so I figured I'd make a nice big post about the little Madelpotts.
As of yesterday, babygirl has been trying to walk. Yesterday it was three steps, today is was five. It's like she wants to beat the 'birthday deadline', so funny. She has learned so much, it seriously blows my mind. She can accurately identify her hair, tongue, feet, nose and hands. She shakes her head 'no' on demand and in context. She uses the signs for more, tired, water, and waves both hello and goodbye.
She is so full of personality, and makes the funniest faces. Since it's been so long since I've really posted on here, have a collection of photos from the past six months. Enjoy. =]
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Well then.
I am supremely horrible at updating blogs.
Madeline will be one in 10 days, TEN DAYS.
Oh and, she had pictures with Santa. =]
Madeline will be one in 10 days, TEN DAYS.
Oh and, she had pictures with Santa. =]
Hopefully, I'll start updating more frequently again. I LOVE YOU GUYS.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Where has the time gone?
In two days I will have a 9 month old. In just 3 months, I'll have a toddler. How did this happen?
Madeline just stood on the couch behind me, wrapped her arms around my neck and laughed. I leaned back against her a smushed her into the couch and she laughed even harder, hugging tighter. In that moment I realized that my baby is gonna grow up before I know it. I mean, she already has.
Madeline just stood on the couch behind me, wrapped her arms around my neck and laughed. I leaned back against her a smushed her into the couch and she laughed even harder, hugging tighter. In that moment I realized that my baby is gonna grow up before I know it. I mean, she already has.
Labels:
baby,
children,
grow,
reflection
Monday, September 12, 2011
Madeline at the playground
Labels:
Madeline,
playground,
summer
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Starting Cloth Diapers
Choosing to cloth diaper is a big decision. There are so many factors to take into consideration; level of responsibility, type, cost, washing methods, etc. Starting cloth diapers seems especially daunting when you look at the price tag, just a few diapers and you're easily over $100, depending on the brand. I know I had an incredibly hard time getting started, so I thought perhaps I'd write a post detailing our journey to Cloth Diapering and a small review of the diapers we use.
Once we found out we were having a baby the first thing we knew we would need was diapers. A lot of diapers. We chose a brand and stocked up our registry with diapers. Our neighbors gave us a box when their baby outgrew them, and at the shower we receive plenty more. We used to joke that we may not even have to buy diapers at all, we had gotten so many.
Once Madeline was born, we got more diapers from the hospital, and during her two weeks in NICU, we received plenty of Christmas packages (care of RMHC) including diapers in various sizes. We were set.
Now, we had tried a few different types of disposables, all of them left her with a nasty rash, but Huggies seemed like they were the least abrasive to her, so we stuck with them. (She still had a continuous rash that ever prescription creams wouldn't fix. The rash just didn't seem physically painful to her.) When Madeline was 3 months old, my mother took us shopping at Sam's Club for diapers, as she wasn't fitting in the larger ones yet. We bought two more huge boxes, hoping they'd last until she was about 6 months old. I started looking into cloth diapering around this time.
At the beginning of June, I realized we would be needing more diapers soon and I knew we just couldn't afford to be throwing away money every time we changed her. By that point had had asked around and done some research on cloth diapering. Most of the people I had talked to suggested trying CottonBabies, so that's where I went. We have a very limited budget, and after looking at the brands my friends had suggested, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to afford making the switch. Fortunately, I found Econnobum, which is essentially the same as the Flip Diaper System, but with white shells as opposed to colorful ones, and a good deal less expensive than Flips. (With Flip, for $19.95 you can get one shell and one prefold; Econobum is $11.95 for one shell and three prefolds.) We ended up buying the Econobum: Full Kit and four sets of the Trial Pack (one in each color white, green, blue, and pink).
Now, if you're looking into cloth diapering and you're not sure where to start, here's a list of the basic things you'll need:
Once we found out we were having a baby the first thing we knew we would need was diapers. A lot of diapers. We chose a brand and stocked up our registry with diapers. Our neighbors gave us a box when their baby outgrew them, and at the shower we receive plenty more. We used to joke that we may not even have to buy diapers at all, we had gotten so many.
Once Madeline was born, we got more diapers from the hospital, and during her two weeks in NICU, we received plenty of Christmas packages (care of RMHC) including diapers in various sizes. We were set.
