Recycle, Reuse, Refashion IV

 I used to be a nanny to two very sweet little girls, Ava Grace, who just turned 5 and Ella Shea, just turned 4, who also happens to be my Goddaughter. Yes, they are 12 months apart in age! It was HARD WORK, but oh, so fun.

I needed to whip them up something for their birthdays, so I poked around in my fabric stash and old clothing pile to see what I could come up with. I picked this drawstring skirt and dress to turn into pillow cases dresses. Then I rummaged around in my ribbon bin and found coordinating ribbon. I also had two hair pins and two buttons in my button cover pack to make them matching hair pins. I wrapped in them saved tissue and present bags that I had on hand. Not ONE thing was new, but the everything turned out beautiful!
















I just cut off the tops of the dress and skirt and it left me the shape of a pillow case. Here is a great tuturiol on how to make pillow cases from fabric. Here and here are a couple examples of pillow case dresses I have done in the past. They are so stinkin easy, once you get the hang of it.

And here is a pic of the hair pins. Pretty cute, right? I am so impressed with myself that I made them something handmade and from my heart AND I didn't make one trip to the fabric/craft store to do it!

What do you have laying around that you can turn into something else?
I am about to cut up an old white, eyelet cotton shower curtain!

Perfecting Down Dog!

Sweet baby girl is perfecting her Down Dog these days. It's so beautiful to see her do yoga throughout her day. She will just be playing or crawling around and get the urge to do some yoga and bam! She wipes out Down Dog. She is really into Warrior and Kicky Kobra too.

When I first posted the Down Dog tutorial she was just beginning to learn the pose. The learning progression was so fun to watch as she figured out how to do Down Dog on her own. First, she would just watch and watch as I did Down Dog. Then she started cocking her head to the side, because she was trying to imitate how my head looks upside down while in the pose. Then, when I started helping her, by lifting her hips up, she would keep her head up and want to look around. Then, she figured out that when I lift her hips, she puts her head down. Then, she start getting on all fours and just putting her head down. And finally, she put her head down and lifted her pelvis!! All by her self!

I will never forget her little face the first time she did it independently and perfectly. The look of pride and accomplishment was priceless. She knew she did it just right and she thinks she is so awesome for it. Which of course she is. I think the self esteem that children get out of yoga is one of the best things about practicing yoga with them.

As they continue to grow and learn, there is always an opportunity for them to learn a new pose and to praise each milestone as the learn they complexities of each pose. Yoga gives me more opportunities to say Yay! Penelope! You did it!

Just FYI, most of the baby yoga poses I post, I learned at my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training. The founder and creator, Helen Garabedian, has a great book and dvds that you can purchase to help your home practice. Or you can go to her website and try and find a class near you!

Big Switch Update: Part 3

Blech. I don't even know where to start.  I am still so not in the mood to tell this story, but I know everyone wants to know the outcome.  So here's the bare minimum:

First, a word about the Medela scale we rented from Best Beginnings. I started using it a couple of days before the Big Switch to see how much milk she was taking in from comfort nursing. It worked great when she was a tiny newborn and you could easily lay her on it without much a fuss.   It was incredibly difficult with her being 22 pounds and very mobile. It was tricky to get her to stay still, to  say the least.  Many times I got an inaccurate reading. It would say that she had lost a 100 cc's in an hour.  During the times I think I got an accurate reading, it said she took in anywhere from 25 cc's to 60.  The one time I got 60 ccs (2 ounces), I had just napped with her for two hours and she was latched on the entire nap and I was compressing/hand expressing so much my arm hurt.  Moral of the story: she is not getting very much from me at all, and what she is getting, is from me doing all the work to get it in her mouth.

Day 1 started at night, with her last bottle before bed.  Before this bottle, we washed all her bottles together and said goodbye to each bottle and nipple.  I let her put each one inside the bag.  She loves to put things inside things these days.

The first morning was fine.  I gave her a bit more food at breakfast.  We stayed home and I had The Ladies out in full view, a lot, so she nursed more.  Every time she nursed, I hand expressed and did hand compressions as much as I could.  I gave her water in a sippy cup, but didn't want to go over board and fill her up on water and defeat the whole thing.

