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Before our son was born, we ate nearly every meal around the coffee table, soaking in the news and whatever else was on TV. It was our routine that helped us unwind from our days but we knew it was bad habit to get into. We decided once our son was able to sit up, we would get him a high chair and we would start forming some better dinner time traditions.

Here are some of the ways we are practicing making dinner time family time:

1. Get them involved

Our son either sits at the bar in his phil&teds Lobster Highchair*or I wear him on my back in a carrier while I cook. I show him what I’m cutting up, I give him bits to nibble on, and I tell him what I’m doing as I do it. He’s only 9 months old so he can’t help but he is certainly paying attention to everything I am doing and soaking it all in. If they are old enough, give them little age-appropriate tasks like setting the table, unloading the dishwasher, washing the veggies, etc.

2. Meal plan together

On Sunday we write out what meals we would like to make for each night. This makes grocery shopping a lot easier, too. I’m able to run in, grab what we will actually use, and get out. This also helps when it comes to budgeting. When you run into the store last minute to grab things, you usually end up spending way more money and getting items you otherwise wouldn’t have bought. Getting the whole family involved in the planning process also means everyone has a chance for input, so no complaining (ha ha)!

3. Make the table a screen-free zone

And that includes mom and dad! I am so guilty of checking my phone at the table. Having the TV on or my phone in hand means I’m not actually engaging my family. I mean, I haven’t seen my husband all day long and now is the time where we both have each others un-divided attention where we can discuss important family matters or just joke around. I miss all that if my nose is buried in my iPhone.

4. Engage each other

This is our opportunity to get to know what is going on in each others lives. Not such a mystery when it comes to our 9 month old as I’m pretty aware of what he’s got cookin’ in his world but as he grows up, this will be the time of day where he/they will share what he/they did at school and he/they will be able to ask us questions and learn from us and us from him/them.

5. Start early

It’s never too late to build healthy habits like this but it’s also never too early. From the time Oliver could sit up, he’s been sitting his phil&teds Lobster Highchair* at the table. At six months we began Baby Led Weening and he loves the time we spend at the table talking to him and teaching him how to eat his foods. I swear he was more confident with eating because he had been sitting there for 3 months watching us eat. It was as if he already knew exactly what to do!

Suppertime in our home will always be the time of the day the kids will be able to count on having either mom or dad (hopefully both, not always possible) to chat with, confide in, and vent to. It wont always be possible because of extra curricular activities and eventually jobs but I want them to know we are here for them when they need us.

Does your family have any suppertime traditions? How has it changed the family dynamic at supper hour?

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Correct me if I’m wrong but when a mom comes to her partner and says, “What do you think about….(insert parenting style/baby product)?”, she’s probably already made up her mind. That’s true at least for our family. Pre-baby I was researching EVERYTHING because I wanted to be prepared and know I was making an informed decision. Once baby arrived I was too busy to research anything let alone check my email so I was glad I had done it all beforehand. So when it came down to deciding to do cloth, I had already made up my mind when I first saw a clothes line of brightly coloured cloth diapers hanging in the window of our local cloth diaper store, Nurtured, a few years before babies were even on our radar.

Now that we are elbow-deep in cloth diapering, I wanted to sit down with my husband and get his take on the wonderful world of cloth diapers. What’s his favourite things and not so favourite things and about some common misconceptions about the whole deal. Let’s get started, shall we!?

Stephanie: When I first said, “Cloth Diapers”, what went through your mind?

Husband: Well the cloth diapers I knew were the tea towel looking things you had to fold up and put a safety pin in — I didn’t know a lot about cloth diapering and I figured we would just do it for a month and you would hate it or we would just come to the decision that it wasn’t for us. I didn’t think it would be a forever thing.

S: Do you still feel that way?

H: No. I don’t! Although there are tea towel looking things I’m glad we don’t use. The diapers we do use are easy to put on, easy to clean, and easy on the wallet.

S: Favorite diaper style and why?

H: Pockets! It gives us more choice when it comes to stuffing inserts in. We tend to do 1 during the day and 2 at night time. We use Charlie Banana one size. The very best part is the adjustable legs! I’m not a fan of the rise snaps on some styles.

