Projects for 2012

Here are some projects I would like to make:

• Camera Strap Cover (like this)
• Matching T-shirts for preschooler and baby (like this or this or this or this)
• Bean bag chairs (like these or I saw one somewhere else and can't find the tutorial!)
• Rice bag hand warmers
• Rice bag foot warmer
• A-Z and 0-9 bean bags and bag toss game
• Owly Baby Yoga Pants (in baby and preschooler sizes, of course)
• Indygo Junction In-Style Suitcase Bag
• Sunglasses Case
• More pocket diapers (I think I may use this tutorial) - we have been using these at night with prefolds inside~ I love the feel-dry fabric against the baby when he doesn't get changed right away
• Footed Longies (I confess that these have been on my list for a LONG time)
• Secret Book Safe
• 2 fleece sleep sacks the next size up
• 6 smock bibs- we found these incredibly useful and I want to use them exclusively (instead of regular bibs)

Any more ideas for me?

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Book of the Week: The King, The Mice, and The Cheese

We get on book kicks, and our current one is The King, the Mice, and the Cheese.  It is a book from my childhood collection.

It is a sweet story about a king whose cheese is so delicious that the local mice come and take up residence.  Then his wise men call in a series of animals to get rid of the previous animal until they are back at the mice.  In the end, the king comes to his own solution (without consulting the wise men): to call a meeting with the mice and agree to live together, but not antagonize each other.

It is very sweet, and interesting, and has a bit of a moral at the end.  It also teaches a little about other cultures and places, and the drawings give us a lot to discuss, since they are full of facial expressions and numbers of animals to count, and cause and effect, among other ideas.  It is one I really enjoy reading over and over and over and over.

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Travel with Two Kids (Baby and Preschooler)

We made it!  There... and back...



I made a monster list before we went, and ended up bringing all of it except the music toy, which I thought I could substitute out for a different mobile.  Alas, the other music didn't do it for the baby, so we slept sans that part of our routine for a week.

So~ we had a good time, except the series of tiny naps the baby took (in lieu of long naps).  Sleep is HARD when traveling... blame it on altitude, time change, teething (a tooth actually did cut through while away!), different bed, whatever.  I just always get less when we are away.  And my base amount is barely enough.  But anyway... on to the highlights...

The preschooler learned to ski...

The baby discovered doorstops as fun...

And ate some good food...

We got THREE pairs of new shades... (yes, I forgot mine and the kids needed some for the sun.  We also forgot sunscreen)...

We rode the bus (which I think was the highlight for a certain preschooler in the crowd)...

And we celebrated Hanukkah...

And now we are home!  Whew... and happy holidays...

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How to Nap Baby while Caring for Toddler

Uh, I'm trying to take a nap here...

Isn't that the million dollar question?  Basically, how do you give your baby the attention they need while not ignoring your other children's needs for attention?  My toddler suggested we get four mommies: one for baby, one for him, one for daddy, and one who goes to Yoga.  

I posed the query to my Facebook friends, and got a pretty good array of answers.  There were the technology answers like put the older child in front of the TV/ netflix/ iPad app/ etc.  Then there were a few creative answers, like set the older child up with a snack or an art project, then slip away to put the little one down for a nap.  I liked the inclusive answer, which was to allow the older child to be in the room, as long as they were silent and non-disruptive.  

We have tried a few different options, and none have been ideal.  I feel like the toddler is constantly waiting while I am in the other room with his brother.  Then I let him in the room, and he finds it excruciatingly difficult to be quiet, so then he has to leave again.  I am trying to tell myself that he is learning patience and that he is not the center of the world.  It must be hard on a little fellow, although I do agree that he must learn this at some point.  Our best days are those when daddy is not only home, but more interesting than mommy.  

Another solution we are working on is to time the nap just right, and to have a short nap time routine that is the same every time in order for him to fall asleep more quickly.  This seems to be working, although our current struggle is to get the baby to remain asleep for longer than about 45 minutes (he is now just over 6 months old).  He will go back to sleep if we do the routine all over again at his first awakening, but the toddler is then asked, without warning this time, to remain in his current activity or swap to a solo activity, when mama runs into the other room to do the nap routine again.

Do any of you have any ideas that could help? Preferably without technological assistance.

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Reversible Diaper Inserts

I was browsing at the EC Store and saw their SIMPLYinserts.  For $22, you get 4 double-sided diaper inserts.  One side is feel-dry and the other is feel-wet.  There is a soaker in the middle.

I thought it was a great idea to make some reversible diaper inserts, just for those times when you can't change baby right away and don't want them to get used to wet diaper on their bum.