By the afternoon, homegirl was CRANKY.  I think it was less from hunger and more from just not liking the new routine of no bubba.  I gave her a good sized lunch and dinner, and fruit smoothie with some breastmilk in it for snack.

Day 2, homegirl is VERY CRANKY.  We have Tot Yoga class in the morning, and she does not want to participate.  She usually loves class.  It continues to get worse.  Crying and fussing all day long.  And her constipation begins in the afternoon, all the extra food and less fluid the day before do not make for a healthy gut.  Getting her to sleep for her second nap of the day was absolute torture, she screamed her head off for 45 minutes.  So unlike her at all.  At this point, I am like F@&k It!  This is insane. I am torturing my poor daughter.  I make the decision that I am going to give her a sippy cup of milk when she wakes up.

Instead of giving her the sippy cup, I try the Lact Aid again.  Lo and behold, she latches on.  She was so hungry she didn't give a shit that she had tubing in her mouth.  She took about an ounce and half from the Lact Aid.  Now, I am elated!  I think, OK! This excruciating, but maybe it might work!  If I can get her to use the Lact Aid, it means I still have to pump, but it gives hope of her learning how to suck better and one day nursing without the Lact Aid!

Her constipation is getting worse and pretty much every hour, she is grunting and pooping out one little hard marble.

Then night time rolls around and I put the Lact Aid on again for her nurse to sleep routine.  More screaming for 45 minutes, until I finally took the Lact Aid off and let her nurse to sleep without the tubing.  Passed right out.  She wanted her nuh-nuh without an annoying tubing taped to it, thankyouvermuch.

After this, I decide, sippy cup in the AM.  I give her the sippy cup of EBM in the morning.  She takes a good sip and then spits it out.  We try again. Takes a sip and spits it out.  Awesome.  I try the Lact Aid again several more times throughout the day, she would take it here and there but still couldn't transfer enough and she lost her shit again when I tried to give it to her while she was nursing to sleep for her nap.

Later, I try a different sippy cup.  This time she takes a sip, and then spits out  a sip.  So all day long I am handing her the sippy cup and the same thing.  At the end of the day, she had taken about 2 ounces from the sippy cup and since she spit out half, that means she only got an ounce. An ounce. All day.

By evening time on Day 3, homegirl is EXTREMLY CRANKY.  She looks sickly, and dehydrated and her constipation seems to be getting worse and more painful.  I give in and give her a bottle of EBM before bed.  We cuddle, and she lays her head on my boob.  When I give her the bottle, she clutches it for dear life, with both hands and looks up at me.  The relief in her eyes was piercing.  She looked as if someone had just saved her from drowning.  I weighed her the next morning and she had lost almost a full pound. :(

The next day, she perked up immediately.  Her skin color got better, her mood was almost back to normal, her constipation got a bit better, but it took another full 24 hours to go away.  I, on the other hand, was deeply sad for several days. It was as if, I was reliving those early post partum weeks all over again.  The loss was just as painful.  Although, I recovered much faster this time.  I am still bummed of course, but I am done crying and instead focusing the good and staying very grateful for the comfort nursing.

Oh, and I cut out the evening pump the night I gave her the first bottle.  I needed something good to come out of this.  I didn't get engorged at all.  Which is pretty amazing for cutting out an hour pump session cold turkey.  So I have been pumping only once in a 24 hour period, (granted its still almost a 1.5 hour pump session) but my supply has stayed steady for what she is taking in now in a bottle (15 ounces in a 24 hour period). It has been so wonderful to spend my evening free time sewing or watching a movie with Peter instead of freaking pumping.

Thanks again to everyone for their support, kind words and prayers.  It meant the world to me.

Petunia Pickle Bottom Sojourn Sling Review, Tutorial and Giveaway!!

Drum roll, please! I am very excited to announce our latest giveaway!

The Sojourn Sling from Petunia Pickle Bottom!! I am giving away the one above, in the picture, the fabric is called Moment in Morocco. Isn't is stunning?! It's a size medium and will fit a Mama with a shirt size of m-l. It has a bit of stretch in the fabric, so even if you are the larger end, it will fit. I wear a size 40E bra and wear a M to L shirt and it fits fine and has room for Penelope to grow.  If you are smaller, you can very easily take it in and hem the seam to make the sling shorter in length to fit.

