Little Hip Squeak
Right now she is doing a contest where you can win $150 worth of rockin product from her shop! What are you waiting for? Go check it out!
Contest
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The most rockin organic blankets EVER!
Little Hip Squeaks is a company on Etsy that sells the most adorable baby products ever. Forget all of the princess, butterfly, and puppy cute-sy baby stuff and get with the rocker baby program! Here is a link to her Etsy shop so you can absorb all of the adorable. My personal favorites are the chevron blankets BUT she has much more! These are some of the adorable colors they come in. Best part, they can be personalized with a nane, birth stats, whatever your heart desires :)
Little Hip Squeak
Right now she is doing a contest where you can win $150 worth of rockin product from her shop! What are you waiting for? Go check it out!
Contest
Little Hip Squeak
Right now she is doing a contest where you can win $150 worth of rockin product from her shop! What are you waiting for? Go check it out!
Contest
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The cutest natural teething toy.
So when your little gal or guy starts cutting those teeth they'll probably be chewing on everything and drooling everywhere. My son starting teething at just 4 months and I started looking everywhere for SAFE teething toys with great reviews.
I ended up with a teething toy that is on Top 10 lists almost everywhere you'll look. Sophie the Giraffe!
Sophie the Giraffe was my favorite teething toy for my son. She is not only cute but she's all natural and safe! With all the recalls on toys with lead paint, why would you want to take a chance?
Sophie is made in the French Alps, she's BPA and Phthalate FREE. Made of 100% NATURAL rubber and as for the "paint" it's also all natural.... Food coloring/paint.
Overall, she was one of our favorites. There are many more Sophie like toys from the makers at Vulli. All great choices! Sophie's material is softer and more flexible than I thought it would be and she even has a squeaker.
So head over to http://www.sophiegiraffeusa.com and pick one out!
I ended up with a teething toy that is on Top 10 lists almost everywhere you'll look. Sophie the Giraffe!
Sophie the Giraffe was my favorite teething toy for my son. She is not only cute but she's all natural and safe! With all the recalls on toys with lead paint, why would you want to take a chance?
Sophie is made in the French Alps, she's BPA and Phthalate FREE. Made of 100% NATURAL rubber and as for the "paint" it's also all natural.... Food coloring/paint.
Overall, she was one of our favorites. There are many more Sophie like toys from the makers at Vulli. All great choices! Sophie's material is softer and more flexible than I thought it would be and she even has a squeaker.
So head over to http://www.sophiegiraffeusa.com and pick one out!
Best pacifier invented, like EVER.
For most mothers the pacifier can be a life saver. Most newborns have them, even the big round round ones that they give them in the hospital. When my son was a newborn he wouldn't sleep without one. The hardest part was him falling asleep with one and waking up every 15 minutes when he was crying because it fell out. As a new mother you'll probably be very very sleep deprived and tired, this won't be fun.
I started out buying the cute regular pacifiers at the local WalMart, before he was even born... That ended pretty quick because when they were sanitized they collected water on the inside. It took them forever to dry and there would still be water residue, hello mold!
I started only using the big hospital one but that wasn't great because I only had 1 and it got lost A LOT. And if we were out in public and it got dropped, say hello to fussy baby. I soon found a pacifier called the Gumdrop. It was made out of the same material and looked very similar to the hospital provided one except it wasn't round. It was more shaped and lighter. This picture shows the difference between the Gumdrop and the Soothie.
We loved the Gumdrops! My son loved them because they were the same nipple shape as his soothie, I loved them because they didn't fall out as much when he was sleeping. Another thing I loved was that they came in cuter colors, like blue instead of the green, and they came scented vanilla. They smelled like cupcakes! We started out with 6 and they started going missing one by one. We bought more... weeks later, missing more. So I got online and started looking....
So this now brings me to my favorite pacifier, the Wubbanub. See, it even sounds cute. We called it the "wub" instead of pacifier. Before I show you how cute these things are here is why we loved them SO SO SO very much.
1. They have a stuffed animal attached/come in many animals. How stinkin cute!
2. Since they have that animal they're harder to lose or fall away from a baby who can't yet put a pacifier back in.
3. They really did help my son sleep. He would have a bottle at night and he would rub his animal on the side of his face. (his bother is a hair twirler, he's a face/ear rubber)
4. When you're ready to take the pacifier away you can cut the pacifier off the animal and you child still has something to hold.