To make these, I used the dimensions from the EC store (large as 5" by 13.5", though I could have also done small at 4" by 10").  I used an old golf shirt made out of wicking fabric as the feel-dry layer.  I used Zorb as the soaker, and sandwiched it between two layers of cotton birdseye.  So each one was a layer of blue wicking fabric, then birdseye, then Zorb, then birdseye.

To stitch these, I first made one seam down the center.  This was to hold the soaker in place.  Then I continued along the edges, using a wide zig-zag as a faux serge.  I alternated between folding the blue up and down because I wanted the birdseye's edges covered up so it wouldn't ravel.  I also didn't want extra thickness at the edges.

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Pattern Review: Tee for Two by Patterns by Figgy

This pattern by Figgy's actually helped me get over my fear of making shirts and I made a shirt!  And it fits!

Don't worry, I still modified it.  I added cuffs at the ends of the sleeves (by using her collar method and halving the collar length on the pattern), hemmed the bottom, and hid the stitching inside instead of letting it show to the front.

Next time I make it, I am going to lengthen the collar piece, though, because it was a bit tight to get over the head.

Overall, I found the pattern easy to follow.  There were a lot of directions for how easy it was to make, which made it seem more complex than it actually was.

It also and printed a LOT of pages on my printer.  I should have looked through it first and not printed all the dress pages at the end.  The pdf was also set across the pages in a way that made me need to put a lot of little pieces together, but that is probably because I started with the smallest size instead of the biggest.

I am a little disappointed that it is a rough edge pattern (which is why I added arm cuffs and hemmed the bottom).  It also swings outwards a bit at the bottom.  I think I thought it was more of a t-shirt than a baseball shirt style for some reason.  Maybe next time I should embrace the baseball shirt style and use a different color for the arms and collar.

I am pretty excited that I made a shirt~ they have always seemed a bit difficult and now I know that is not true.

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Packing List for Travel with Baby and Toddler, A to Z

Yes, we are going to do it.  We are going to leave the house with two children and sleep elsewhere.  We are going to travel there by airplane.  It is going to be winter there (we live in a semi-winter climate), and we plan on tubing and some of us will ski.

The place we will stay has beds and a crib, bath toys, a baby bath tub and towel, baby and toddler toys, a high chair, a full kitchen, toilet seat reducers and bathroom stools, appropriately sized ski clothes and ski gear and winter boots, a little sled, and a hot tub... should be fun...

A Menorah out of Blocks.

Regardless, we need to bring lots of our own stuff.  Here is our list-in-progress.  The baby is now 6 months old (read: eats food and is starting to crawl, but is mostly nursing and naps a lot), and the toddler is actually a 3.5 year-old preschooler.

• airplane toys
• apples (airplane food)
• arrowroot powder (to make special holiday sugar, egg, and wheat-free cookies to eat when everyone else has sugar cookies)
• baby legs
• baby monitor
• backpack
• bathing suits
• beef jerky (airplane food)
• bibs
• Blue, pillow (this is preschooler's special blanket and pillow)
• boba 
• camera
• car seats
• chargers 
• chicken water and food (chore to do as packing)
• clothing (yeah, I agree it is a bit nebulous. Refers to everyday stuff)
• diapers, covers, overnights (ah, another nebulous one)
• elephant music maker (music baby sleeps to)
• gifts
• green powder 
• hats
• IDs
• itzbeen (baby timer)
• jackets
• kindle
• long underwear
• lovey (baby's)
• luggage on wheels (we hook a car seat on top so the whole unit rolls together)
• pills (prescriptions)
• receiving blanket (for nursing cover or crawling mat or warmth on plane)
• sleeping mats 
• sleepsack
• sling
• thermometer, motrin, A+D
• toiletries
• vitamins
• wet bag (for wet diapers)
• wool socks
• yoga shorts, sports bra

Wish us luck on our journey!!  And check out this cute post from Rookie Moms...

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What is Zorb? And Zorb 2...

In cloth diaper-making, there is the quest for the perfect fabric for the soaker (the inside part).  It must be highly absorbent (for pees) yet dry quickly (for washing).  It must be thin (for wearing).  It must soak quickly (as not to leak when it is peed on).  It must hold the moisture (until a diaper change).

There are many options for this piece of the diaper, and one option is Zorb.  Recently Wazoodle, the company who makes Zorb, introduced Zorb 2.  But what is it?  They won't say.  It is supposedly natural enough that it is okay against baby's sensitive skin.  From what I have read and seen, it most closely approximates a thick microfiber shammy.  

The original Zorb used to come in blue but now it is white.  It comes by the yard or as pre-cut soakers.  It is fairly thick, sort of like felt.  And it falls apart in the wash when not sandwiched between other fabrics.  But it is highly absorbent and really fabulous at absorbing quickly and holding the moisture, and at drying quickly after a wash.  Though to get it to hold moisture, you need to have a layer of a natural fabric between layers of it (if you use more than one layer in an item); for example, you must put a flannel layer between your Zorb layers as the soaker.

