Potty Training: Day 1

So my little man is officially starting his "potty training". He is 20 months old and has been showing some signs that he may be ready to start potty training. So how did day 1 go?

Recognizes Wetness


He definitely recognizes when his diaper/ training pants are wet. He has been removing his diaper for the past few weeks every single time it gets wet. I think he finds it uncomfortable, but that is great for potty training.


Poopy Take One


I decided to start by just placing him on the potty every other hour to see if he would go. The very first time I placed him on the toilet he pooped! WOOHOO! However, we had no more potty action the rest of the day. 


It's Okay Brother


Big sister Bella is our "potty cheerleader". She is in charge of cheering when he goes in the potty. Since we only had one successful try at the potty she turned more into a consoler. Every time he would pee his training pants or sit on the potty and not do anything she would promptly say "It's okay Brother, you are still learning". 


No Leaks


I was skeptical on how well the Kissaluvs Training Pants would hold in the urine and poo without leaking if he did have an accident (without anything in the pocket). I am very happy to inform you that we had no leaks all day! Plus the pants are so stinking cute. I have the gold with dinos and the white with the blue bicycles. He seemed to really like the print and it helped keep him occupied when he was sitting patiently on the potty. 


So that is a brief summary of day number one. Hopefully I will have more success stories to report tomorrow. Also I promise to take a photo of him in his cute training pants :)

Bye Bye Fluff Stash

So it is time to say goodbye to a big portion of my cloth diaper stash. ::tear:: As many of you know, I have been cloth diapering two babies for quite some time, so I have a lot of diapers. We are about to embark on a new cloth journey- potty training! I was also blessed with the opportunity to work from home full time. I will still get to be home with the kids, but I will also be able to make a little extra cash in the process (woohoo!). So I decided I wanted to simplify everything, this includes my cloth diapers.

I am selling about 3/4th of my diaper stash and replacing it with Kissaluvs pocket trainers and Thirsties Duo Diapers.  I am getting the training pants for our new potty training adventure and the Thirsties Duo Diapers for my sanity and ease.

I LOVE my prefolds and covers, but since I am going to be much busier now I decided to opt for the easiest diapering solution possible, which for me is Thirsties Duo Diapers. There are numerous reasons I love this diaper. First, it is a sleeve diaper. It has two openings on each end so it is super easy to stuff. It comes with an amazingly absorbent Thirsties Stay-Dry Duo Insert.  So this is like a super easy to stuff pocket diaper.

There has always been one thing that has kept me from being a "pocket diaper momma" and it is that the inserts must be removed before washing. I know you barely have to touch the insert to get it out, but I never was too keen on the idea. Therefore, I used prefolds and covers with no issues. With the Thirsties Duo Diapers you don't have to remove the inserts! The inserts are designed to come out in the wash on their own. This is a major selling point for me.

I am choosing to use the Kissaluvs Pocket Trainers for a couple reasons. First, you can customize absorbency which will be very important for naps and nighttime. I like that there is a pocket that I can stuff with as much absorbency as I need. Also the diapers are super cute. They come with bicycle and dinosaur printed interiors. I know my little guy will love looking at the prints. They are also really easy to customize to fit. You can adjust both the legs and waist.

So wish me luck on my latest cloth diaper adventure! I will keep you posted on our progress.

Real Moms Love to Eat: A Tasty Tidbit

Real Moms Love to Eat: How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food and Still Look Fabulous is a ten-week plan that allows you to enjoy the foods you love and still look and feel great!

I am a mom to three and had back to back pregnancies (I know I must be crazy!). Weight gain is something I think most mothers struggle with at some point in life. It is nice to see someone like Beth making a book for real moms. The book looks amazing. Here are a couple of samples of recipes you will find in Beth's new book.

If that isn't enough to make your mouth water, check out what some leading health and wellness professionals and real moms have to say about Real Moms Love to Eat.


Start with health and food - add pleasure, and real life. Now you have the recipe for creating a food legacy that not only nourishes you and your family, but also uplifts the entire planet. This book gives you the blueprint
for eating seductively, pleasurably, healthfully, and practically..... while also feeding your family every day. What's not to love?
-Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers: Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

Anywhere you go people need and want to talk about their health-from daily diet to lifestyle. This book gives women the opportunity to approach nutrition and wellness in a practical and enjoyable way. Beth’s love for helping others become healthier and happier fills each page!
-Joshua Rosenthal, Founder, Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Beth Aldrich has written a very good primer to help you begin to make your diet an ally, not an enemy in today’s time-compressed world.
-Dr. Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet books

The Ultimate Mothers Helper! For all of us moms seeking an answer for ourselves AND our family, Beth reveals the secret way to get more room on your plate.
-Teri Knapp, Television Producer

Real Moms Love to Eat is packed with tips, ideas and recipes for today's busy moms who want fun and flavor mixed into their healthy lifestyle. Beth's energetic, no-nonsense approach make this a perfect book for anyone looking to improve or maintain a healthy family diet -- without sacrificing flavor, fun, or sanity."
-Megan Calhoun, Founder & CEO, SocialMoms.com

Hot moms everywhere will love this book. It's easy to follow, has great recipes and will make you laugh--out loud!
-Jessica Denay, Founder of Hot Moms Club, author of the Hot Moms Handbook series

Pre-Order your copy today!

