Poop and New Endeavor

So I have been very busy with two things this past week. POOP and starting my business as a Discovery Toys Representative. I am excited about one of those things. I bet you can guess which one.

Jude's belly is still out of whack. We go to the doctor on Tuesday and hopefully will get some answers. I have cut out dairy but now I am having trouble eating enough-and my milk supply has dipped a few times. It is too soon to tell if eliminating dairy is helping as it can take a few weeks for the milk proteins to completely leave my body.

And now for my more exciting endeavor.

I went to a Discovery Toys party and was so impressed that I decided to become a rep. The toys are excellent quality educational toys. All the toys undergo rigorous safety testing. They also have a lifetime warranty. I am excited to bring more info to my readers and will be doing product demos, giveaways, and hopefully some video reviews. I will possibly be looking for other mommy bloggers to do some reviews/giveaways as well.

I am looking to expand my team and can sponsor anyone in the U.S. You don't have to live close to me to be on my team. So if you love toys and are looking to make some extra money & earn free toys let me know and I will be happy to get you some information.

Here is my website link.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/ilove2play


I will be sharing info on the amazing winter sale on New Year's Eve- so stay tuned!

Much Ado About Poo

I have been trying to write this post for a few days but have had trouble getting the words out without getting upset. We have had a week of tummy troubles here. I have spent quite a few midnight and four am feedings in tears listening to Jude strain while going to the bathroom. I don't know what is up with Jude's belly but something is not right with him. I'm his mommy and I know when something is amiss. I am very frustrated at this point and just want my lil man to feel better.

Ar first I thought he had a virus but after a week and no improvement I am starting to think it might be a food allergy. Jude is still exclusively breastfed so the most obvious offender is dairy in my diet- so I am going to go dairy free AGAIN! This is no small task because there are hidden sources of dairy in everything. If he is very sensitive even those little things can bother him.

The pediatrician's office really hasn't been much help to me. If we still have no improvement I will be calling back on Monday.

and now the gross part...

We have been dealing with all the colors of the rainbow over here. Bright green, dark green, mucousy, gassy, brown, watery, curdy (big and small), and one I like to think of as apricot jelly. No blood- We have had everything except blood. We have a lot of straining red faces mixed with lost of smiles that have helped me be strong.

So I am going to eliminate dairy and hope for the best. I want to cry a little because I planned on making and eating A LOT of holiday cookies. Now it looks like that won't be happening.

As usual- Twitter has been my sounding board this week. I think I getter more info from just a couple tweets than from a 15 minutes conversation with the peds nurse.

Sending this One to Ellen

Ho Ho Hope your Santa pic. comes out better than ours!!

aden + anais SALE!

You know I love aden + anais! Check out their holiday sale.

Kissaluvs Diaper Rental Review

I know lots of moms are interested in cloth diapers but are not sure about what their options are for the newborn stage. I had lots of one size dipes that I knew would not fit a tiny newborn- regardless of claims!-but didn't want to buy diapers I was only go to use for a few weeks. The answer for me was diaper rental. I know some people might think it is gross-but I am not someone who shies away from used items or hand me downs-even diapers If you reuse any newborn clothes chances are they were either spit up or pooped on and it isn't like they aren't washed.

I stumbled upon an online diaper store called Nell's Natural Baby after seeing a tweet. While checking out the site I saw that they did newborn diaper rentals. The diapers available for rent were Kissaluvs size zero. These are fitted diapers that require a cover. I had tried Kissaluvs with Eliza when I first started cloth diapering. Although I was happy with the diapers back then, I opted to go the one size rout. However, I remembered that the diapers were soft and absorbent and I thought they would be prefect for a delicate baby bottom.

Here is the diaper rental deal.

I rented 24 size 0 Kissaluvs for 3 months for $150. After returning the diapers I had a choice between $75 cash or $85 store credit. I took the store credit option because I can use it to pick up some Rockin Green Detergent or I might even try out the new Bum Genius Flip system.

I purchased 4 wraps (Thirsties Duo) to use with the diapers. I got by just fine with only four covers. I have two kids in cloth and do LOTS of laundry so I always had clean covers available. Changing the baby very often also allowed me to reuse the covers- they didn't get that gross. At one point I tried to use my Grobaby shells with the Kissaluvs but I wasn't thrilled with the results. You, of course, might have different results.

I couldn't be more pleased with my rentals. They came to me excellent condition and I sent them back in what I considered to be great condition. They washed well- although sometimes a few they got jammed in my dryer and would end up more crusty and dry then fluffy and dry.

I would certainly rent them again. I was really sad to pack them up and send them off. It meant my lil boy wasn't so little anymore.

Interested in renting cloth- check out...Click here for a cost comparison of the rental versus disposables!

My Heart Stopped

The first portion of this post was written yesterday morning...the second half was written today.

After about 10 hours alone with Eliza I start feeling like the Hulk. Like most toddlers Eliza can push and push and push and PUSH! On the weekends when my husband and I can take a breather it is much easier to be a good parent. During the week I often feel like I can't get away to take that breather I need. I start getting angry and frustrated with her and it turn become upset with myself.

