As some of you may know I didn’t have a great teen hood. I won’t go into details today but it was not great. I love my family and my friends but I sometimes still feel really alone. Sometimes that alone ness translates into bitterness and I hate that. I try to learn from my child hood and move on and be a good person but sometimes I just feel like no matter what I do it won’t be good enough. This causes me to lash out at whomever may be talking to me at the time. This time it was my sister, which is so wrong because my sister always tries to help me out and be there for me and I repay her with my shitty attitude. I guess I am bitter because both of my siblings were able to have a “normal” childhood and got to finish school and then go on to post secondary education and then into decent careers. While I have not.
I didn’t go to college and I had to leave high school because I had to get my own place and work to pay the bills, I did eventually get my GED and also enrolled in an admin assistant course online but it sits unfinished like most things in my life. It seems that while I may be very bright I have the attention span of my 14 month old daughter. It just isn’t there, I can’t just do one thing at a time and I get bored easily. Nothing seems to challenge me enough to want to finish or succeed. I love learning and would love to go back to a real school and take a class that I would enjoy but now life has gotten in the way…. ahh life.
Not to mention a plague of health issues that I truly try to grin and bear but generally end up wincing. Now I only work part time at one job and my husband likes that and wants me to be able to raise our child but everyday it’s made apparent that regardless of what we want and no matter how much the pain I will have to find another job and make my way through for as long as I possibly can before I end up laid up like last time or worse. I just want to live in a shack in the woods far away some days..

Hey all,

As you know I’m a fan of cloth diapers and once of my favorites is Sunbaby, because they are inexpensive, have cute prints and they work amazing on my skinny legged little.  However I’m also addicted to cloth diapers and love to check out new brands and styles. Today was once of those days  

Smart Snugs came up in a discussion with a fellow CD mom the other day.  We were discussing options for the friend of mine I had mentioned in my last post as I had pretty much tapped out my supply of tiny diapers and I am almost out of diaper making material.  However this momma being the amazing person she is has ordered my friend some new cloth  from Smart Snugs and is sending along diapers she is not using anymore.  That is amazing and restores my faith that good people do exist.  Some mom’s helped her when she was starting out and now she is paying it forward!  

Anyway  I had ordered 2 wetbags for travel from Smart Snugs awhile ago and they are holding up famously, but because I love my sunbabies I hadn’t checked out the diapers or inserts they offered.  So tonight I received an email with a code for a surprise free diaper on an order over a certain amount.  So I thought what the hey and ordered one diaper and some charcoal bamboo inserts.  Well I had problems with the code so I made a not on my order and once completed I fired off an email just to see what was up.  Turns out it was only valid in the states, I would have said ok no problem because I hadn’t bothered to check.  Smart Snugs then raised the bar for all other diaper retailers,  They said you know what we are going to send you one anyway! I was astounded. I totally plan on a review once I receive my order! And I will be sure to link it to them  :) 

Sometimes it does pay to ask or to just be positive  Anyway I’m kind of stoked and can’t wait for fluffy mail!!!!! Woot

Later Dayz

Brandi

We have been cloth diapering for close to a year now and love it.  The diapers are cute and easy to use and care for.  They are not super expensive, so we will save money even if I buy lots lol.  They are environmentally friendly to boot.   

The biggest reason I do it though is my little girls health.  LA is sadly like mommy and has super sensitive skin.  We did disposables at first because we didnt have cloth ones small enough and we battled rashes.  Now we try to exclusively cloth because everytime she is in a sposie she rashes out and sometimes gets blisters and that is probably the worst thing for a parent on a day to day basis.  She also seems to break out from some of the standard diaper creams.  

Yes we have had a few rashes in cloth but really only when she had a yeast problem due to me being on antibiotics and occasionally we have leaks but she always seems so much happier in cloth.  Granted at night we sposie right now as she super pees but we are working on a solution

This past week I have really been reminded of the benefits of cloth.  A good friend of mine recently gave birth to her first  and used pampers on her baby,  for over a week now she has been battling what started out looking like a run of the mill diaper rash… it wasn’t.  Her little girls bottom got huge open sores that persisted through many different ointments and frequent diaper changes. As well as just about every home remedy we could all brainstorm.  Turns out it is a chemical burn   Now I know many millions and billions of babies have had no problems with disposables but this  really made me think, what if this was also the problem we had and if we had the problem who is to say how many others were having this same problem and maybe not seeking out help figuring it was normal or that people told them they were over reacting or something along those lines….how many little bottoms are suffering because new parents have no idea?  That made me angry for all those little bums who can’t say anything and all those parents who are doing their best and thinking it’s normal!  Trusting well established and popular companies to test these products and tell us they are safe when obviously they are not!

