Happy New Year

2010 - It was a year of firsts.

First flutters and baby kicks

First time giving birth

First time becoming a mom

First daughter

First smiles

First laughs

First time rolling over

First time sitting up

First solid foods

First tooth

First true understanding of unconditional love

2010 - It was a fantastic and memorable year.

Home Made Baby Food: Zucchini

I just made my first batch of fresh baby food. It was easy!
I cut up the zucchini into little pieces and put them in the steamer for 20 minutes. When the zucchini was done, I put it in the blender with a little bit of water and hit puree. Done! I need to get some ice cube trays to freeze the food in (each cube is approximately 1 oz which is just the right serving size) but for tonight, I used some breast milk bags. I made 3 oz servings so Baby Bee will just have to have zucchini for all 3 meals for a couple of days. =-)

Happy Birthday

At 3:01 this morning, I entered my thirty-seventh year.

When I was little, I looked forward to my birthday for the presents and the party. Then as I hit my young adult years, I looked forward to the phone calls, cards, and "Happy Birthday" wishes. As I neared thirty, I still appreciated birthday wishes but began to look forward to my birthdays less as I began to view them as markers of age. Now that I have a beautiful daughter of my own, my perception of birthdays has changed. For the first time, I truly valued a birthday for what it really is - a celebration of life regardless of presents, cards, or the number of candles on the cake. As a new mom, I can now fully appreciate the best gift given to me, the gift of life.

As the first day of my thirty-seventh year draws to an end, I am humbled and extremely appreciative of the gift my mom gave to me. Thank you, Mom, for life.

6 months of BFAR

Baby Bee turned 6 months old yesterday so it also marked 6 months of breastfeeding. That's quite an accomplishment since I'm only producing enough milk for about 40% of her daily intake. I've definitely had my love/hate moments with BF but overall, I've really enjoyed it. I'm so glad I stuck it out and kept with it. She's not been sick once and is right on track developmentally. Here's to another 6 months!

29 Days of Diapers!

Here's a great contest for 29 chances to win cloth diapers! The great thing about this giveaway is that it's a one step entry each day and is only open for 24 hours so winners are announced promptly. No need to wait for 2 weeks for the duration of the contest. Want to enter? Click on the 29 days of Diapers button on my sidebar!

Christmas Diapers: Feeding the Addiction

Okay. I've been dying to have some seasonal diapers, but I've kept myself in check. I just can't justify the money right now so I've promised myself I won't order any at this time. I didn't promise that I wouldn't try to WIN some though! This adorable Ooga Booga Christmas diaper from Nifty Nappy is exactly what I would love to see on Baby Bee's bum on Christmas morning. Thanks to the Mommy Times and Nifty Nappy for sponsoring the giveaway! Fingers (and toes) crossed!!

Product Review: Libman Freedom Mop

Pleased

In the past, I had used a Swiffer Wet Jet and while I liked it and felt that it did a good job, it was also a rather expensive mop to use between the costs of the replacement cleaning pads and refill containers of the solution. I also felt bad about having to throw away the cleaning pads after each cleaning. Since I had already started using a microfiber cloths on the regular Swiffer, I had tried to do the same with the Wet Jet, but it didn't work. That's about the time I first saw the Libman Freedom Mop advertised. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! There are NO batteries and the cleaning pads are reusable up to 50 washes. The container detaches easily so that I can fill it with whatever cleaning solution I want (I use 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar) and the microfiber cloth has little scrubbies on it to help break up stubborn spots. I just toss the dirty pad in with my cleaning cloths and pop on the extra one I purchased so that the mop is always ready to use. It's durable and well-made yet light weight so it's easy to carry around the house. I still use our surface steamer for "deep" cleaning, but the Libman Freedom Mop is the answer for quick daily touch-ups while still being environmentally and fiscally responsible. I would definitely recommend this product.

Birthday Bonanza Giveaway

It's not too early to start thinking about Baby Bee's first birthday, is it? I was looking through my usual sites where I enter giveaways and saw the Birthday Bonanza Giveaway sponsored by Celebrate Express over at Minnesota Momma's Must Haves. I fell in love with the Sweet-As-Can-Bee theme so I decided to enter to try and win a party pack. Even if I don't win, I will definitely consider this party pack for Baby Bee's party; the prices are very reasonable and there are lots of options for adding on extra supplies.

Another Giveaway Win!

Here's my shout out to Diane at gobabygoshop.com
I just won a cloth diapering advocacy tshirt for Baby Bee. It says "Does this cloth diaper make my butt look green?" Can't wait for her to get to wear it. Thanks, Diane!

Product Review: Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Kneeling Pad

Pleased

This pad is perfect for mommy or daddy knees while bathing baby. It has an anti-skid backing so that there's no slipping and sliding across the bathroom floor. It's just the right size and doesn't take up a lot of room. It's light weight enough to use the velcro strap on the back to hang from a towel bar or shower curtain rod in between uses.

Product Review: First Years Sure Comfort Bath Tub

Pleased

This tub is very practical. It is designed to sit on counter tops or straddle the kitchen sink. It doesn't fit our sink but that's not really a big deal to me. Now that Baby Bee is a bit older, I just set her tub in the bottom of our tub and kneel down on our kneeling pad. There is a compartment at the end of the tub large enough to keep shampoo/body wash bottles in during bath time.


This tub has a newborn sling that suspends baby above the tub making it easy to keep both hands free to bathe baby. The sling is netted so that water drips right through for rinsing purposes. After baby can balance a bit better, she promotes to the infant side (the taller back at the top of the picture). The angle of the hump in the middle of the tub elevates her legs slightly in order to help keep her leaning back. It would be nice if there were an anti-skid piece for under her bottom but I suppose one wasn't placed there in order to prevent any scratching on her delicate bum. The opposite end of the tub is for toddler use when baby can sit up on her own. We've yet to use that end but when we do, I'll update this review.