Now, we had tried a few different types of disposables, all of them left her with a nasty rash, but Huggies seemed like they were the least abrasive to her, so we stuck with them. (She still had a continuous rash that ever prescription creams wouldn't fix. The rash just didn't seem physically painful to her.) When Madeline was 3 months old, my mother took us shopping at Sam's Club for diapers, as she wasn't fitting in the larger ones yet. We bought two more huge boxes, hoping they'd last until she was about 6 months old. I started looking into cloth diapering around this time.
At the beginning of June, I realized we would be needing more diapers soon and I knew we just couldn't afford to be throwing away money every time we changed her. By that point had had asked around and done some research on cloth diapering. Most of the people I had talked to suggested trying CottonBabies, so that's where I went. We have a very limited budget, and after looking at the brands my friends had suggested, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to afford making the switch. Fortunately, I found Econnobum, which is essentially the same as the Flip Diaper System, but with white shells as opposed to colorful ones, and a good deal less expensive than Flips. (With Flip, for $19.95 you can get one shell and one prefold; Econobum is $11.95 for one shell and three prefolds.) We ended up buying the Econobum: Full Kit and four sets of the Trial Pack (one in each color white, green, blue, and pink).
(These are fairly accurate representations of color, from left to right: Moonbeam, Ribbit, Zinnia, and White)
Now, if you're looking into cloth diapering and you're not sure where to start, here's a list of the basic things you'll need:
- Diaper Pail
- Cloth Friendly Detergent (I used the list here to make my choice)
- If you don't have a detachable showerhead, look into a Diaper Sprayer.
Really. That's it. If your baby is prone to rashes, like Madel is, you should look into a cloth friendly rash cream, too, just in case.(CJ's BUTTer is the one I hear recommended most often.)
Now, one of the biggest concerns people have about switching to cloth is the washing. No one wants to do laundry every day, and what are you supposed to do with the soiled diapers? Well, It's far easier than you'd think. Once you've chosen a type (for example: All-In-One[AIO], Pocket, Hybrid) and a brand (for example: gDiaper, BumGenius, Econobum) you've really done the hard part. The first thing you do when you get the diapers is prewash them. I prewashed my inserts with hot water and 1/2 the suggested detergent 5 times (I washed the shells twice), drying in between each wash. Once you've prewashed everything you're ready to go. I'm not going to lie and say it's an instant improvement, because those first few tries will be a matter of finding what works for you. We tried 4 different methods of folding the prefolds/inserts before we found what worked best for us. Now changing her is the easiest thing I do during the day.
Cleaning the dirty diaper is super easy too, if it's wet, just toss it in the pail. If it's poopy, shake off as much as you can into the toilet and spray the rest off in the tub. We detach the shower head from the hose and use the direct stream from the hose to rinse the diapers out, once we've rinsed both sides completely clean (they almost never even stain), we toss them in the pail too. As far as the shells/covers go, usually you can just wipe out the shell if it's wet and put a new insert in; I like to rinse them in the sink and hang them to dry, using a new shell, so they are ready for a later change. If it's a poopy diaper, and the shell has gotten soiled, I toss it in the tub, rinse it with the insert, then throw it in the pail. When I'm down to one extra clean shell and 4 clean inserts, I dump the water from the pail and wash the diapers and inserts in one load in hot water. I use about 1/3 of the suggested amount of detergent because it's a small load (We have 9 shells and 24 inserts,). We don't have a dryer, so I usually hang my diapers to dry. Drying them outside in the sunny Florida heat keeps them looking clean, too, due to the natural bleaching properties of sunlight. If it's rainy, I hang the shells inside and bring the inserts to the laundromat down the street, for less than a dollar I can have my diapers dry in a half-hour.
I honestly find it easier to cloth diaper, and it's so comforting knowing I will not be running out of diapers anytime soon.
And for the TL;DR'ers out there, here's bullet list of pros and cons I have experienced using Econobum diapers:
PROS:
- Super easy to use
- Good fit
- Cute (I like the colored trim & buttons)
- Super absorbent inserts (Madeline can go overnight in just one with no leaks)
- Adjustable/One-Size to grow with baby
- Inexpensive
- Incredibly fast shipping and amazing customer service through CottonBabies
- Almost no diaper rash (Mads only gets heat rash after a long day in the carseat/without a/c)
- Rarely stains
CONS:
- Difficult for other to get the hang of, especially those accustomed to disposable diapers
- The majority of the shell is white (even with the colored ones) and the outside gets fairly dirty if uncovered.
