Charlie Banana nana nana vs FuzziBunz

(WEB) (FACEBOOK) - 4 out of 5

I am in LOVE. Move over Fuzzibunz I found Charlie Banana. I find the PUL on this diaper exceeds in quality, I love that you get the 2 microfiber inserts (much like the new One-Size Fuzzibunz and elastics on the legs for a custom fit). I love the colour options for this diaper. It's is MUCH like the Fuzzibunz. I just like the fact that I have the option of buying a great pocket diaper from someone else... I've made it known that I'm not buying the new Fuzzibunz being manufactured in China, I find their PUL to be "cheap" and sticky feeling. I find them difficult to stuff. (Look the label, it will tell you where the diaper was made - I prefer the USA and Mexico versions - apparently they will be producing them in Turkey now.)


Charlie Bananas are hard to come by in Canada, but luckily Double K Boutique is selling off the rest of her lot at a discounted price.


Pros:

• Absorbency - great for regular flow
• Fit - Trim and sleek under clothes, custom fit with elastics and snaps, perfect fit on my little girl
• Leaks - no leaks, even with nighttime use
  
• Softness - SUPER soft microfleece
  
• Drying time - covers take an hour or so
• Retail price - competitive!!! Can get them on sale for as little as $15 CAD if you're willing to do the hunt. - Can go as high as $24.95 CAD for prints (which are adorable)
  
• Insert - you get 2 microfleece inserts, a short and a long
• Ease of Use - Snaps! and pocket stuffing
  

Cons:

• Absorbency - not sure if can withstand a heavy wetter
  
• Leaks -no leaks yet - but I'm not using this as a main diaper yet
  
• Drying time - new liners take an overnight dry or 15 minutes in the dryer
  
• Ease of use - tricky if you have a fidgety baby like mine, but I bribe her with a toy

NOTE: I did not receive any compensation for this review. These opinions are my own. I have purchased these diapers at full price for this review.

Happy 5 months Kate!

As a new mom, you find any reason to celebrate... every milestone seems so important. Even though Kate is driving me bonkers these days, and I'm wearing thin on no-sleep. It's the little giggles and chatter than keep me going.

I stumbled on this recipe and I can't wait til I can make these for Kate big 1st birthday bash. Then again, I wish she'd stay little forever. You see Kate has figured out that, she can't crawl yet, and back frog jumping often bumps her head first into wall. Her mobility of choice is now rolling to get somewhere which means, I can't just leave her on the floor with a couple of toys and run off to do laundry anymore. She requires a lot of attention and is too stubborn to take a mid-afternoon nap. This equates to no downtime for mom. You would think in this case that she sleeps through the night, wrong! She still gets up for 2 feeds and a diaper change. However, we have hit a major milestone. Kate gave up signing for 'milk' and is now actually requesting "lait lait". Of course,... she doesn't do it when you ask her to,... she resorts to yelling this when I'm not fast enough with her milk. We've also heard "mamamama" when she can't see me and is upset. I thought it was a fluke and that she was just playing with her m's, but she seems to have associated me to "mamamama", thanks do Dad who's been really pressing this on her since birth. He's determined to raise a genius. I would rather she veg out once in a while. ;)

If you haven't visited Skip to My Lou's blog yet, you should. There's a lot of entertaining posts and great recipe and gift ideas.
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/05/18/how-to-make-rainbow-colored-cupcakes/

So you think you can pee?

My New Year's Resolution

Yes, I want to lose weight, and as of January 1st I have an active gym membership and plan on losing 20-40lbs over the next year. Blah blah blah, what a boring way to begin 2011. So I thought I need something more challenging... I have no real control over what my career prospects are at this point and truthfully, I'd rather not stress over it until September when it's back to work for me. After a discussion with my baby-daddy, we've decided to take the big step. No, as I once shouted... "there will be no aisle",... we're talking about EC and diapering.