Beth also has a great "Food Affairiate" program for mommy bloggers. Simply join in on the fun and host a "virtual book tour" on your blog and you will receive a free copy of Beth's book! You can even get a sneak peek because all Food Affairiates will receive a free digital copy now and a hard copy of the book when it comes out in January.




I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Beth Aldrich - Real Moms Love to Eat blogging program, for a chance to get 3,000 My SocialMoms Rewards points. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Real Moms Love to Eat

I love new books by other mom bloggers and of course, free prizes! Please help to celebrate the launch of “Real Moms Love to Eat: How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose Weight and Feel Fabulous” (New American Library, a Penguin Books Imprint, January, 2012) by author, Beth Aldrich, Certified Health Counselor.

The book is broken down in three sections, which include a fun and easy-to-follow 10-part plan for moms to implement to make gradual, life-long changes in their approach to food and 21 days of meal suggestions,tips, recipes and lifestyle changes—all to help you continue your love affair with food to look fabulous. Beth’s approach to healthy eating is simple and realistic for busy moms. You’ll learn a lot about the food you eat and how it impacts your body and still have loads of fun experiencing new foods and enjoying your life.

Everyone that participates in this “virtual pre-order launch party” is eligible for randomly drawn prizes. Simply enter the the twice-a-month pre-order book giveaway, hosted by the RealMomsLovetoEat.com site here. You can pre-order the book for one entry AND sign up for Beth’s FREE newsletter for a second entry!

Disclosure: I was gifted from Restoring Essence Nutrition, LLC-owner of Real Moms Love to Eat, a free copy of the book, “Real Moms Love to Eat” and a Food Affairiate goodie bag for participating in this virtual tour and writing about this book pre-order contest.

Why I Love Disposable Diapers

Both my babies have been sickly for the past week. Originally we thought it was just an upper respiratory infections, but after a few days and a mean rash we ended back at the doctor's office with an updated diagnosis- Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. The name sounds horrible and I thought, from the name, this was some sort of permanent state. However, it is a relatively mild illness, but produces an awful rash on their bottoms, hands, feet, and in their mouths.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do once you get this illness. You just have to wait the allotted 7-14 days for it to go away on its own. However, the doctor did prescribe a special cream for their little tushies. The cream is not cloth diaper compatible so I was forced to use disposables. I have been using them for three days solid. I haven't used many disposables (aside from Grovia Biosoakers) since my 4 year old was a baby so kind of "forgot" what they were like.

I did have a fear that I would fall in love with the "ease" of disposables and not want to go back to cloth. I mean, I hadn't used them in a while and everyone says they are so convenient so I did wonder if I would like them and in turn miss them when I had to switch back to cloth.

This fear was swiftly put to rest by mid-day on day #1. I had an up-the-back poo explosion. I literally forgot how awful these were. With cloth I have not had a single up the back poo, but with disposables on day #1 I already had one. The waist of disposables just don't cut it! So in the matter of hours I was already having to bath a poop covered baby (it was in the hair too!), wash bedding, and wash an outfit.

It must be a fluke I thought. Surely no one would deal with this on a daily basis! NOPE! Day #1 a few hours later we had up the back poo explosion number 2. Again I washed clothes, the baby, and the bedding. Given our baby is having runny poo, but even when the kids had a stomach virus and I was using cloth I didn't have a single up the back explosion. Cloth is awesome about holding in everything at the waist.

Luckily on Day #2 we did not have a poop issue. Day #3 brought one leak which resulted in a change of clothes but nothing beyond that. There are a couple "other" issues I have with disposables though. I forgot what they smelled like! I don't remember with my oldest "smelling" anything in the diaper, but now that I am used to cloth I can smell a distinct "chemically" smell coming from the diaper. I hate that smell! And lastly, the garbage is disgusting. I hate having mounds of garbage and the diapers are not helping.

I miss my cloth SOOOO bad. I can't wait till this is over and I can go back to the way things should be. So cloth diapering mommas, you aren't missing anything by not using disposable diapers, I PROMISE!