So I started with my friend and I explained the benefits and showed her the diapers and helped her out by letting her try some out,  I made it my mission to prove that these were no more difficult and no more disgusting than any other diaper.  And you know what?  She is now cloth diapering and her little girl’s butt is finally starting to heal!  She has been so happy with it that she has told some of her friends and now they too are interested in cloth!  It’s the start of a revolution I say! One that will save many parents worry and money and help the planet! One person and one diaper at a time!

Today just reinforced my love of cloth because tonight my little girls bum was red,raw and starting to bleed all from being in a sposie in preparation of bedtime  I will find an overnight solution, this has to stop.

While the reasoning is sad I finally had a reason to use the fabric I had bought with full intentions on using to make some more cloth diapers.  So I made 2 for my friends little girl and now I have the fever I just want to make more, more more!

The two diapers I made  How can you not love this  Sorry for the rant If you have any questions about cloth diapering feel free to message me or leave a comment.

Later Dayz,

Brandi

How the time flies.  My little girl is 9 months and 4 days old and so super smart.  She has 4 teeth already and 4 more coming in . She knows mom, dad, nana, papa, hi and I think I’m forgetting a couple.  She is a super jumper and although she isn’t crawling yet she has this weird little tummy bounce and swivel she uses to get around. She loves music! Blues brothers and Motorhead are her favorites!  She is quite tall and probably now about 19 lbs  and she makes me super happy

We have been cloth diapering for awhile I think since she was about 3 months.  We have a stash of pockets mostly comprised of Sunbaby’s with a couple alva’s and a few fitteds.  I will take a pic later after I stuff the stash lol. 

We Love our cloth and I wish there were more cloth diapering momma’s in our town but I have only met like 2.  Everyone I talk to think they are a lot of work and washing would be a pain.  Then I show them and educate and while they seem interested they still have issues with rewashing poopy diapers.  It’s not that bad and I don’t have a super strong stomach by any means.  I just spray them, toss in a pail and then when I have enough I do a load which is toss in do a rinse then a long hot wash with soap nut liquid and an extra rinse at the end.  I hang our pockets on the line and throw the liners in the dryer.  With our new washer and dryer the energy consumption is minimal.  The average operating cost for the washer a year with a gas water tank is $7 and thats doing about 8 loads a week which we are nowhere near even with the cloth.

Anyway I really wish I could run a small business that focuses on cloth and natural products… I’m trying to figure it out so I don’t get screwed if I do lol. I’m kind of passionate about it and have seen the benefits of it first hand. I’m just going to keep researching and see where it ends up…. Thoughts?  Would you consider cloth? Especially if you realized it wasn’t as hard as most think? What other stuff would you like to know? What if there was a cloth diapering service?……alright gotta run LA is crabby pants time for a nap.

So while I love my giggle life diapers so far, we ran into a snag LA takes after daddy and has tiny thighs.  The giggle life are an awesome cloth option for a family on a budget, which we are, but they have a drawback for smaller babies, they don’t have hip snaps so the legs can’t be adjusted small enough.   This has lead me on a hunt for an inexpensive replacement until LA gets a little chunkier.  I was thankfully added to a local Facebook group who deals with all things cloth.  Through the group I found a few new brands of diapers to try out and got them for a really good price.  I purchased two sun baby diapers, two glowbugs and a handful of alva’s from a local mom who was super nice and knowledgeable.  