Call me crazy, but I think Kate's ready for potty training - or maybe more like I think it's time to train me! I've been reading up on this "elimination communication" (or EC for short) theory and thought, "my life isn't tiring enough these days... let's try something else on my plate!" We're going to start out with introduction to potty after her naps and after each feeding. Kate already HATES being wet or dirty, (god bless cloth diapers!) and I can already tell by her face right before she pees. (She also lets out a little fart.) I know someone who's done it, and swears by it. So I'm going to give it a go. First step, finding a potty small enough for her tiny bum. Suggestions? Wish me luck!

More on the subject here...
What is Elimination Communication?
Infant Potty Training

Pro Shots from Natasha Gregoire (continued)

Original Post: Pro Shots from Natasha Gregoire

I really can't express how happy I am with the outcome of these photos. They are far better than I could ever have imagined.

Thanks again to Natasha for doing this for us, you truly are a talent, and I hope to work again with you soon. :)

Please see Natasha's site for a complete list of her services.

Merry First Christmas Kate!

Kate's first Christmas was pretty uneventful this year. We decided to have ourselves a Christmas Day Pyjama Day with her toys and her new movies. :) First up, a Nickelodeon Christmas featuring Spongebob Squarepants and the Fairly Odd Parents. (We skipped the Rugrats... I didn't remember them being that boring when we were younger). We did Christmas at my parents last weekend and Christmas eve with the BF's family. Kate was SPOILED. I think she got more gifts from friends and family that she did from her parents - who yes, gave her socks and underwear. ;)
Merry Christmas to all of you, and hope your day was as relaxing and enjoyable as mine... now sleep is needed for Boxing Day shopping!

PS - I don't care what people say, I think my kid is turning out to be the cutest thing in the world. I may be bias... but just saying... who else can sport a ski-doo brand winter hat and not look like they need a beer in hand.

Wool Soakers and Longies

I visited a good friend of mine on Tuesday who surprised me with a REALLY cute pair of purple cashmere longies she had made for Kate out of a recycled sweater. I went out and bought 2 other sweaters a few weeks ago, and was waiting for a serger before trying my hand in this... ends up it's a LOT easier than I thought!

So why was I paying upwards of $30 a pair in-stores???

Martha's World offers a quick and simple pattern to create your own longies... and make a matching T-Shirt with the leftovers. Check her out! Her blog is quite informative. It's now part of my daily read. Please note, her site does not mention felting your wool first. Personally, I run my sweaters through a hot wash and toss them into the dryer to make them into itty bitty sweaters. http://marthasworld76.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-make-wool-soaker-from-recycled.html

I will be posting all of them as soon as I have them all finished. Who knows,.. if I get good enough, maybe I'll start selling them on my site too! (PLUG HERE: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bibmababy)

I'm trying my hand at these ridiculously cute wool soakers later when I can salvage about an hour of my day - who knew a baby was so time consuming? Stay tuned for pics! This woman offers a free pattern here.
http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2010/09/just-soaker.html
Older post: http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2007/10/instructions-for-sewing-soaker.html



More Links:
http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/search/label/Wool-in-two%20training%20pants

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Make your own Wool Wash!

I use this recipe to clean all my wool diaper covers.

1. Add a pea size of Lanolin to a cup of HOT water.
2. Let it melt.
3. Add a few drops of baby shampoo.
4. Stir!
   

and there's your lanolizing soap!

To wash:

1. Put about a teaspoon of your concoction into a tub of water.
2. Swish the water to ensure even distribution of lanolin wash.
3. Turn all your wool items inside out - careful colours may run!
4. Soak for about an hour.
5. Remove your wool and roll into a towel to remove moisture.
6. Reshape and lay flat to dry. Hanging can distort the shape of your wool.
   