S: Least favourite part of cloth diapering?

H: There’s nothing about cloth diapering that’s any worse than disposables. The fact is you are still changing a poopy diaper!

S: Best part?

H: Savings, definatly! Even the amount we spent on our cloth diapers is way less than we would have spent on disposables thus far.

S: Any myths or misconceptions you want to bust for any partners who are feeling apprehensive?

H: It’s not any more messy or gross than disposable diapers.

S: Given the chance, would you want to switch to dissposables?

H: NOPE.

There you have it. He’s hooked on Cloth.

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With our immediate family all over Canada, travelling with babies is a reality for us. We had been told quite a few horror stories about flying with a newborn baby but we’d also been given a few pieces of advice that came in handy.

1. Keep baby on usual schedule.

Our three month old isn’t on too rigid of a schedule. This was really handy for us flying through 3 time zones. When we arrived on the West Coast, we were super understanding that our baby would be off when it came to his sleeping and napping schedule. We tried to keep things as close to normal for him.

2. Keep baby sucking (nipple, bottle, soother) during take off and landing. 

This helps with keeping baby from having sore ears. For us as adults, chewing gum helps but poor little babies need to keep sucking in order to help their little ears. We kept our guy sucking during take off and landing and we had no problems. Once we got moving, he was fast asleep.

3. Know the difference between a non-stop flight and a direct flight.

These sort of travel details didn’t matter much before having kids but now that diapers, bottles, and crying babies are involved, the faster and more direct we can get to our destination the better. When booking this flight we paid extra for a direct flight but had no idea it wasn’t non-stop. Direct means you and your bags stay on the same airplane from beginning to end but you will make some stops along the way — it’s quite the milk run! Non-stop means you wont have any stops and you’ll pay a premium for that if you’re flying quite a distance. We enjoyed not having lay overs or having to unload and re-load back onto a new plane.

4. Read your airlines policies and tips on flying with kids.

Airlines and flight attendants have a lot of experience with children and it’s old hat to them but when it’s your first time flying with your baby, it’s nerve racking. To help ease our minds we read online how flying with a little one works. It laid out everything we would need to know from where to find a change table on board to what to do in the event of an emergency. and when it doubt, ASK! *PRO TIP* find out about baggage limits and gate checking strollers and car seats! Gate checking means you have it up until you hop on the plane and you pick it up when you get off. Some experienced mom’s I know have told me this can help prevent any damage to your gear!

5. Read TSA or CATSA policies on getting through security with an infant. 

The biggest stress for me when it comes to flying is getting through security. We were surprised to find out we got to cut to the front of the line when we got to security. The less time we can spend waiting in line with a baby the better. He loves to be kept moving! I knew what to expect when going through security ahead of that time and that defiantly eased my mind. I was surprised to find out I was able to travel with pumped breast milk, formula, and even a water bottle of water for mixing with formula. All the security people were super understanding that we were slower than the average traveller.

What are your tried and true travel tips? What makes your travels stress-free?

Happy travels!

I’ll be sharing this post on these blogs this week!

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We’ve been using cloth on Oliver since he was one day old and I don’t think either of us would have it any other way. It’s been so simple and not as stressful as one would expect. One area you can run into issues is when it comes to washing those suckers. If not done correctly, you can get a whole bunch of different problems that can be annoying to try and trouble shoot. I’m by no means an expert when it comes to cloth but I am learning as we go.

For the first few months of our son’s life, we have been living at our families cottage. The cottage does have a washer and dryer which has made things seamless for continuing on with cloth even while we’re not at home. The only downside is the water come straight from the lake so it can have a bit of an odour.

Our routine has been working really well for us. We’re using older style top loaders to do our wash. This matters because the old guys tend to use more water than the new fancy high efficient guys. More water = better in the cloth diaper world. We do a nice cold soak for 30 minutes and end with a spin. Then we do a hot wash, cold rinse, and spin with 2.5 scoops of Nellie’s All Natural Laundry soda We love that Nellies has nothing harmful in it like fragrances or dyes because lets be honest, these diapers touch some pretty sensitive areas. After this we might do another cold rinse and spin to make sure all the soaps out. Then it’s out on the line for a nice sun bleaching or into the dryer if it’s a rotten day. Did you know the sun has the ability to get stains on bright white again? I didn’t know this until I began  cloth diapering. *PRO TIP: sun bleaching works best when the articles are wet.