Oh wait, this post was supposed to be about why I love disposables. I love disposables because they offer an alternative to cloth when cloth is not an option.

I would suggest using Grovia Biodiapers or Biosoakers if you have the opportunity. I was not anticipating my babies' to get ill and was not prepared for disposable diaper use. Therefore, I did not have anymore Biosoakers on hand. So this is a lesson learned! Always keep a pack of disposables on hand for emergencies. I typically do, but the time I don't have them is the time I need them. 

Layla Grace has BabyLegs!

As many of you know I love Layla Grace. However, I have recently come across some awesome products on their website that I didn't even know they had!

Layla Grace carries some super cute BabyLegs. One awesome benefit they have is that they ship BabyLegs for FREE when you purchase two or more pairs of Babylegs.They carry both the standard size and newborn sized BabyLegs. They have tons of different styles too choose from.

Babylegs make cloth diapering a breeze! So hurry and purchase yours today.  They are also perfect for new crawlers. Protect those precious knees.

The New Fall Line-Up

With the change of the seasons also came the announcements of some changes in styles and colors for many major cloth diaper companies. Here is the low-down on some of the newest items and colors in the fall line-up. 

New Styles:

Fuzzibunz One-Size ELITE-

• If you thought the FuzziBunz® One Size Diaper could not get any better—think again! FuzziBunz® has re-engineered their already popular One Size to be trimmer fitting, more comfortable, faster drying and easier to adjust than before! And best yet—with NO increase in PRICE! The FuzziBunz® One Size Elite gives you even more bang for your buck. Some features of the FuzziBunz® Elite are:
• Quick Dry Fleece: Baby feels dryer faster and fleece stays nicer longer
• Easy-Replace Elastic are all internal—no buttons next to baby’s skin
• Minky Inserts: 2 Minky Inserts adding the following benefits
• Less odor than microfiber
• Less staining
• Trimmer fitting diaper with same amount of absorbency
• Streamlined front panel and snap design provides better fit with less leaking 

These will be shipping around 10/20 but you can preorder now!

Bumgenius FREETIME One-Size AIO-

BumGenius Freetime All-In-One One-Size Cloth Diapers feature a patent pending butterfly closure system to provide a comfortable, trim fit. This simple design makes cloth diapering as easy as using disposables. The "no-stuff" system with semi-attached inserts is an ideal solution for families with a child in day-care or family members resistant to cloth diapers! Using the snaps on the front of the diaper, adjust the size if needed, put the diaper on your baby, wash, dry and re-use. No extra steps. No stuffing. No cover required.

These diapers also feature 3 new Bumgenius colors and two new amazing prints! You can preorder now! Shipping is expected at the end of December.


New Colors:

 Thirsties Duo Diapers and Duo Wraps-

Thirsties is now offering a new color and new print. Mud is the new thirsties color. It is a "muddy" brown color and will be available in the duo wrap and duo diaper. The new print is "hoot". Hoot is a white diaper with multi-color owl print.  Order yours today!


New EVERYTHING! 

Grovia-

Grovia will be offering two new colors- Cloud and Surf. Cloud is a smoky gray and Surf is a turquoise blue. The new colors are available for order now! They will ship starting on 10/21/11. Order yours today!

Grovia will also be offering a new Stay-Dry soaker pad. I had the opportunity to test out this product earlier this year and it is one you won't want to miss. Grovia is also coming out with a My-Choice Trainer. This one-of-a-kind cloth trainer lets your toddler be truly unique. It lets them mix and match colorful panels and create their own stylish look. The GroVia® My Choice Trainer features a unique pull up design with interchangeable Side-Flex™ panels, a hidden layer of hemp/cotton blend with a pocket for adding extra absorbency and our exclusive GroCool™ lining. Lastly, Grovia has improved on their already amazing cloth diaper detergent, Tiny Bubbles. These products will be available mid-December! Everything Birth has been designated to receive one of the first shipments! So if you want to be one of the first to own these amazing products check back often for product updates.


So if you are looking for something new, check out the options above! Anyone planning on purchasing any of the new diapers?

My New Favorite Accessory

As many of you know from my cloth diapering in under $100 post, I went without a wet bag for quite some time. I have had a small wet bag for traveling for a while now and it has been handy, but I still never had a large wet bag or diaper pail for my diapers at home.

How did I do this for so long? I simply used my washing machine as a wet pail. I would fill the washer up with a little water and throw the dirty diapers in. When I was ready to wash them I would spin it out, do a rinse, then wash. The problem I encountered was when it was time for the "regular" laundry. When I wanted to do laundry, other than diapers, I had to spin out the water from the machine and place all the diapers in a trash sack. Once I was done I just put them all back in the washer.