- You have to make sure to use specific types of detergents.
- Bulky, harder to fit pants and diaper covers on.
All-in-all I'm so impressed with Econobum diapers I really don't even feel the need to try another brand and I definitely suggest them to anyone looking into cloth diapering.
(she likes to stand and nurse, haha)
(Watching Yo Gabba Gabba is hard work.)
Labels:
cloth diaper review,
Cloth Diapers,
cottonbabies,
recommendation,
review
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Lightscoop!
I just wanted to write a quick post because I absolutely adore when companies have fantastic customer service.
My mom purchased a Lightscoop on Feb 20th, for my birthday (2/25). We got it on my birthday and all was well. I LOVE my lightscoop. I really have no idea what I would do without it, as I can't currently afford an external flash. Anyway, my lightscoop recently started falling out of my camera, which, I'm sure you can imagine is slightly irritating. So, September 1st, I got fed up with it and shot the makers of lightscoop an email at 1pm:
I purchased my lightscoops on February 20th, and am extremely satisfied with the products themselves, except for the fact that my standard light scoop has started falling out every time I use it. I love the results with the lightscoop but this has become such a problem that I find myself not even bothering to attach it because I know it will fall out within minutes. I've checked the camera and the lightscoop, neither one is broken or cracked. Is there anything I can do to fix this?By 2:45 I had a response in my email:
Hi Jessica,I sent him a response with my mother's name and address saying that she had placed the order for me, and he responded by saying:
Thank you for the email...I'm assuming you purchased your product thorough one of our dealers (Adorama, perhaps) as I don't show any orders with your name on them...
There was a plastics issue (about 1 1/2 years ago) which has been completely dealt with in our internal inventories, however Adorama may have some older inventory...
We'll be happy to replace the product for you. Please just send us your Address, and I'll get a replacement unit out to you tomorrow..
Best,
Phil
Phil Williams
Lightscoop Inquiries & Support
Hi Jessica,And with that we were done. I received a shipment confirmation within a few minutes, and my estimated delivery time was Monday Sept 5th (Labor Day), so I expected it to be here on Tuesday.Thanks for the email...I DID find your Mom's name in the file...
I'll get another unit out to you in the AM...I apologize for any inconvenience...
Please let me know if we can do anything else for you...Best,Phil
Yesterday, Sept 3rd, my brother called me saying that my lightscoop was there. To call me a satisfied customer would be taking it lightly.
I am thrilled. It fits perfectly and tightly and works so well, I'm in love all over again. If you are tired of using your pop-up flash, but cant afford an external flash, PLEASE look into Lightscoop. They're well worth the money and their customer service is top notch.
Labels:
LightScoop,
recommendation,
review
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Rough
These past two months have been really difficult for us. In July, Jacob got a nasty rash/skin infection, within days he was in the ER. The doctors prescribed him 21 days of antibiotics, and after a few days he started seeing results. The beginning of August brought what seemed like better luck, with a sudden opening at my father's work. Jacob went in for an interview on August 2nd, and started the next day. The job isn't glamorous (packing frozen meats/fish), but it is a far shot better than trying to run a lawn service in the Florida heat. Plus, it's full time, and after 90 days he gets benefits, including dental.
Unfortunately, since he's working in a freezer that is constantly kept at -8 degrees Farenheit, we had to spend a decent amount of our precious savings on warm clothes. Then as Jacob was wrapping up treatment for his rash, he cme down with another infection in his fingernails, and had to go see a doctor again. Again he was prescribed antibiotics, and now he is seeing fantastic results.
But it seems our luck wasn't going to take a turn for the better quite yet, just as Jacob began to feel better, Madeline came down with a mystery illness. Saturday, August 27th, I woke up and kissed Madeline, burning my lips. I took her temperature, it was 100.0 F. An hour later it had come down to 099.3 F, but just two hours after that she was back up to a scary 101.7 F. I took a cool shower with her and cuddled and tried my best to make my poor burning baby feel a little better. An hour lapsed between temperature readings, and she was still above 101, so I called the Dr. and gave her some infant Tylenol, which only brought her down to 99.3. Her temp continued to fluctuate all day, peaking at 102.3 around 1 am Sunday morning. Monday morning she started to act like herself again and her fever has been completely gone since then.