Easy peasy lemon squeezey! No, we don’t spend half our days doing diaper laundry. It takes up minimal time and saves us SO  much money. We love cloth, it’s worked well for us, and we hope you love it too!

Are you debating using cloth diaper on your children? What are some reasons why you wouldn’t cloth diaper?

Happy Cloth Diapering!

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At the beginning of 2013 we promised to make it “our year” and dammit, we sure did just that! We accomplished every single one of our goals:

• We enjoyed our free time (camping, travelling, concerts, etc)
• Went down south with our entire family
• Got engaged
• Got married
• Got pregnant

It was a big year for us! As we celebrate a whole year gone by since our anniversary, we are about to embark on the next chapter of our lives. Our son is due in only a few short sleeps and we are expecting him any time now.

We are the happiest parents-to-be that we could be! It’s been such an amazing ride and we just can’t wait to welcome him into our world. (Not to mention my belly is really starting to get in the way!)

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Over the last few weeks I’ve started packing up my bag for the hospital. The one that will sit by the front door until, what I can only assume, will be a middle-of-the-night, mad-dash, to our local baby and mommy hospital. I’ve been making lists and researching what other moms pack and I feel like I have just about everything I’ll need (and then some).

So for starters we’ve got this massive body bag my husband received his fire fighting gear in for work. Don’t worry, no smoke & sweat filled fire fighting uniforms have ever touched the inside of this bag! Inside this bag we can fit my stuff, baby’s stuff, and even a few things for daddy (if he’s lucky).My “Stuff”: Majority of the things I’ve packed for myself are for AFTER the baby is born. I’m assuming I’ll be in a state of ill-repair.

• Adult pull-ups. (Lets not beat around the bush, shall we? *Bonus points for them being mauve!*)
• My make-up and shower stuff (Because I’m expected to look good immediately after the watermelon has been birthed)
• Medela Lanolin nipple cream (Safe for baby to ingest)
• Hand sanitizer (Hospitals are dirty)
• Tooth paste (No one needs to smell my labor breath!)
• Burt’s Bees Lip Balm
• Dove Deodorant (For obvious reasons! Do you know how many calories are burnt in labor?)
• TWO toothbrushes (One for hubby! I don’t need another reason to yell at him during labor)
• Reusable NUK breast pads (oh the joys!)
• Joe Fresh slippers

I’ve added more items since I took this picture and I expect I’ll continue adding right up until the last moment

• Belly Bandit
• Nursing Nighty
• Hard candies (for labour)
• Boppy Pillow 
• Lush Karma Cream
• Clothes to go home in
• Apple charger
• Camera
• Ipad and Iphone

Have a forgotten anything?! Have I packed anything I won’t need? What was your experience! Let me know in the comments! Happy pushing!

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Now for the cute stuff! Packing for baby was both surreal and stressful. I’ve never had a baby before so I really don’t know what to expect. Some experienced local mommies gave me a few tips about what I’ll need for giving birth in our local baby and momma hospital which is invaluable because every hospital is different. Here’s what we are bringing:

• 2 x 26 Naty disposable diapers size 1
• Skip Hop Changing pad
• Anointment Baby Balm
• Aleva Bamboo baby wipes 
• Vitamin D Drops
• 2 x Newborn soothers
• 2 x flannel receiving blankets
• 1 x hooded bath towel
• 1 x Aiden & Anais swaddling blanket 

We are planning to cloth diaper once we get home but for the hospital we decided it would be best to go with disposables because

1. There will already be a lot going on, learning wise, for us and we don’t want to add any unneeded stress.
2. We only have about 12 newborn cloth diapers and they will have to be washed daily and if we are in the hospital for more than a day, that wont fly.
3. MECONIUM. Those first few baby poops are expected to be nasty and could leave some bad stains in the cloth diapers.