To enter, go to Petunia Pickle Bottom's website and browse around then leave a comment below telling me what you love!  You can win additional entries by posting on Facebook or Twitter, or on your blog,  or become a Fan on the Mama and Baby Love Facebook page.  For each entry leave a separate comment.  A winner will be randomly selected on October 27th.

They also sent one for me to try out and review. Let me tell you, I am pretty in love with my Maya Wrap, Ella Roo Wrap and my New Native sling, so the Sojourn Sling had stiff competition going up against my other beloved carriers-carriers that I have been using for 5 plus years ( I was nanny before I became a mother).

The Sojourn Sling takes the cake, hands down in the style department. I mean, look at these other fabric options!!! This one, Dancing in Dublin, or this one, Frockling in Fez, make my heart go pitter-patter! And we all know how much I like things to be matchy-matchy, so with these slings, you have the option of get any kid of Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag to match!

In the function department, its neck and neck with my Maya Wrap. The Maya Wrap has a slight edge over the Sojourn Sling, because I am able to sort of hog tie Penelope very tightly, in the Maya Wrap. So when I am cooking I put her arms in side the sling and tighten it up and it keeps her little arms safe inside while I cook.  Other than that, I like the Sojourn Sling just as much, if not better, because you don't have to adjust anything!! You just throw it on and off you go.

The New Native sling I have is similar in cut to the Sojourn Sling, except the Sojourn Sling has a bit of stretch to it. So you can get a better, snugger fit with the Sojourn Sling.

And last, but not least, its ORGANIC COTTON! The fabric that is touching your little ones skin all day, not only looks beautiful, its good for their health and the earth. Ah, you couldn't ask for a better sling than this one!

Seriously, if you are pregnant and trying to figure out what kind of sling to get, get this one in your collection, no question about it. If you are new to babywearing and not sure where to start, START HERE (and be sure to check out my tutorial below!) If you are an old pro, (ahem, like me) and want to try something new and fabulous, buy one!

I am starting to feel like I sound like raving lunatic, so I will end my rave review here, but I am just so impressed with this sling. It hard to find one that is this gorgeous and actually functions they way you need it to.

Now on to the picture and video tutorial!

Step 1. Line up your sling flat, seam down at the bottom.  Place on arm like so.  You can wear the sling on either shoulder, makes no difference.

Then put it over whatever shoulder you want and get it nice and straight. The seam is by your hip.  I actually use the sling, a bit different than the directions that came with sling, fyi.  This is what works for me.  You can also look online, here and here for more tutorials.

Then hike your babe up by your shoulder.  Bring the fabric out and around them, tucking their feet inside.  Then slowly lower them down.

As you lower them down, open up the sling, and make a little pouch/shelf for their bum. And pull the fabric up to cover up their arms.  They will be able to easily take their arms out if they want to.

And ta-da!  Happy Baby!

Check out the same tutorial in video, below.  Let me know if you have any questions!



And P.S. this is the kind of  Pentunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag I have and I LOVE it. It makes my tired, frumpy ass feel very glamorous. I have both the Cosmopolitan Carry All and the Cameo Clutch.

P.S.S.If you are local, there is no one in town selling these slings, so you have to buy them online.  If you do, please purchase one from one of the links below and send a few pennys my way to add to Penelope's Ivy League College Fund!  Thanks!

What is Protandim?

I have had lots of traffic and interest on my blog post about my new business, so I thought I would take a moment to explain more about what exactly it is and how it works.

If you are local and want to learn more, I am having another informational meeting in my home this Wednesday, September 29th at 6:30p.  If you are out of town, you can email me any questions you have, at info at mamaandbabylove dot com.

Protandim is the only supplement clinically proven to reduce oxidative stress by an average 40%, slowing down the cell aging process to the level of a 20 year-old. While conventional or direct antioxidants can neutralize only one free radical molecule, Protandim triggers the creation of enzymes that can each eliminate over a million free radical molecules per second without being used up.