5. To wash/sanitize just throw it in your washer with anything you wash on warm/hot and then let it air dry.
6. Safe for baby! The beads that are in it are sealed off in cloth bags so it a part of it happens to rip your child doesn't have a mouthful of beads or stuffing.
My son loved these. They come in many different animals. My son had a lion, dinosaur, monkey, and an elephant. He ended up going through a phase where he was throwing everything in the garbage can though and he threw away his monkey and elephant, my favorite ones :( Here is the Wubbanub direct website to show you most of the options. Some of the Wubbanubs aren't on here because they also make special ones for companies. They have a really cute line of Mary Meyer Wubbanubs that can be found on ebay and amazon. They also have a special edition lion and dragon.
Anyway they are a little pricey at $12.95+ depending on which one BUT in my book they were worth it which is why we spend that much money on 4 of them. This is one of my favorite baby products and I recommend them to anyone and will even be buying some more when the time comes to have another baby.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Everything you need to know about cloth diapers/cloth diapering for dummies
My first post will be about something that most moms don't think about because it can be scary.... Cloth diapers. Now this post will be long BUT you won't have to go through multiple websites and videos to get an explanation. First I'll go through pros of cloth diapers then I'll go through types and what all those confusing words like aplix, mean.
To be honest, my son is 15 months old and I'm just starting out with this whole thing. I thought about it right after he was born but then I decided not to because seeing all the types and brands of diapers was confusing. Also I thought it was going to be really hard to keep up with and REALLY expensive.
There are a couple reasons that I finally decided to do it.
1. Money- While cloth diapering does seem expensive when you're starting out it will be cheaper in the long run, especially if you plan on having another baby. Yeah, you're going to have to buy the diapers, inserts, diaper sprayer, wet bag, pail liner, cloth diaper safe diaper cream, and whatever other accessories you may need/want. BUT in the long run you will be saving money. You can click this link > Diaper Calculator and find out how much you're spending on disposable diapers, compared to how much you'll spend on cloth and then it shows you how much you save in your baby diapering lifetime. For my family we're saving 3,000 by cloth diapering our son and a future baby, that's a lot of money to saved!
2. It's better for your baby- Do you know how many toxic chemicals are in diapers? 4+... that's too many for me. I had no idea that there were chemicals in my sons diapers that could possibly harm him. If you go here > Harmful chemicals in diapers?! you can read all about what chemicals are touching your baby's bottom and how/why they can cause harm. Also a lot of people that cloth diaper say that their babies get less rashes, seem more comfortable, and are easier to potty train.
3. It's better for the environment- 80% of the world uses disposable diapers, about 18 BILLION diapers a year. Did you know that it takes several hundred (250-500) years for a disposable diaper to break up and biodegrade? You may be saying "eh, who cares" but just think of how much plastic and wood it takes to make those diapers. 82,000 tons of plastic and 250,000 trees in just a year! When our great great great so on and so on grandchildren are here, chances are that the diapers from our children will still be in landfills.
3 great reasons to cloth diaper. Save money, the environment, and your babies bottoms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have decided that cloth diapering is something you'd like to try out, there are many types and brands. Cloth diapering isn't like what your great grandparents used to deal with anymore. There still are prefold diapers but there are so many more you can go with, you have so many choices!
What I find to be the most money saving is "one size" diapers. These diapers fit 8-35 lbs depending on the brand. They have snaps that you can size to your child's height and weight.
Next you'll have to decide what type of diaper you want. I'll explain each so you won't have to google lol.
Pocket diapers are one type, these diapers have an insert that you stuff the diaper with. People that use them say they are easier to get clean and faster to dry because the insert that soaks up all the urine comes out of the diaper for better washing.
All in Ones or AIO, these diapers have the insert already in the diaper. It doesn't come out. People say these are easier, faster, and a lot of people that have other watch their kids (dads, day cares, ect) prefer them because they're more like disposables. Keep in mind though, when they get stinky it's harder to get out because it's not just a liner, also they take longer to dry.
Hybrids or All in Twos. These diapers are what I chose to go with because they seemed the easiest for my husband. They come with a diaper shell and a snap in insert. Most diaper changes you'll be able to just take out the liner, wipe down the inside of the shell, and snap another insert in. Some hybrid diapers even have biodegradable disposable liners that you can put in if you're going out for a longer period of time or for someone who's watching your little one.