The Sunbaby diapers are size one with two size adjustments in red and the other is white and blue plaid.  I tried these on LA last night and I can’t get over the fit! They are perfect! I think we will have to double stuff at night though as one soaker wasn’t enough.  I am wanting some more of these two is just not enough!  You can check out sunbaby diapers here: http://sunbabydiapers.com/

The Glowbug diapers are super cute one is black with grey fish print and the other has little glow bug prints.  These diapers came with two inserts that snap into the diaper.  They also have an extra row of rise snaps, which makes them adjust super small.  They also have hip snaps, double leg gussets and waterproof flaps front and back.  I tried these on LA and they work really well, at first I thought we were going to have the same leg issues with them, because the first had some leaking out the side but upon further inspection I believe that was because I didn’t get it snapped on the smallest setting for the hips.  Second time around they worked awesome with no leaking.  I am hoping to get my hands on some of the cute girly prints but don’t have the funds to purchase one of their sets right now so maybe I’ll find some second hand.  You can find the diapers here: http://glowbugclothdiapers.com/

Last but not least Alva’s.  These diapers have super cute prints!  I am in love with the little tiger bum.  Some of the outer fabrics are super soft! Again with adjustable rise and hip snaps.  These diapers fit well and are super cute! The only thing I am not a fan of is the pocket opening, I find it a little small which makes stuffing time a bit slower.  Here is the link to check out Alva’s:http://www.alvababy.com/

I am so happy with these  new diapers! Unfortunately it’s made me want to buy more! Eeek! Well I’m off to look for diaper deals.

Later Dayz

Brandi

Hello everyone,

Today I am looking for suggestions from you.  My mom is a fantastic lady who worked hard for alot of her life to provide for us kids and help anyone out she could.  I know most people would say that about their mom but I really feel that often times my mom went way out of her way to help someone.  An example of this is the other day I passed one of her neighbours from the next road over broke down on the side of the road. I stopped to see if he needed anything and then I messaged my mom just telling her and she said to me ” Should I go down? maybe he needs a ride.”  Another is our friends, my mom never turned a kid away from a meal or staying over if they didn’t feel comfortable going home or if myself or one of my sibs just dragged them home without asking,  one of my close childhood friends lived with us for a time and my mom helped him get hockey gear he couldn’t afford. 

My mom broke her tailbone a long time ago and now she is on disability for it and some other health issues.  That being said her house which like pre dates Canada is just falling apart at the seams and she can’t afford to fix it and even if she could is really in too much pain daily to put the work in to do so.  I of course am of little help either physically or financially as I am on mat leave and having my own health issues, however if we somehow manage to get all the materials I am going to help as much as I can.  One of the main issues at the moment is the floor, the neighbours idiot son (hes like over 30) came to my moms and while there for reasons unknown he thought it would be funny to throw a cherry bomb in her toilet.  At the time it didn’t seem to cause any problems…. about a year later moms bathroom floor is messed right up and upon further inspection the toilet is found to be cracked, so the floor and the toilet need replacing and her kitchen floor is super punky due to water in the basement when the sump pump broke down on a number of occasions.  These are the things that are safety concerns. Other than that she needs a new kitchen cabinet/ counter.  But we really just want to get the bathroom safe and functional and the kitchen floor at least patched up.

That being said what do you suggest we could do for help, does anyone know any programs that might help or non profits or heck even tv shows?  I really think my mom deserves this!  Or would you be willing to donate to our worthy cause or purchase something I made to help out?  I was thinking about headbands or bows or something small and easy, so I could do lots of them.  And if I did something like that what would you be willing to pay for such an item knowing it was going to help out my low income mom?

If you have any suggestions or want to purchase an item or just donate send me a message or leave me a comment or you can email me at brandi.leigh@sympatico.ca.

Thanks everyone

Later Dayz

Brandi

So as I mentioned in my previous post there is a little issue with a few snaps on a few of the diapers.  I emailed giggle life originally about possibly letting me do a giveaway or test one of their bamboo diapers and briefly mentioned the issue in passing.  The customer service rep was really nice and advised me at the moment they had a few reviews and giveaways going on but would keep my info on file should they do some more.  They also asked me about the issue I was experiencing with the snaps.  I explained the problem as best I could and they said no problem send them back and we will send you our some new ones  The problem I have been having is with the rise snaps, after washing I set the snaps up to the setting they need to be on and stuff them, but when I am putting them on Lynda-Ann they are occasionally coming unsnapped.  Like when you are trying to tug a little to adjust the diaper under baby, if anyone knows what I mean they will just unsnap.  It’s not all of the diapers and it’s not all of the time and really it’s only kind of annoying but I figure if it’s an annoyance now it could very well become a major problem down the road. So now that I have all the info I just have to get them sent back, the only problem I see is that my stash is rather small and not having a few of the diapers may affect how often I have to wash.  Hopefully this doesn’t cause any further issues.  I should also mention that the customer service rep I spoke with wasn’t required to deal with the snap issue, as they have another email/ department to deal with it, but I had mentioned it in passing and said that I would go through the proper channel to fix the problem.  Very helpful company and I would really love to try their bamboo diapers