Scientific research has validated oxidative stress—damage to your body’s cells by free radicals—as the root cause, at the cellular level, of aging. In fact, studies show that metabolic wear and tear caused by free radicals in cells accelerates aging, the problems associated with aging and contributes to more than 100 health conditions.

While traditional food and supplements eliminate one free radical for every one antioxidant molecule consumed, one Protandim a day eliminates free radicals at a rate of one million to one per second every second and reduces your oxidative stress level to that of a 20 year old in just 30 days!

Click here to check out some of the clinical studies.  

And here is one from LSU that found that taking Protadim reduces skin cancer tumors! This study made us decide to start giving our dog, Sky, a half a pill every day.  He is 8 years old and a few years old started getting those skin tabs and little beningn skin cancer tumors, that usually turn worse as the age.  I will keep you all posted if we notice a decrease in size and amount.

So what exactly is in it?  And how does it work?

The ingredients are: Milk Thistle, Green Tea, Bacopa, Ashwagandha and Turmeric.  Click here for a description of each ingredient from the LifeVantage website.

Here's how it works:

The vast majority of antioxidant supplements sold today are "direct antioxidants". Direct antioxidants attempt to neutralize free radicals through direct consumption of antioxidant pills, juices, or other products. These products of highly concentrated levels of vitamin A, C and E were previously thought to effectively eliminate free radicals, but scientists are now realizing the limitations of direct antioxidants. In fact, you would need to consume the antioxidants found in 375 oranges or 87 glasses of red wine or about 120 vitamin C tablets (500mg) a day to neutralize the amount of free radicals your body produces every single day.

With the recognition of the ineffectiveness of direct antioxidants comes the realization that there must be a better way. And as is often the case in science, the better way has come to light as we have found a variety of naturally occurring safe products that signal your cells’ DNA to produce your own natural defenses.

The unique blend of phytonutrients in Protandim signal your body’s genes to produce special antioxidant enzymes, SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CAT (catalase), that work together as the body’s first line of defense against free radicals.* These enzymes are “catalytic”, which means that SOD and CAT are not used up when they neutralize free radicals. A single daily caplet of Protandim creates a cascade of your body’s natural catalytic antioxidants that are able to destroy millions of free radicals per second, on a continuous
basis - 24/7.*

If you haven't watched the ABC Primetime Special video yet, you absolutely must!  It explains how it works very well and its only 9 minutes.  Click here to watch the video. Its 9 minutes, you can do it!

And again, if you would like more information, I am having a meeting in my home on September 29th at 6:30p. Email me and I will send you directions.

Friday Link Love 9.24.10

This article is just another reason, to add to my list of reasons, why not to get an epidural.  "Mothers who have epidurals experience little to no pain in their labors. If mothers experience little to no pain, they produce little to no beta-endorphin. When mothers produce little to no beta-endorphin, their babies have more painful births."

A friend of mine, recently had a horrific experience flying on Delta with her family.  She almost got arrested for breastfeeding and refusing to take her baby out of her Maya Wrap carrier.  INSANITY.  Check out her blog for the story and Delta's response.

And what's a Friday Link Love without several links to The Healthy Home Economist!?

VERY interesting article about Rhogram vaccinations for pregnant women.   In it, she mentions that a lot of "mercury free" vaccinations are, in fact, not mercury free at all.

This one poo-poos Dr. Oz and the "healthy nutrition advice" he doles out on his show.

And lastly, the funniest freaking video I have ever seen on YouTube.  A very pregnant lady, trying to "Walk It Out" in order to induce labor. She is so awesome. I want to be her friend.

Homemade All Purpose Spray Cleaner

I have been using green/enviromentaly friendly cleaners for a long time. I have used several different brands over the years and I love Seventh Generation, but its pretty expensive. I also really love using Shaklee. You can buy little vials of the ingredients and then you just add water and put it all in a spray bottle.

A couple of months ago I started making my own All-Purpose Spray. It is so easy! The recipe I use is actually really similar to the diaper wipe spray I make, except this has vinegar in it. And it works just as good, if not better, than Seventh Generation!

These are the things you will need to make your own:
-Spray Bottle. You can get these anywhere, the dollar store, target, etc.
-Distilled White Vinegar
-Dish Soap
-Lavender and Tea Tree essential oil.