Now for babies wardrobe! The goal is to just have him in his diaper and wrapped up in his blankie for ample skin-to-skin time with both my husband and I. Did you know a new mom’s body is able to adjust its temperature in order to keep baby at the optimal temperature? ahhh nature!

• 3 sleepers
• 3 onesies
• 2 hand-made sweaters from Grandma
• 4 little hats
• 6 socks and 4 mitts

Of what we’ve packed we’ll choose what he’s coming home in, unless we find something way too cute to pass up before then, which is highly likely! To me it doesn’t feel like enough clothing but if he’s just in his diaper for majority of the time we are in the hospital, it should be more than enough. And if we need fresh clothes, daddy can run home and grab some! We only live 5 minutes from the hospital.

So what do you think? Too much? Not enough? Let me know in the comments!

Happy baby-bag packing!!

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DISCLAIMER **THE FOLLOWING IS WHY WE ARE CHOOSING TO CLOTH DIAPER. IN NO WAY ARE WE TRYING TO BULLY OR MAKE ANYONE FEEL GUILTY FOR THEIR DECISIONS. THERE’S ALREADY TOO MUCH OF THAT IN THE PARENTING WORLD AS IT IS! WE JUST WANTED TO ANSWER THAT WHY QUESTION ONCE AND FOR ALL**

My husband and I have been questioned many times already about our decision to cloth diaper our son and I expect there will be lots more questions to come on the subject.

A couple of years ago I started reading about cloth diapering and it’s resurgence. Before 1948 when the first mass-marketed disposable diaper was released, there was no choice but to use a flour sack towel, a safety pin, and rubber pants. From what my mom has told me babies didn’t sleep through the night because they were soaking wet and covered in feces — a fantastic reason to be excited about disposable diapers.

Shanghai Green by Charlie Banana||Teal & Lime by Funky Fluff|| Custom Galaxy by Lally’s Fabric Fluff ||Preppy lil Joey by Rumparooz||Handsome by Charlie Banana||Jubilee byTots Bots|| Custom Anchor & Sripes by Lally’s Fabric Fluff 

But over the years, things have changed in the world of cloth diapering. When I uttered the words “cloth diapers” to my mom, the first thing she said was “good luck”. But with the new styles on the market today, you don’t need luck. You also don’t need to haul them down the river side and bang them against rocks. Hallelujah for the twenty-first century!

There are actually a couple of reasons for why we’ve decided to embrace cloth in our lives. The first and most important reason is our son’s health. I can’t knowingly strap a plastic bag to my sons genitals and let him stew in a toxic waste dump for hours on end. Families love that disposable diapers can last all night and they don’t have to change their child. I can get on board with a full nights sleep, believe me! But if I had a choice (which I do), I also wouldn’t want to lay in my own urine-soaked filth so out of respect for my child, I will gladly wake up and change him if he needs to be changed. That being said, the fabrics used in cloth diapering have made leaps and bounds over the years and are super absorbent and are able to make it through the night. Nowadays it’s common to find diaper inserts made out of hemp, micro terry, bamboo and fleece just to name a few.

The second reason is a huge plus: $AVINGS! Who doesn’t wish they could save an extra $100 a month on something that just gets thrown out anyhow. I personally HATE throwing things out. I’m a quality vs quantity type of person and would rather spend $25 on one reusable diaper than $25 on a package of diapers that end up being thrown out. So far we’ve spent in the neighbourhood of $400 getting set up to cloth diaper. The initial up-front cost can be a huge barrier to getting started with cloth diapering and that’s completely understandable. Organizations like Cloth for a Cause take used diapers, wash and replace elastics, and help families in need get started with cloth diapering. Once you set a family up, the savings that follows can be a real gift.