I feel so overwhelmed these past few months. On top of my loves getting sick, we've had to spend so much money on the car (replaced the bearing on the right side, found out the brake was shot too), and I had a 6 month photo shoot to do.
I have had NO time to keep up with the house, much less blogging. I am disgusted when I look at my house right now.
I hope to clean the house up today, in entirety, and as soon as that's done, I have some quality posts planned out for you all, including an intro on how we switched to cloth diapering and another installment of Madeline's Must-Haves! So, please keep your eyes peeled!
Also, any votes in the top baby blogs would be fantastic, thank you!
Unfortunately, since he's working in a freezer that is constantly kept at -8 degrees Farenheit, we had to spend a decent amount of our precious savings on warm clothes. Then as Jacob was wrapping up treatment for his rash, he cme down with another infection in his fingernails, and had to go see a doctor again. Again he was prescribed antibiotics, and now he is seeing fantastic results.
But it seems our luck wasn't going to take a turn for the better quite yet, just as Jacob began to feel better, Madeline came down with a mystery illness. Saturday, August 27th, I woke up and kissed Madeline, burning my lips. I took her temperature, it was 100.0 F. An hour later it had come down to 099.3 F, but just two hours after that she was back up to a scary 101.7 F. I took a cool shower with her and cuddled and tried my best to make my poor burning baby feel a little better. An hour lapsed between temperature readings, and she was still above 101, so I called the Dr. and gave her some infant Tylenol, which only brought her down to 99.3. Her temp continued to fluctuate all day, peaking at 102.3 around 1 am Sunday morning. Monday morning she started to act like herself again and her fever has been completely gone since then.
I feel so overwhelmed these past few months. On top of my loves getting sick, we've had to spend so much money on the car (replaced the bearing on the right side, found out the brake was shot too), and I had a 6 month photo shoot to do.
I have had NO time to keep up with the house, much less blogging. I am disgusted when I look at my house right now.
I hope to clean the house up today, in entirety, and as soon as that's done, I have some quality posts planned out for you all, including an intro on how we switched to cloth diapering and another installment of Madeline's Must-Haves! So, please keep your eyes peeled!
Also, any votes in the top baby blogs would be fantastic, thank you!
Labels:
baby,
Cloth Diapers,
life,
rough,
update
Friday, June 17, 2011
Madel's Beach Day! (31/5/2011)
I am SO SO sorry for my lack of posts lately. Life over here has been ridiculously hectic lately (and our ISP was screwing us; we cancelled service) so I haven't had a chance to update really.
May 31st, Madeline and I decided it was time to go to the beach the first time! Jacob was hiking at Myakka, so I went to my mother's house and from there we went to the beach.
My mom has a beach parking pass, so we went to Treasure Island Beach and made the ridiculous trek to the water. Once at the shore, I rented an umbrella (because Madeline is the whitest person I've ever met), laid out our blanket, and bee-lined it to the water.
I introduced her to the moist sand first - she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do with it. Then, after much coaxing and convincing, Madeline sat in the water and began her first real beach experience.
After she splashed around a bit, I ran up to our spot and grabbed her water wings (disclaimer: I know about the risks of inflatable flotation devices and I know that water wings aren't meant for babies. I just wanted her to at least have something that would keep her from sinking if I were to get eaten by a shark or something.) so she could come out a little deeper with me.
After we 'swam' around a bit, we went back up to our spot and Mimi (my mother) and I sunned our non-driving arms and Madeline played with her sunglasses.
Oh, and here's to manning up and wearing a bikini to the beach, 6 months post baby. Personally, I think this alone is worth taking the time to click the banner below. =P
Monday, June 6, 2011
hold tight guys-
I currently have no internet service, but, I will have a few good posts coming up within the next few days. I appreciate your patience!
Friday, May 20, 2011
AWESOME: ERGObaby Carrier giveaway!
PricesPrices.com is giving away a free ERGO. Click the image below to enter!
I'm not sure if you're aware how amazing these carriers are, or if you know how pricey they can be, but I'm certainly far more excited about this giveaway than any other one I've entered!
(Thanks Jess @IROCKSOWHAT for turning me onto this giveaway!)
Labels:
ERGObaby,
giveaway,
PricesPrices.com
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