Once you have gathered up all your ingredients, fill up your spray bottle with water.  I use a 1 to 4 ratio of water and vinegar.  That means if you have 4 cups of water, you put in 1 cup of vinegar.  Then I add the dish soap.  I just eye balled it, it was probably a half a tablespoon worth, I don't like mine very sudsy.  Then I added the esstential oils.   Probably 10 drops of Tea Tree oil and 5 of Lavender.  Gently mix it up and viola you have Homemade All Purpose Spray! 

Next up, I am going to try and make Homemade Laundry Soap.  It will end up costing me 1 penny a load!

2 Minute Mama Yoga

Got two minutes?

Good! Do some yoga!

Full hour yoga classes are very few and far between these days. In truth, I have been to one, count em, one yoga class since I was pregnant. BUT I try and do yoga in small snippets whenever I can.


I like this little routine because its super fast and effective in relieving any tight back muscles.  It's basically a standing variation of down dog, cat/cow and cobra, which makes it a great routine if you are pregnant too!

First, start by holding on to the back of your couch, or table, or counter, or whatever the hell you want-as long as it can really hold your weight. Then bend your knees and put your weight into your heels, and move your bottom away from the couch, giving your shoulders a nice stretch, and warming up your back and legs.  Sky, the healthy doggie, likes to participate in yoga time too.

Then straighten your legs and press your chest towards the floor and your shoulder blades together. 

This is a modified Down Dog. Your feet should be hip distance apart. The more you drop your chest down, the deeper the stretch will be.  Make sure your back is flat.  You can experiment with the intensity of the stretch based on how far away your feet are from the couch.  The more you move them away, the deeper the stretch will be in your calves. 

And make sure you are breathing!  As long as you are breathing you are doing yoga, no matter what your body looks like in the pose.

The next pose is a nice side stretch and stretch for your spine, such a great stretch if you have a tendency to carry your baby on your hip. You are making a C shape, or a crescent shape, with your upper body. Stretch on one side and then the other. Use the the couch and the floor for resistance to get a deeper stretch.

Next is cat/cow. The picture above is of cat pose, its called that, because you arch your back up like a scared cat. Tuck your pelvis under and move your chin to your chest. Again, use the couch and the floor as resistance. You should feel a stretch all down your spine and in between your shoulder blades.

For cow you keep your hands on the couch (or you can put them on your knees) like you have been and bring your pelvis to the couch, so your hip bones are touching the couch. Your legs are pretty straight, but can have a bend in them if that is more comfortable for you. Your elbows are bent and your shoulders are down, rolled away from your ears. You are looking up at the ceiling. This is a great stretch to open up your chest and shoulders.

Now go do some yoga!

Big Switch Update: Part 2

Tomorrow is the big day!  I am super nervous but hoping for the best.  A couple of days ago, I got my scoby in the mail to make my homemade Kombucha (tute coming soon, once I get the hang of it) and in the little box was a card that said nothing on it, except: Expect Miracles.  It really got me thinking about my mindset going into this.  Up until I saw that card, I was pretty doubtful that the Big Switch was going work.  As I reflected a bit on this, I realized that I was feeling doubtful because I was trying to keep my hopes in check.  My effort to keep my hopes in check is about me not wanting to get hurt if this doesn't work out the way I hope.

Whenever I get excited about something my husband is always the first one to rain on my parade (as I see it) and give a me a list of reasons why whatever I am excited about is a not exactly a good idea or how it may not work out. Granted, he is usually doing it out of love.  He doesn't want me to get my hopes up about anything and in turn get my feelings hurt if it doesn't work out.  He also likes to say that he is a realist and that he is not thinking negatively, only realistically.    He also does not believe that your thoughts attract your reality. Which of course, I am a huge believer in.  I believe that what you think about is what you attract.   For example, if you keep saying to yourself how broke you are, or how you can't afford this or that...you get more broke and not being able to afford stuff from the universe.  Whereas, if you think, "things are looking up!  Soon I will be able to afford that!  I can't wait till I can afford it!  And you picture yourself being able to buy it, etc.  I think you are much more likely to actually accomplish your goal of not being broke.