Pro Shots with Natasha Gregoire

Pro Shots with Natasha Gregoire of Gatineau, QC
(WEB) (BLOG)

Count me lucky to have found an amazing photographer in my backyard! I accidentally found Natasha on a Used Ottawa post looking for newborns to use in a photo shoot. I jumped on it, thinking "why not?". Natasha has a dedicated room designed into a fun studio in her basement filled with props. She's kind and gentle and Kate had no issues posing for her. (A problem I have run into 3 times prior with other photographers...) We spent a little over an hour with Natasha coming up with wardrobe changes and prop selections. Here's a teaser of what is to come.


I really enjoyed working with Natasha and highly recommend her to other moms in the area. Her stuff is reasonably priced - and you get lasting memories. :)

Love the hat? My mom made it using a pattern from The Inner Hooker (FACEBOOK, ETSY). I've had a few of these made for friends - they make great shower gifts. I'm not quite agile enough to attempt something like this with my crochet hook... I'm still working on circles and flowers. Thanks Mom!

Grandma would have been proud...

Choosing Kate

This pretty much sums up how we came to choose the name Kate.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11765366
It was a lot of my doing - I've always loved the name Kate (yes, stemming way back from my days at home sick with my mom indulging in treats while watching Days of Our Lives - and then they introduced Kate... That name always stuck in my head... then Cate (Winslet) was reintroduced through Titanic... and then Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale - I had finally forgotten about it (or ignored Kate Gosselin)... til I saw Indiana Jones 4 with Cate Blanchett. Shortly thereafter - I found out I was pregnant. :)

I've always been fond of names like Jane, Claire, Marie, Lynne - simple and unpretentious. Kate seems to be the one that's followed me through my life. My grandmother was a huge follower of the Royal family. She would definitely have approved of Kate. RIP.

I'm just really happy that after 3 baby books, I looked at Eli and said... "How to you feel about Kate?" ".. I like it!" SOLD!

Heavy Knitters

I know I've been MIA - but I have an excuse. Taking care of a baby is HARD!!! My mom and my sister were up to help last week, and knit me a few presents. My aunt sent me an beautiful dress, which Kate is slowly growing into. My mom made MANY MANY MANY hats - the bear one being my favorite... and my sister made her cute thumbless mittens. Click on picture for larger view.

So what did I make? Nothing. Because like I've stated before, I have no skills when it comes to knitting or crochet. But I make a mean Caesar!!

Any wins lately? Yes, I won a Little Beetle Diaper from Better for Babies Inc.. Reviews to come!

I know I've been lacking in the contest referrals department, but I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks. Once I get myself into a stable routine with Kate, I'll be back here spreading the news. :)

Kate's First Photo Shoot

My little Kate turned 1 week on Wednesday. First milestone = First photo shoot.
She is sporting a cute ruffle diaper cover courtesy of Forward Thinking. All props were brought in from home. I did the frugal thing and went to the Great Canadian Superstore to have my pictures taken at a very inexpensive price - but their prop selection was horrendous. I'm happy I thought ahead and brought a laundry bag full of outfits, cute diapers, necklaces, hats and blankets to play with.

There is a second set of prints that won't be ready for pick-up until next week... stay tuned!

Welcome Home Kate!

Kate
Weight: 7lbs, 13 oz
Height: 19.6 inches
Born: September 8, 2010
Time: 12:38am

How was my labour?
First contraction was at 10:46 pm. She was born shy of 2 hours later.
FASTEST DELIVERY EVER!

Ultrasound 3

I was fortunate to have a student technician who was willingly giving me a play-by-play of what he was looking for and what all the dark spots were. A second technician came in to double check his work and gave him a quick lesson in 3D Ultrasounds... I got to see the baby in 3D for free! :) - but lady couldn’t get a clear enough picture which warranted a print-out. Which is OK - I thought it was creepy.
Everything looks great, Kate weighs 4lbs 6oz - is a small and very hairy baby - She apparently is already sporting a full head of hair. Aside from being VERY camera shy (it took 45 minutes to get this shot) Everything is on track! 8 weeks to go!

Ultrasound Part Deux

Baby is doing well. SHE is a good size. A little small for her age, but hey... so was I.

Surprise!!!

Due Date: Sept 30th, 2010