Pretty much before we ever got pregnant, I knew that I wanted to try and cloth diaper our baby.  I did loads of research and talked to other moms that cloth diapered and from this decided that one size pocket diapers were likely the best fit for our family.  However that didn’t stop me from picking up a bunch of freebie sized pockets that needed work done to the elastics and a bunch of fitteds and AIO’s for $50.  I just couldn’t salvage the sized pockets however repuposed the PUL to making some reusable breast pads.  They turned out ok, but I leak alot and after awhile I leaked through the seams, so I only use these when I am at home or staying in where ever I am in case of accidents.  The fitteds and AIO’s are waiting to be tried out once LA gets up to approx 22 pounds, which at the rate she is growing seems like it will only be a month or two from now lol.

What I did salvage from the busted pockets were their liners,  I use these outside of the pocket to minimize how many diapers LA goes through in a day.  Most days I can get away with one or two diapers just by switching these liners out at changing time. I use a large one and a smaller terry one on top near the front for extra protection.  I am not sure what the larger pads are made of but I’m pretty certain its not microfibre as it is smooth to touch, whereas I find microfibre grabs at my skin.

While some family members haven’t embraced using cloth with LA, my sis Steph knew what I wanted and she and her family purchased me a starter set from Giggle Life for my shower present.  They are one size and come in a variety of colors, they also had 2 liners per diaper and came with a couple cute pairs of baby socks . So far I love the diapers, although I do mean to contact Gigle Life as some of the snaps are not the greatest and come unsnapped occasionally, also  LA has little legs and so occasionally we get some side leakage while sleeping or breast feeding.  The liners for the Giggle Life diapers are microfibre so I am unable to use these on the outside as of yet but I am thinking about making like a little cover for them should the need arise. 

I believe total I have about 15 one size pocket diapers between the ones my sister purchased and the few I purchased off the internet. Today I tried just using them with the liner in the pocket and had no issues aside from a bit of leak and almost some poo out the leg as again LA has tiny thighs.  We went through approx 4 diapers today so far.  That being said if she averaged 6 a day that means laundry every other day. LA is strictly breast fed so really no major rinsing or shaking is required as of yet, our routine so far is just to separate the liner from the outside and put in a wet bag.  When laundry time comes just dump the contents of the bag into the washer and then toss the bag in too. 

As for wash routine I usually let them soak in hot water and baby washing liquid then wash on hot for longest cycle time, use vinegar instead of fabric softener and then either toss in dryer or line dry.  So far it works beautifully and have had no stink issues, and only minor staining on some of the liners not on the diaper outers themselves.  Mind you it has only been a week or two of solid cloth diapering so this could change.  We got two diaper cakes as shower gifts and so used the diapers up out of those first, though I did have to buy some diapers as LA didn’t fit her cloth or the diapers we got as gifts but I think that was only about $30.  We are using up the last of our disposable wipes and did use some of our reusable ones today, they work fantastically.  I mixed up a bit of wipe recipe  that a WAHM had made and sent me and placed it in the little squirt bottle that you get at the hospital.  Perfect

While I am a little disappointed that some family members won’t even try the cloth diapers, it is their choice and I have agreed that if they wish to use them and they are willing to buy them ( as I will not) then it is ok for LA to occasionally be in disposables.  As for us I think we will continue with cloth happily.  Though Aaron has never changed her butt yet so no idea how he will react.  I look forward to any input on cloth diapering or different washing ideas.  LEave me a comment That’s all for now.