There’s also cloth companies like Alva and THX that sell diapers that have been made in China (sometimes nicknamed “China cheapies”) and shipped to Canada at a fraction of the cost of some of the bigger, well-known, cloth companies that are strictly made in Canada, USA, or the UK. There’s a whole discussion around whether or not it’s ethical to support these foreign companies, but that’s for another day. When you’re just starting out in the cloth world and don’t know whether or not it’s for your family, these “China cheapies” can be a great option. Also try Kijiji and search online for a local Cloth Diaper group where you’ll be sure to find fellow mom’s and dad’s selling and swapping diapers at a fraction of the price of new. Majority of our diapers were pre-loved by other local moms. As soon as they came to our home, they were put in the wash to get rid of any “cooties”. *If you are buying pre-loved, make sure you take extra care to get rid of any yeast infections living in the diaper*.

Below is a cost breakdown done by Sweet Bottoms Baby.

Another reason why we are planning to cloth diaper our kids is to help the environment. Remember those first disposable diapers that were mass produced in 1948? Well they aren’t expected to decompose until the year 2500 and even then, we won’t be around to say for sure that they have in fact decomposed. That’s a whole lot of poopy diapers in our landfills! I mentioned earlier that I hate throwing things away. Garbage of any kind really drives me nuts and if I can prevent more garbage from winding up in landfills just by switching to reusable diapers, then that’s a win for me!

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering “What about all that water and electricity you’ll use by washing diapers every day!”

Check out these info graphics by Gro-Via that were used for Earth Day to show the amount of water used to wash cloth vs producing a disposable:

I don’t know the validity of this statement but I’ve heard one flush of the toilet uses the same amount of water it would take to do a load of diapers in the wash. When it comes to the use of electricity, we have a High Efficiency washer and dryer, we wash on cold (according to Gro-Via, 90% of the energy used by your washer is to heat the water), and we hang to dry. We’ll already be doing lots more laundry for our new little person so what’s 10 or so more diapers a day?

So that answers the all important why question. Once we are elbow deep in dirty cloth diapers, I’ll answer the how!

 

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I think we can all agree money and finances are a huge stress for most people! I’ve talked before on the blog about {how I save} and what I use to keep my {finances on track} and in the black.

Now it’s not huge surprise babies are not cheap! They come with a lot of upfront costs which can be a little overwhelming if you’re unprepared. Nine months seems to just fly right by and before you know it, baby has arrived.

Now before we decided to get pregnant, we saved up quite a bit and used a lot of the money people gave us as wedding gifts to start saving for baby gear, which we both knew weren’t too far down the road.

Babies grow quickly, this is a fact. Therefore they outgrow clothing and baby gear FAST. When looking at baby gear, we asked ourselves how long we realistically saw a piece being used for. Then we would weigh the price. For example there’s a baby swing we fell in love with because it’s gorgeous, it looks nice, and did I mention it’s pretty? But realistically the baby will only be in it for a few short months and with a price tag of $300, we couldn’t justify it.

During this pregnancy journey I started joining Mommy Buy Sell Trade groups on Facebook and I learned pretty quickly that when you have nice stuff and keep it in working order, you can turn around and sell it for a decent price. But further to that, you can find amazing deals on gear you otherwise wouldn’t get because of the cost.

I’ve compiled a list of all the baby gear I’ve managed to buy used:

phil&teds Navigator Buggy
with second seat attachment, sun cover, & rain cover ….$735 new….used for $350 (USED TWICE!, I MAY ADD)

Charlie Banana
bumGenius
Tots Bots
Cloth Diapers…$500 new…used for $250

Bumbo
with tray…$100 new…used for $30

Babies R Us Glider Chair…$549 new…used for $250

Motorola Blink1 Wi-Fi Video Camera
Motorola WIFI baby video monitor…$250 new…used for $125 (NEVER OUT OF THE BOX)

Skip Hop
$60 new….used for $30

Another huge expense is all the tiny clothes! Who knew such tiny things could cost so much money! But again, they grow out of them so quickly that it can be so hard to justify spending $30 on an outfit a child will hopefully wear once. The thing about clothes is that people are more than willing to pass on their used clothing. So many of our friends have been such saints and offered us piles of clothes for our little guy. It warms my heart to see such generosity! I can’t wait to return the favour and pass these wonderful memory-filled pieces onto the next momma who needs them!