There are a couple of design elements I would change about this tub. First, where the legs are located, there are deep crevices on the inside floor of the tub but only on one end. Mildew loves those crevices from the trapped water after the tub is drained; they're narrow and difficult to clean. I don't understand why all four of the leg locations couldn't be flush to the inside bottom of the tub, or at least close to it, since two of them are. Secondly, the drain hole and plug sit a bit higher than the bottom of the tub making it difficult for all the water to drain out. I always have to flip the tub over to finish draining. Thirdly, I've not been able to hang this tub in between uses. With limited storage space, I had planned on hanging this on the wall in our laundry room alongside our laundry basket. The curved shape combined with the deep bottom makes it stand out away from the wall too far from the grasp of hooks.


Overall, this tub functions well and the couple of complaints I have are minor. Baby Bee is comfortable in it and really enjoys her bath time; I would recommend this tub to other moms.

Product Review: Prince Lionheart Warmies Cloth Wipes

Disappointed

I wanted to use cloth wipes since I was using cloth diapers anyway. It made sense to limit what we were throwing away and really, what was a few more things in the wash? I wish I had read the reviews on these first. I'm very glad that we only received one set instead of the two for which I had registered.

The first thing I noticed was that their care tag says to wash them on delicate. What? They're made to wipe up pee and poop and they're not sturdy enough for a regular wash cycle? I had planned to throw them in with the diapers so where's the convenience in having to do a separate load? These bamboo rayon wipes are very soft and seem to get softer with each wash. Unfortunately with each wash, they also seem to fall apart. Yep, even on the gentle cycle. So far, 3 of the 9 have come unraveled at the edges.

I found that the downside to them being so soft is that the fibers don't grab and trap the poop but rather just smear it around Baby Bee's bum. I quit using them on her bum and now just use them on her face for clean-ups between baths. I definitely would not recommend these wipes. See this blog entry for wipes we found that work well for us and our routine.

Being Debt Free is Coming Closer

I was filling in some information on our Dave Ramsey budgeting software and if we really squeeze every penny and pay each month what we did this month, it is possible that exactly one year from now, we can be debt free! Our goal is 15 months (January 2012) but how exciting it would be to finish early!

Lucky Streak

Well, I've been entering blog giveaways for about three weeks now and I've won three times.
Here's the list so far and my shout out to the ladies who make these giveaways possible:

GroVia Diaper
thanks to Nicki at nickisdiapers.com
Rockin Green Detergent
thanks to Kim at chubbycheeksthinks.com
Adiri Ultimate Nurser
thanks to Kim at chubbycheeksthinks.com

Trying Out the GroVia Today

We're finally getting to try our free GroVia diaper out today after 5-6 prep washes. So far, so good. The first thing I noticed was how easily this diaper went on. It has a super soft H&L waist - no scratching! I also noticed that since the whole waist piece is soft aplix rather than a sewn on strip, it looks nicer than some other systems which use aplix. It is extremely trim fitting for a one size diaper, even trimmer than my favorite Best Bottom diapers. After a couple of uses, I will write a full review and add it to my Adventures in Cloth Diapering page.

More Diaper Related Winning!

I just won a bag of Rockin' Green Detergent from Chubby Cheeks Thinks! I began using this detergent about a week and a half ago and after rockin' an overnight soak, it took care of the detergent buildup causing a terrible ammonia smell as soon as the dipes got wet. I had been reading how much people loved RnG so I was willing to try it. After using it just that one time and having the smell in the dipes completely eliminated, I have switched my station to Rockin' Green! I'm super excited that I didn't have to buy the next bag.

Breastfeeding Giveaway Pack

I just found this giveaway for breastfeeding moms! It's a My Brestfriend pillow, an inflatable travel feeding pillow, fenugreek (as a post-surgery mom I NEED that), a nursing stool, and a nursing cover. Its the ULTIMATE BF kit! I love the idea of the travel nursing pillow; I was just talking to someone the other day about inflatable pillows. If I had that, I could keep it in my diaper bag all the time. I've registered to win cloth diapers but THIS is the giveaway I REALLY want to win!

First Consignment Purchase

I've never shopped in a consignment store before now, but I must say, I'll be a frequent shopper at Bellys Babies and Beyond. We're taking a trip to the mountains this fall and Baby Bee needed some warm clothes in her current size since all of the warmer clothes we were given are 6-9 months and up. I was able to find exactly what she needed for a great deal.

I purchased:
5 long-sleeved onesies
3 hooded sweaters
3 pairs of pants
2 hats (one was still in the package)
1 pair of jeans
1 pair of overalls

all for $34.11! Most of the items were in the $2.00 range and one of the hats was only $0.50! The store was very clean and the owners are very particular about what items they accept to sell. I will definitely use my frequent shopper points card.

Pop-Up Cloth Wipes Video

While I don't store my wipes this way, this video shows how to fold cloth wipes in order to reuse a pop-up disposable wipes container. I thought it was helpful.

Fabulous Formula Find

I got a super hot deal on formula today! Publix had Enfamil Lipil on their discontinued shelf. This was the first Lipil that we were using as breastfeeding supplementation and then had trouble finding it, not realizing that it had been discontinued. Anyway, Publix marked what they had as 2 for $25.59 (25 oz can) and 2 for $13.39 (13 oz can). They only had one of the 25 oz cans but 4 of the smaller cans. On top of the special price, I had $21 in Enfamil checks. I got all of this formula for $18.58 and since we only have to use a couple of ounces at a time, it should keep us from having to buy more formula for quite awhile!