Later Dayz

Brandi

After more than nine months of waiting our little girl arrived on July 12th at 2am. I had a very quick birth that went without a hitch. It was painful but all worth it in the end, to see the look on my husbands face and to hold my sweet girl. As with most things we do it was a bit unconventional in that we had a roomful of family present, including both her aunts and a great aunt a cousin and my mother in law. I only wish I had told my mon to come up when I was talking to her on the phone. 

It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions leading up to and after her birth til now. Most of them happy but some terrifying, but my husband is a wonderful person and we have gotten through it.  Mostly i just worry about what if something happens to her or us. I love my family so much it hurts sometimes. But we are strong.  

Today I spent a lot of my day just holding my girl and breathing in her smell and enjoying her. Tonight Aaron went back to work and it wasn’t asterrifying as it was before. I am hoping he will be home again tomorrow night and looking forward to next weekend when he should be home all weekend.

Having this new tiny creature to watch ouT and care for scares me and makes me realize how precious life is.  I can’t wait to watch her grow and try to instill in her good values. Whenever I get scared I just talk to Aaron and he always knows what to say and watching him with her makes me so happy. I know this is a cheesy post but I just had to get it out there. 

Have a great night 

Brandi

So my boss and I get along fairly well and talk about pretty much everything.  She’s a great person and helps out alot of people.  She is def an inspiration.  That being said she messaged me this morning asking if I was leaving at the end of May,  I told her no I thought June.  She tells me that’s what she thought but then explains she had a visitor in work last night talking bad about me.  

Apparently I will do anything to get off work so that my husband can take care of me and that I haven’t had a full time job since we got together.  And that she thought it was funny that I used to apparently get migraines but now I’m ok. That I will leave my boss high and dry and a load of other crap.  Including that she thought I should stay home and clean my house.  While having someone say this about me obviously upsets me what I think bothers me the most is that she did so to my boss.  I know my boss took it as gossip from a jealous person but really? My life is my life and my business noone else’s unless I choose to make it so.  And while I hate the idea of defending myself let me just go through her points because it will make me feel a little better.

Firstly my husband is a fantastic person and I love him more everyday I can’t express that enough.  When we met I was having some serious health problems that affected my ability to work,  I was still working but only part time.  I have a condition called hydro-cephalus (sp) that can increase pressure in my skull that can result in migraines and other nasty things.  I also drew the short straw on some other health issues,  I have arthritis in my lower back and an ongoing condition with my knees/hips that most women in my family have.  My husband knew that there may be problems and even told me if I couldn’t work that was ok with him, but I like working I don’t like to sit at home and do nothing I’m pretty sure I would go crazy.  So I work, two of my jobs that I have had since we got together were classified as part time but had hours closer to full time.  My other jobs have been part time as that was all I  could find and also all my husband wanted me to work.  But I often had 2 jobs at a time so I had full time hours.  I have quit jobs in that time one due to injury, one to moving and 2 because they treated me like a number and my DH told me to quit because he didn’t like it.  I have only taken time off work when my DH has asked me too such as for our honey moon.  And at my current job I think in the almost 2 years I have been there I have called in sick twice maybe three times for migraines and been late maybe twice always because my car broke.  I have been working and volunteering since I was 6 years old I don’t plan on stopping.

My migraines? well I still get those, not near as often thanks to medicine that prevents them and took about 2 years to find.  I’m not on it now due to being pregnant so I’m guessing being pregnant is helping somehow though I still have gotten a few.  As for my back and knees I’ve had those for pretty much most of my life and I always just push through the pain and thats what I’m doing now.  My boss and I have already discussed my leave we have a tentative date middle of june. And the ad to find someone to replace me has been posted.  They have been nothing but kind to me and so I would never do anything to jeopardize their business or their opinion of me.   

Lastly on my house? it’s clean lol I mean its cluttered all to hell what with baby on the way and gifts and the nursery not done? everything kind of just gets everywhere, but I sweep, mop, do dishes and laundry on a regular basis so I dunno what to say there.  I’m not perfect and I’d be the first one to admit that, but I try.  

DH and I have talked about whether I will return to work and it’s still up in the air but its our life and our child and we would both prefer if we raised her not someone else.  I work hard and don’t take advantage of the system, help others when I can and try to support my community why does that make me a bad person?  What did I do to deserve this bad mouthing? 

Anyway thanks for listening, I feel a little better now.

Have a great day,

Brandi