But there are places we refuse to skimp financially. Where safety is our one and only concern, all bets are off. When it comes to our sons car seat, crib, and mattress, I refuse to buy used for obvious reasons. But that being said we still managed to get what we wanted in terms of safety for a decent price!

It does take research and lot of hunting on kijiji and other places to score some good deals for kids stuff but it is so worth it!

In closing, there’s three main tips to follow:

START EARLY!

As soon as you know you’re pregnant, start browsing. Figure out what you want and what will make sense for your life style. Although you may not know the gender, there are plenty of items that you can get in gender neutral colours and will then last you for future kids or will sell easier when you’re done with them because buyers won’t be restricted by gendered colours.

LOOK OFTEN!

Always be browsing kijiji and Facebook groups because the good stuff moves quickly!

BE OK WITH USED!

Especially when it comes to clothes! Sure, they get pooped in and puked on but that’s what washing machines are for. Plus majority of items under 12 months are only worn a few times before they are outgrown. Also, most items stay in relatively good condition because little ones aren’t playing too hard yet!

RE-SELL YOUR BABY GEAR ASAP!

A lot of people ask me if I plan to save stuff for future kiddies and I originally thought I would but a lot of the things I bought used, I plan to sell right away and try and get back what I paid. The main reason for this is styles change, technology gets better, and recalls happen. When its time for baby number 2, all the latest and greatest will be available second hand just like the stuff we found this time around! If we put our gear away and in storage and wait a few years before we go to use it again or go to sell it, it won’t be worth as much. All the money from re-sale will go BACK into the babies savings account for the next little rug rat that comes into our lives. Instead of collecting dust, it’s collecting interest. 

I hope some of these tips inspire you to get thrifty wit’ it! Do you have any tips or shopping secrets to share? Comment below!

HAPPY BABY GEAR SHOPPING

I’ll be linking up this post with these other incredible blogs!

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Before I got pregnant and even in the first few weeks of pregnancy, I thought I understood what it felt like to already love my baby. I knew no matter what it looked like, no matter the gender, I knew I would love him or her more than anything. And I thought I already did!

Over the weekend we had our 3D ultrasound at 3D Miracles in Halifax. Nothing can really prepare you for the explosion of emotion one feels when that ultrasound thingy slides across your tummy for the first time, revealing your little baby that you’ve been carefully nurturing and protecting for 5 months. We haven’t had any ultrasounds during the pregnancy so this was the first time seeing the little baby. I had googled 3D ultrasounds to see what kind of detail we’d see and look at pictures of other babies but I was completely blown away when I saw baby MOVING! It was the most surreal experience the two of us have ever had.

And oh my god, it’s a boy! My tiny little baby boy was moving his head and arms and little legs. We even got to see him PEE! Though I haven’t really been able to feel major kicks yet, I know he’s moving around but to SEE him move around…WOW! Talk about instantly falling in love. There was nothing better than watching my husband watch his tiny little son — it was so moving!

I was fully prepared for a girl or a boy! We knew we just wanted a baby and gender wasn’t a big deal at all. Of course as a woman, I’d always dreamed of dressing a tiny little girl in dresses and doing her hair but to be completely honest, I couldn’t be happier to have a little miniature version of my husband! We’ve already got plans to get him mini Sperry Topsiders just like his daddy!

One of the most exciting things about having a little boy is raising him to be the kind of man I would want my daughter to marry — respectful, kind, and loving. Just like his father!

For most of the pregnancy, I’ve just been going about my business while my body carries out the extraordinary task of creating life. I definatly forget just how amazing it all really is and to have that glimpse inside my body and see that everything is just fine and dandy and there’s a little baby boy just in there kickin’ it was the greatest reminder of how incredible my body (and every other female body) really is. It’s nice to know all the nausea, back aches, and sleepless nights are all just a tiny sacrifice for my little boo. It also does wonders to help me accept my growing and changing body.

I’m now very noticeably pregnant and none of my pre-pregnancy pants fit anymore but you know what? It’s OK! I know I always knew it was all for a good reason and perfectly natural but to see that little baby boy and to know he’s doing just fine really does make it that much easier to admire my new body in the mirror.

OK enough rambling!

xoxoxox

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