Eliza is a high spirited energetic child with LOTS and LOTS of personalty. I love this about her and it drives me nuts at the same time. I know so many of her personality traits are strong and positive- or at least they will be when she is an adult. It is so frustrating to want your child to be strong willed but not want her to be strong willed against you. I want her to be persistent-just not persistent about not putting a diaper on every single time.

I do not believe in giving time out- except for mommy. I strongly believe that to discipline is to teach and not to punish. We live in a country where discipline is often synonymous with punishment and in my experiences as a teacher and as a parent punishment does nothing. If a child DOES respond well to time out- something much gentler would also have worked. The truth is-punishment wouldn't help Eliza anyway. I would basically have to sit on her to get her to stay in one spot anyone. I obviously have strong feelings against time out. I think it isolates children and doesn't teach them anything. I truly believe there is always a better way than to punish. Finding ways to parent a spirited child has been a challenge.

So that is what I wrote yesterday morning...and here is today

Yesterday was not a good day for us. I took the kids out to play in the morning. I had Jude in the double stroller using the car seat attachment. Eliza didn't want to ride so she was playing at the playground. For the most part she was listening but she of course she was being Eliza. We ended up playing with two little girls from a cross the street- or development.

Jude woke up and it was almost lunch time so we started to head inside. The little girls crossed the street/parking lot to go home and we were walking towards our door when Eliza decided to bolt out into the road towards the girls. Now, like I said it is more of a parking lot than a street but cars do come flying in all the time. I assume i was acting on reflex or instinct and ran out to grab Eliza. It was only in that moment I realized I did not hit the foot brake on the stroller. As I turned around I saw the stroller moving quickly down the sidewalk, down the curb and onto it's side with Jude strapped in the car seat. I think my heart stopped when I realized what I had done. When I saw that there was no way I could get to the stroller in time-even though I tried.

Everyone ran over to the stroller and I unbuckled the now screaming Jude. What happened after is a blur but we somehow got everyone upstairs. I called my husband and he called his mom to come over. I started nursing Jude to try and calm him down. Everyone was visibly upset and I was borderline hysterical. I called the pediatrician and they said that I should observe him for the next couple hours.

I have tears in my eyes every time time I picture it in my head. I really don't know how I could have been so careless. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't had him strapped securely into his care seat. I don't want to know. Luckily, shortly after the incident he was his normal smiley happy self. We continued to observe him for the rest of the day and thankfully he is OK.

This is one of the reasons I avoid taking the kids out alone. Eliza is unpredictable. She KNOWS she isn't supposed to run into the street. It isn't like we let her play in the parking lot. I have been reinforcing this rule since she was able to walk. She is a very smart little girl. However, a 2 year old has no concept of danger or what could possible happen as a result of her running out into the road. She wouldn't sit in the stroller yesterday and would throw a tantrum or go limp if i tried to hold her hand. Like I said, she is strong willed. She was very upset about what happened to . She told me that she ran in the street and Jude fell over in the BOB in his car seat. Will this incident prevent her from doing it again? I doubt it.

Ultimately it was my error that resulted in the accident. I know accidents happen but I feel horrible. I am just so happy Jude is OK. I think it will probably be a while before I take both kids outside alone.

Musical Beds Take 3-The Sidecarred crib

The past few months have been a real adventure in sleeping arrangements. I wrote this post about musical beds. Then I started thinking about the game musical chairs. The chairs are always close together to make it easier to move from one to the other. Our beds were in two different rooms and that was getting to be a pain. Plus, I really missed sleeping next to Pete. I think part of the trouble I had falling asleep was due to the fact that I missed him.

That brought us to musical beds tale 2. We made a change to our arrangement. We pushed our bed against the wall and moved the twin bed next to our bed for Eliza. What happened? Pete ended up on the twin bed with Eliza and Jude and I slept on the big bed. This was better for me but not for Pete. Plus, I really wanted Jude on a separate surface but close to me. He was already too big for the cosleeper
(and never liked it anyway). I needed another option.

One day on facebook I stumbled on a site that described how one family sidecarred their crib. Our crib was dismantled in the hallway and not getting any use. It is a drop side crib and I would never use it as a regular crib again. It never got much use- Eliza only used it for naps. At first I though it would be ludicrous because our whole bedroom would be beds. However, I want the sleeping arrangement that best suits the needs of all members of the family. So I decided we would give it a try. Luckily, my husband freaking rocks and is always with me 100%.

As you can imagine he was thrilled to move all the beds around again. He might just start a third business as a mover. Seriously, he really didn't mind-which is what makes him so awesome. We have had the crib sidecarred for a few days now and it is going well. At first Jude did not want to sleep on the hard mattress. Can you blame him? However, after the first night he has done much better. He still usually wants some snuggle time with mommy in the early morning hours.

How we did it...

We secured the crib frame to our mattress box spring using bungee cords. This ensures they are held together tightly with no gap.

We filled the space between the crib mattress and the crib frame with the bumpers. We plan on getting high density foam to fill the space-but the bumpers are working for now.

Jude was asleep in his swing-so the part of Jude is being played by Elmo!

Here is a view of the entire bed brigade! I realize it is a bit extreme and some people (my mom) think we are crazy. It works for us right now. I know it won't be forever and in a way it is kinda fun.