This honestly never seemed like that big of a deal. Then again, I was used to it. I finally broke down a few weeks ago and purchased a Fuzzibunz hanging diaper pail. I LOVE IT! This has been the best "accessory" purchase I have made to date. It has made my diaper storage and laundry routine a breeze. Essentially the hanging diaper pail is an extra large wet bag with handles to hang easily on a doorknob. I can simply place the dirty diapers in top of the bag until it is full. Once the bag is full and I am ready for laundry I take the bag and hold it over the washing machine. The Fuzzibunz hanging diaper pail has a zipper on the bottom of the bag. I undo the zipper and all the diapers fall easily into the washing machine. I can then just throw the bag in with the diapers and wash.

This is redefined washing diapers for me. I thought what I was doing before was easy, this makes it INCREDIBLY EASY! I have no complaints about my diaper routine and do not feel like a laundry slave at all. So thank you Fuzzibunz for an awesome bag and for simplifying my routine for me!

Natural Laundry: It's not just for babies

Most of us pick and choose our cloth diaper detergent carefully. We ensure we have the most natural product available with limited amount of "additives", but what about on your regular laundry? 

Cloth diaper detergents are known for being "green". They break down easily in the environment and do not contain harmful chemicals. Did you know that cloth diaper detergents actually make wonderful regular laundry detergent? If you are wanting to take some steps to being a little greener why not start with your laundry! 

You can even make your own environmentally friendly detergent at home! The favorite recipe among mothers seems to be equal parts borax, oxiclean, and washing soda. This will make a nice and effective powdered detergent to use on your everyday clothing. 

Another step is to hang dry your clothes! Purchase a clothesline and give it a shot. You won't be sorry. You will not only save on your electric bill, but Mother Nature will leave your clothes smelling fresh and clean. Another great thing about hanging your clothes outside to dry is the sun's UV rays. The UV rays are a natural anti-bacterial! They will kill any lingering bacteria and leave your whites whiter. 

If you want to use a dryer, try using dryer balls.  Wool dryer balls help keep the clothes separated and will allow for faster drying time.  In turn, you will use less energy and ultimately be a little greener. 

As you can see there are simple steps that you can change in your laundry routine to green up and save a little money in the process.  

Sniffle, Sniffle, Cough, Cough

We have been dealing with a round of illnesses at our home. I like to avoid antibiotics and medications until absolutely necessary. So here are some of my non-medicine relief tips for you other mommas dealing with some common seasonal ailments.

The Earache-

This one can be a heart breakers. Babies with earaches can be miserable. Hyland's Earache drops can be your answer.  If you can get your baby on these drops within 48 hours of first symptoms you may be able to avoid the dreaded antibiotic.

The Coughs-

Coughs can be not only uncomfortable, but can keep your little ones up all night. If you child is over 2 try a teaspoon full of honey before bed. The honey will act as a natural cough suppressant and can help you get through the night. Another great option is Hyland's Cough and Cold 4 Kids. This product is recommended by Dr. Sears and will help with multiple cold symptoms including coughs.

The Sniffles-  

One of my favorite products for the sniffles is a humidifier. Keeping the air moist can really help relieve the stuffy noses. I love my Crane Humidifier. It is not only functional but adorable. (You can check out my review here).  Hyland's also makes a great product called Sniffles and Sneezes 4 Kids that works great in conjunction with the humidifier.

The Flu-  

For the flu using a combination of the above remedies is best. Honey to help with the coughing, humidifiers for the runny noses, and then a Hylands Complete Flu Care 4 Kids to relieve fever, headache, body aches and chills.


The cold and flu season doesn't have to mean an antibiotic overload for you children. So instead of reaching for the medicine cabinet try some of these natural remedies first.  

If you child does end up needing an antibiotic or medication considering using probiotics to help bring back the good bacteria!   

Why I Love Autumn

Autumn is my absolute favorite season! I love everything about it, but especially the smell. When I think of autumn I think of cool breezes, pumpkin patches, hay bales, and just an overall sense of "freshness". I always wished I could just bottle up that feeling and keep it all year long. 

Ruby Moon has sort of done that for me! Ruby Moon is a natural laundry detergent company and they have an amazing "Pumpkin Pie" scented detergent. This is the perfect way to bring autumn into your laundry room. If you are more of a winter girl they have a fantastic warm vanilla sugar that brings grandma's kitchen into your laundry room.

So if you are looking for a high quality, and delicious smelling detergent Ruby Moon is your answer.

**All you summer ladies- while supplies last you can get a free bag of Summer Lemonade scented Ruby Moon detergent with your qualified orders!