: Consumer Reports, the independent consumer watchdog group, has conducted analysis of a number of different rice products, finding that an array of them–including organic rice baby cereal, rice breakfast cereals, brown rice, and white rice–contain “worrisome” levels of the carcinogenic toxin arsenic. Arsenic is not regulated in food, though the government does have a standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for arsenic in drinking water. From Consumer Reports: Source

More info on soy formula: Other problems that have been anecdotally associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula include extreme emotional behavior, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.
Concerns about the dangers of soy have prompted consumer groups in New Zealand and Canada to call for a ban on the sale of soy infant formula. Milk-based formula contains a better protein profile and does not flood the infant with antinutrients and female hormones. Breast feeding is best IF the mother has consumed a healthy diet, one that is rich in animal proteins and fats, throughout her pregnancy and continues to do so while nursing her infant. Mothers who cannot breast feed, for whatever reason, should prepare homemade formula based on whole milk for their babies. The rare child allergic to whole milk formula should be given a whole foods meat-based formula, not one made of soy protein isolate. Parents who invest time in preparing homemade formula will be well rewarded with the joys of conferring robust good health on their children.
Source

A real day, of real food.

Today was a normal day. We didn't go anywhere (which is more common then a day where we go into town), and it seems our sleep/eat routine was right about normal. So I decided today would be a good day to take note of what we eat to share with you. Breakfast and lunch and the snacks are for my 9 month old and myself. Dinner is for us and my husband.

Breakfast: we both had a fresh pear cut into chunks, oatmeal with a little coconut oil and maple syrup.

Snack: the little man had; homemade apple/pear pouch, homemade granola bar. I had; homemade granola bar.

Lunch: the little man had; carrots (sliced and boiled till soft), sweet potato (boiled chunks), leftover pork chop. I ate; leftover pork chop, and leftover quinoa.

Snack: the little man had; the rest of his fruit pouch, and a fresh apple (sliced and peeled). I had; a homemade granola bar and a couple homemade marshmallows.,

Dinner: stir-fry with whole grain noodles. The stir-fry consisted of...chicken breast, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, tomatoes, orange and yellow bell pepper, sweet potato, mushrooms, and yellow squash.

Evening snack: arrowroot cookie for the little man, and homemade pineapple ice cream for my husband and I.

Of course the little man breastfed throughout the day so this wasn't his only nourishment. This is a typical day of real food in our house. What do you eat?

Real food.

We have chosen to eat real food because that processed boxed/fast food junk simply isn't good for you. Never mind that it is expensive, isn't even tasty, and makes us feel bad. Real food that is made from wholesome healthy ingredients tastes so much better, cost less (once you get started and have some ingredients already on hand), and is SO very much healthier! It doesn't even take that long to prepare a good, healthy, homemade meal. In the photo is another reason we are choosing real food. If it doesn't break down, or mold, ect, then it isn't real food and we should not be eating it! We are still doing a very limited amount of processed things just because we don't have our garden up and going yet (like canned tomatoes from the store as opposed to ones I canned from my garden). Once we have our garden this spring, and our fruit trees start bearing fruit we will be buying even less at the store. In the mean time there is so much we can do to better our food. Right now when we go food shopping our motto is "if it has ingredients that we wouldn't use at home, can't pronounce, or don't know what it is exactly we do not buy it". This is a big step from just buying what looked good. In addition, we are not eating fast food. If it doesn't come from a locally owned, small chain, regular type diner/restaurant that uses mostly fresh ingredients then we just simply eat at home or bring food with us when we are out. These are our first steps to being healthier, less dependent on outside sources for food, and striving to live better. What are you doing to achieve this?