natural partying! I mean, parenting…

04/16/2011 by · Leave a Comment
Just because it sounded like fun… & because I am home alone for a week… & because I want to be cool like my friend Gen over at Uniquely Normal Mom… :o)
I decided to join the “natural parenting” blog party hosted by The Peaceful Housewife!
To start things off, there are some get-to-know-you questions. I answered them below…

(and am about to go read everyone else’s… as soon as I get my rambunctious 2 year old who JUST learned how to climb out of his crib :o( to stay in bed for the night!) Tips and advice welcome!!!!! :o)

Ok, here we go:

1. How many children do you have, and how old are they?

I have three boys!!! A 9 year old, a 2 year old, and a 4 month old. :o)
2. Do you have a partner, or are you a single parent?
I have been married to my husband Andrew for 4 years. Our 9 year old is technically ‘his’, but whatever…
3. What are your “hot button” parenting issues?
Sleep-training and un-informed circumcision really get me going, for sure! I just wish everyone would hear and really try to understand the truth behind these practices before making such permanent life-altering decisions!
(That said, if you really make an effort to hear both sides before making your decision, I can respect your decision as parents… it’s the ignorance - chosen or innocent - that really gets me!)
4. Have you made any parenting choices that you didn’t think you would make before you were a parent, i.e. cloth diapering a child when you had previously thought it was disgusting?
Ummm… yeah. I was never going to be one of those ‘cloth-diapering’ parents! :o) haha. Now I’m addicted and would rather shop for fluff than just about anything else!
5. Is there one book or person in particular that’s heavily influenced your parenting choices?
I guess I would say Ina May’s books have been very influential in my life… I just love her!!
If I had to pick one specific thing though, it would be the movie The Business of Being Born (I know it’s not a book, but same difference!). That’s what really pushed me over the edge into a home-birthing, natural mama!
6. If you had to describe each of your children using only one word, what word would you use?
Oh this one is tough. I hate labeling my kids, but for the sake of novelty I will try…
Navy (9) = teenager. Bjørn (2) = stubborn. Haakon (4m) = smiley!
7. Is there one parenting decision that you regret more than others and wish you could change?
Every single day I regret having my firstborn circumcised. I was completely ignorant (maybe because I was afraid to be anything otherwise?) and that ignorance is not something I can take back, as much as I wish I could. :o(
8. Is there an area of your parenting you wish you were better at?
Oh I completely wish I had more patience! :o( I was telling a friend the other day… I’m pretty sure I almost never swore before I had a toddler. He sure knows how to push my buttons!! (Needless to say, I’m pretty much terrified for when he’s a teenager!) :o)
9. Now for the fun questions – is there one particular food or type of food that you could eat every day?
mmm… bread for sure! I could live on bread! (with butter and cheese, of course!) :o)
10. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate?
Breyer’s Vanilla Fudge Twirl (best of both worlds!)
11. What’s your guilty pleasure?
fresh bread. I have been known to eat a whole loaf myself!!
(Seriously… a few months ago, my husband was home when I brought groceries in - including a loaf of fresh french bread - and he said “that’s how big those loaves are?! I thought they were way smaller than that!”) :o)
12. If you could be part of any television show, which show would it be?
Glee!! (I just got done watching Season 1 on Netflix!) Wouldn’t that be just so much fun???
or The Pioneer Woman‘s new show on the Food Network… I’m almost tempted to get TV again for that one. I just love her!! :o)
Filed Under: cloth diapering, mama musings, natural parenting, ramblings, stepmom musings ·

cloth… week one

10/05/2009 by · Leave a Comment
Day one: 8 cloth/1 disposable (for bedtime). Cloth held in poop, even though he was in his jump-up! Disposables NEVER hold it in for him. Score: cloth 1/disposables 0
Day two: 6 cloth/1 disposable. Cloth has a noticeable pee-smell most of the time. Never had that, even with unscented disposables. Score: cloth 0/disposables 1
Day three: 5 disposables. Spent the day in the City visiting my parents. Wasn’t brave enough to try cloth on a whole-day outing! :o) No score today.
Day four: 4 cloth/1 disposable. Wet bag and diaper pail liners arrived! Happy to not be wasting Ziplocs anymore! No leaks at all today (but no #2′s to judge!). No score today.
Day five: 5 cloth/3 disposables (long night of waking and diaper changes!).
Day six: 5 cloth/2 disposables
Day seven: 5 cloth/1 disposable. After 4 days of NOTHING… Bjorn let loose! gDiapers held it all in (and I didn’t think that was even possible!). That gives them a HUGE advantage! Score: cloth 100/disposables 0

Overall, I am very happy with this decision so far! Other than that annoying, yet very faint, pee-smell (that most-likely only I would notice), I have no complaints with this cloth-diapering thing! :o)
Bjorn uses about 5-6 cloth diapers a day, and I throw a load into the wash every night (or two if there’s no poopy dipes in there)… Using the Whites setting on my washer (HOT) and regular unscented Kirkland Signature laundry soap, I have had no stains or residual smells so far.
I am using a disposable diaper at night, because I don’t want him to wake up feeling wet and want to be changed in the middle of the night. I haven’t decided if I will keep that up. What are your thoughts on cloth at night? Do you have any problems with leaks or babies wanting a change a midnight??
Oh and with this impressive lack of blow-outs compared to disposable diapers, I am now beating myself up for not trying this whole thing earlier!! :o)
Filed Under: cloth diapering, mama musings, ramblings ·

cloth diapering?? Help please!!

09/24/2009 by · Leave a Comment

We’re starting a new adventure in our family. Or rather, I’m starting a new adventure in our family! :o)

Due to many factors, our finances being the most pressing - of course, we are about to begin…
cloth diapering. (duhn duhn duhn duuuuuhn…)
I never thought in a million years, that I would be saying those words. I am not a green mama. Don’t get me wrong, I love our planet (or rather - the God that created it!)… I prefer to feed my family as much organic, natural foods as possible and I try not to take what God has given us for granted. I’m just not that into weighing every little thing I do with how it will affect our planet.
Honestly? I believe that He will come long before the earth dies from our mis-use. But that’s beside the point. I am not a green mama. Never have been, never will be. Hate me if you want. It’s not gonna change.
I am, however, a money-conscious mama. And life is hitting us hard right now. I just can’t stand spending $20+ a week on diapers anymore! Now, I’m not saying I will never use disposables. In fact, I will use them at least a few times a week, I’m sure. But I will not depend on disposables. I will do my very best to use cloth as much as possible, so that I can help save every penny possible for our family!
The hardest part so far? Ordering the diapers. I understand that you have to take a hit in the beginning in order to see the savings down the road. But this $100 I have spent so far hurts. Bad. And I’m pretty sure I’m not done with the initial spending for this new endeavor in our lives.
What did I decide to use? These fabulous gDiapers! I have used them a few times (with their original flushable-liners) and am excited to try their cloth version. I ordered them today, so have yet to try this whole thing out, but I am excited! (I think?!)
Now, I need your help. Please please PLEASE give me any and all advice you can think of!! What more do I need to buy? How do I store the dirty dipes between washes?? How do I best wash them? What was I thinking when I decided to do this?!????
Thank you and Goodnight!! :o)
Filed Under: cloth diapering, mama musings, ramblings ·