So the big question after you choose a type of diaper is "what closure do I go with?" Well there's two choices, snaps or aplix/hook and loop. People say snap closures last longer but they are also a little bit more time consuming since you have to line up the snaps, and for a half asleep mommy or daddy that can be harder. The next choice you have is aplix/hook and loop, which is basically velcro like. These can cause diapers to get stuck together in the washer/dryer creating a diaper chain but a lot of companies have started putting laundry tabs on them to help prevent that. People say that these aplix straps can wear down after time but again, some companies have come up with solutions for this. This is what we went with because they are easier and more like disposables.
Now you'll have to choose an insert... Microfiber, hemp, organic cotton, ect. I chose to go with organic cotton because reviews said that while they are more expensive, they're easier to clean and get the stinky stains out. In my mind that means they should last a bit longer and save us more money. Hemp is supposed to be more absorbent and a lot of people use them for nighttime diapers. You can buy doublers for heavy wetters.
You'll probably have to switch your detergent too because certain ones are not safe for the cloth diapers and will cause them to wear faster. here is a list of safe detergents- safe detergents for cloth diapers
Okay so now we're on to the accessories. There are so many including cloth wipes, which were not for me. But some of the things that I did get I'll list and tell you why they're great.
First off you'll need a wet bag and a pail liner, don't confuse the two, you'll need both. A wet bag is for diaper bags and outings. It's a zippered bag that has a waterproof lining so you can put all your dirty diapers in it while you're out. A pail liner is basically a waterproof trash bag for you to put your dirty diapers in. You wash it when you wash your diapers.
You'll also need a safe diaper rash cream, other creams will stain your cloth diapers. They come in creams, sticks, and even sprays.
This next one is a great accessory. Now when your baby poops you have to get the bowel movements out of the diaper and into the toilet. Usually you'd just flip the diaper and shake hoping you get the poopy out, or you can buy rice paper liners that you pick out of the diaper and flush in the toilet. Well they have this nifty thing called a diaper sprayer. It looks like a sink sprayer, same concept BUT it attaches to your toilet and you can spray off your diaper/inserts before you put them in your dirty diaper pail.
I hope that I answered most of your questions about cloth diapering. If you're still thinking it's too expensive and you can't pay $250+ all at once for diapers and all the accessories, please head over to my favorite cloth diaper buying site. You can put items in your cart and when you go to checkout it'll ask if you have a code. Put in "layaway" and you'll only have to put down 30%. You'll get to pay the total over 3 months. It's an awesome program and they have great sales on popular brands. GoGo Natural layaway program
To be honest, my son is 15 months old and I'm just starting out with this whole thing. I thought about it right after he was born but then I decided not to because seeing all the types and brands of diapers was confusing. Also I thought it was going to be really hard to keep up with and REALLY expensive.
There are a couple reasons that I finally decided to do it.
1. Money- While cloth diapering does seem expensive when you're starting out it will be cheaper in the long run, especially if you plan on having another baby. Yeah, you're going to have to buy the diapers, inserts, diaper sprayer, wet bag, pail liner, cloth diaper safe diaper cream, and whatever other accessories you may need/want. BUT in the long run you will be saving money. You can click this link > Diaper Calculator and find out how much you're spending on disposable diapers, compared to how much you'll spend on cloth and then it shows you how much you save in your baby diapering lifetime. For my family we're saving 3,000 by cloth diapering our son and a future baby, that's a lot of money to saved!
2. It's better for your baby- Do you know how many toxic chemicals are in diapers? 4+... that's too many for me. I had no idea that there were chemicals in my sons diapers that could possibly harm him. If you go here > Harmful chemicals in diapers?! you can read all about what chemicals are touching your baby's bottom and how/why they can cause harm. Also a lot of people that cloth diaper say that their babies get less rashes, seem more comfortable, and are easier to potty train.
3. It's better for the environment- 80% of the world uses disposable diapers, about 18 BILLION diapers a year. Did you know that it takes several hundred (250-500) years for a disposable diaper to break up and biodegrade? You may be saying "eh, who cares" but just think of how much plastic and wood it takes to make those diapers. 82,000 tons of plastic and 250,000 trees in just a year! When our great great great so on and so on grandchildren are here, chances are that the diapers from our children will still be in landfills.
3 great reasons to cloth diaper. Save money, the environment, and your babies bottoms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have decided that cloth diapering is something you'd like to try out, there are many types and brands. Cloth diapering isn't like what your great grandparents used to deal with anymore. There still are prefold diapers but there are so many more you can go with, you have so many choices!
What I find to be the most money saving is "one size" diapers. These diapers fit 8-35 lbs depending on the brand. They have snaps that you can size to your child's height and weight.
Next you'll have to decide what type of diaper you want. I'll explain each so you won't have to google lol.