Zorb II is possibly Wazoodle's fix for the stiffness of the original Zorb, and its lack of being a standalone fabric.  It comes in quilted or dimpled, and in a cream color.  I have found it not as absorbent as Zorb, and it takes much longer to dry.  There is an advantage to being able to use it right on the skin, but the edges must be completely covered (not just serged or zig-zagged over) or it sheds its insides, which are stringy white pieces of fabric which look like thin Zorb.  It is quite absorbent, but not really a miracle fabric like I found Zorb to be.

These are baby pants I made out of Zorb 2.  I used FOE (fold over elastic) on the hem and waistband.  The inner seams shed even though I zig-zagged an overstitch on the seams.  These are nice instead of a diaper to hold a pee.

These are toddler pants with FOE on the hem and sherpa and hidden braided elastic on the waistband.  The inside seams also shed.  I made these for warmth, since the material is a nice winter-weight quilted thickness.

These breast pads have Zorb inside.

These lap pads are Zorb 2 with a cotton binding on one and FOE on the other.  They seemed to leak through when the baby peed on them and sat in that spot-- ie the moisture didn't distribute far enough to allow the excess fabric to help hold it (it didn't soak fast enough, maybe).  In the background is an orange-ish pad.  It is cotton on the outside and Zorb on the inside.  Zorb works great for piddle pads.

Other Zorb posts: here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here  Pin It

Food Allergies - Breastmilk

This little angel has some allergies to foods Mama has been passing through in her milk. The good news is that an elimination diet seems to be working. That is also the bad news, though it is good discipline practice to stick to a diet with eliminated items.  

But his symptoms seem to be disappearing.  He had a red rash on his bottom, and a face rash at one point, as well as night wakings with gas and leg kicking and obvious discomfort (we treated him with Colic Calm, which worked to ease his pain on two occasions~ I didn't want to mask the symptoms, but I also didn't want him to be in pain!).  He also had little pimple-type bumps (excema) on his fingers and toes and ankles that has disappeared.

The idea behind an elimination diet is to keep a log and notice symptoms and try and link them back to what was eaten.  The tricky part is that some foods will linger and reactions can appear up to two weeks after a suspect food has been eaten.  That is why some, including the GAPS Diet followers, say that discovering the offending food is nearly impossible.  

Others say to give it a shot, and try to remove foods and see if symptoms clear. Sears and Sears are one resource who, in their Sleep Book, make a list of what they call the Nasty 9, or foods which are the usual suspects.  Here they are:

Nasty 9

Dairy Products

Wheat

Shellfish

Soy

Egg Whites

Tree Nuts

Peanuts

Corn

Tomatoes

They say if eliminating these doesn't work, to try elimination of the Other Suspects:

Other Suspects

chocolate

strawberries

citrus fruits

If you take all of these out for two weeks, and still can't find the offenders, then they say to remove everything except the items listed as the Desperation Diet-- and to only eat these things for two weeks.  Then add foods back in, one every four days, and notice and log if the symptoms reappear.  

Desperation Diet

turkey

lamb

potatoes (white or sweet)

squash

rice (or millet) - include flour, cakes, cereal, bread

pears

Other books, like Is This Your Child, explain that foods come in families and give food family lists.  For example, someone who reacts to banana will possibly also have issues with avocados, since they are in the same food family.

It is also interesting to me that food allergies run in the family, so if these don't work, then ask what your parents and siblings have reactions to or love or don't like (we are often allergic to foods we love or hate) and try to remove these.


For us, we have identified egg, dairy, wheat, pineapple, and the cabbage family as probable suspects.  After I can be free of these for two full weeks, then I will be able to see if I am right or still have detective work to do.  Then I will be able to do "tests," and add one food back in and wait four days and see if there is a reaction.  I will first test butter, then kale, then yogurt, then broccoli and cauliflower.

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Recipe: Egg-Free, Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Latkes (and regular)

3 eggs (3 T flaxseed meal soaked in 1/2 cup water for at least 10 minutes if egg-free)
3 cups sweet or regular potatoes (or a mix), grated and drained (food processor)
2 T grated onion
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T flour (rice flour if gluten free)
1 t baking powder
olive oil for frying

Mix ingredients in large bowl.  Heat oil about 1/4" deep in skillet.
Place mixture in and flatten.  Fry both sides. Take out onto paper towels or brown grocery bags.

Serve with applesauce, cranberry-apple sauce, sour cream, or dripped yogurt (cultured cream cheese).

Happy Hanukkah!

The regular version of this and other recipes are in the cookbook my brother and I wrote, Marsha's Kitchen.

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