Pocket diapers are one type, these diapers have an insert that you stuff the diaper with. People that use them say they are easier to get clean and faster to dry because the insert that soaks up all the urine comes out of the diaper for better washing.
All in Ones or AIO, these diapers have the insert already in the diaper. It doesn't come out. People say these are easier, faster, and a lot of people that have other watch their kids (dads, day cares, ect) prefer them because they're more like disposables. Keep in mind though, when they get stinky it's harder to get out because it's not just a liner, also they take longer to dry.
Hybrids or All in Twos. These diapers are what I chose to go with because they seemed the easiest for my husband. They come with a diaper shell and a snap in insert. Most diaper changes you'll be able to just take out the liner, wipe down the inside of the shell, and snap another insert in. Some hybrid diapers even have biodegradable disposable liners that you can put in if you're going out for a longer period of time or for someone who's watching your little one.
So the big question after you choose a type of diaper is "what closure do I go with?" Well there's two choices, snaps or aplix/hook and loop. People say snap closures last longer but they are also a little bit more time consuming since you have to line up the snaps, and for a half asleep mommy or daddy that can be harder. The next choice you have is aplix/hook and loop, which is basically velcro like. These can cause diapers to get stuck together in the washer/dryer creating a diaper chain but a lot of companies have started putting laundry tabs on them to help prevent that. People say that these aplix straps can wear down after time but again, some companies have come up with solutions for this. This is what we went with because they are easier and more like disposables.
Now you'll have to choose an insert... Microfiber, hemp, organic cotton, ect. I chose to go with organic cotton because reviews said that while they are more expensive, they're easier to clean and get the stinky stains out. In my mind that means they should last a bit longer and save us more money. Hemp is supposed to be more absorbent and a lot of people use them for nighttime diapers. You can buy doublers for heavy wetters.
You'll probably have to switch your detergent too because certain ones are not safe for the cloth diapers and will cause them to wear faster. here is a list of safe detergents- safe detergents for cloth diapers
Okay so now we're on to the accessories. There are so many including cloth wipes, which were not for me. But some of the things that I did get I'll list and tell you why they're great.
First off you'll need a wet bag and a pail liner, don't confuse the two, you'll need both. A wet bag is for diaper bags and outings. It's a zippered bag that has a waterproof lining so you can put all your dirty diapers in it while you're out. A pail liner is basically a waterproof trash bag for you to put your dirty diapers in. You wash it when you wash your diapers.
You'll also need a safe diaper rash cream, other creams will stain your cloth diapers. They come in creams, sticks, and even sprays.
This next one is a great accessory. Now when your baby poops you have to get the bowel movements out of the diaper and into the toilet. Usually you'd just flip the diaper and shake hoping you get the poopy out, or you can buy rice paper liners that you pick out of the diaper and flush in the toilet. Well they have this nifty thing called a diaper sprayer. It looks like a sink sprayer, same concept BUT it attaches to your toilet and you can spray off your diaper/inserts before you put them in your dirty diaper pail.
I hope that I answered most of your questions about cloth diapering. If you're still thinking it's too expensive and you can't pay $250+ all at once for diapers and all the accessories, please head over to my favorite cloth diaper buying site. You can put items in your cart and when you go to checkout it'll ask if you have a code. Put in "layaway" and you'll only have to put down 30%. You'll get to pay the total over 3 months. It's an awesome program and they have great sales on popular brands. GoGo Natural layaway program
Starting a blog with my love of baby products
As a mother you'll probably be buying a lot more stuff for you baby and a lot less stuff for you... Or so you think. I've found that a lot of the baby stuff my son has, has made my life and job as a mother so much easier.
The problem is that as a new mom you'll probably have doubts when it comes to what stuff to buy for baby. All the items and brands can be overwhelming to someone that doesn't have any idea what the best baby stuff is and what brands work.
Don't waste your money on an impulse buy that you haven't read reviews on. This is one place that you can come to and hear reviews on stuff a real mom has tried herself. Keep in mind that what works for one mom and baby MIGHT not work for you, but I'll try my best to give my honest opinion on stuff that I've used personally, what worked, and what didn't.
My mother and husband have always made fun of me because when I find something that interests me I research the crap out of it before I go for the buy... Even then some things I didn't even need turned out to be things my son and I love. I started this blog because I have researched and bought so many baby products for my youngest son. Some I could not have lived without, others were a waste of money. There are so many products out there and if I can help just one or two moms with what I know and love, I will.
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