So long story short, I was not being my usual positive thinking self, because I was trying to be a "realist" and not get hurt.  Then I decided that I am going to risk getting hurt.  I am going to 100% commit to the possibility of Penelope figuring out how to transfer more milk when she nurses and what it would be like to be free from pumping.  I am going to jump off the ledge and dive in and not care if I get hurt.  I am going to Expect Miracles.

Its kinda like how in labor, when you get to that point, where your only option is to move forward.  You no longer care how much you are going to get hurt (physically or emotionally).  You have to 100% commit and dive in, in order to meet your baby.

So, the Big Switch is tommorow.  Here's a little update since the last one:

-We went to her Pediatrican yesterday, to have him look at a little spot of ezcema on her hand.  I also asked him his opinion on my idea to quit bottles cold turkey and to gently force her to get more milk straight from the tap.  I mentioned I would be willing to starve her out for two days.  He laughed and said look at her! She is 22 pounds!  She's got plenty in reserve and she may not be hungry enough after two days.  I would do 5.  5?! I say. Really?  I respect her Dr very much so I am going to heed his advice, but not entirely, we are doing to do 4 days instead of 5.  That means 4 days of only solid food and nursing from me.  Right now she gets between 15 and 20 ounces of EBM in a bottle.  This is the part that I am very nervous about.  I really hope she figures it out quick and doesn't loose any weight, even though she is chub and has plenty in reserves.

-I made her a picture book of all her nursing pictures.  She seems to really like it.  We read it and her other two nursing animals books several times a day.

-Tonight we are going to do a good bye ceremony for her bottles.  I am not sure exactly what I am going to do, but I am going to give her an opportunity to say goodbye.

-We rented the scale yesterday and I am in the process today of weighing her to see how much she is taking in while she comfort nurses.  You can use the scale on a baby up to 24 pounds, but let me tell you, it is very difficult to make a 10 month sit still on the damn thing long enough to get an accurate reading.

-I am still praying hard.  If you have been too, thank you so much.  Tommororw is the big day!  For the next four days we are hunkering down and getting down to business.  So keep us in your prayers and thoughts!

No More Toilet Paper

I figured if I am washing cloth diapers and wipes, cloth napkins, cloth place mats, cloth dish rags (instead of paper towels), whats a little more cloth wipes?

I am constantly trying to be a better person, mother, wife, and I am always trying to be more "green" and reduce my natural urge to be over consumptive and have lots of shiny new things.

It's very easy to not do something different, well, because its different. I am not sure when toilet paper was invented, but its probably within the last hundred years. Kind of like air conditioning.  People act like we have always had it, but hello, it wasn't until the late sixties, early seventies that people even started to have it in their homes and cars! So people (my husband) act like using anything but toilet paper, and paper towels for that matter, is absolute insanity. He literally stormed out of the room in a huff when I said I wanted to switch to cloth wipes instead of buying toilet paper.

I don't get it. I thought he might like the idea of soft flannel on his bum, especially since he doesn't have to do ANY laundry, EVER. What does he care?

But the idea of change is so uncomfortable for some people that they immediately knock it down without giving it a genuine moment of reflection. So in the end we compromised. Sort of. Currently, I am the only adult in the house using the cloth wipes and only for pee. He says he is even "greener" than me and "shakes" when he pees-sorry if that is TMI but not sure how else to say it!

So here's how it works:

I have a little metal trashcan in the hall bath next to the toilet and a stack of wipes on the back of the toilet. I use two cloth wipes each time I pee and just throw them in the can. In our master bedroom bath, we have our cloth diaper pail in there, so when I use the bathroom there, I just throw the wipes in pail. When I do a load of cloth diapers, I throw in my cloth wipes in with diapers and wash like normal. Easy PEEsy.

Since, I am trying not to buy new things unless absolutely necessary, to save money and again, to reduce my consumptive nature. I cut up some flannel receiving blankets from when Penelope was a newborn ( I still have plenty for posterity, don't worry). I used one of her Bum Genius wipes as a size template and cut them up using pinking sheers, so the sides didn't fray. If you are a better sewer than I, you could do a zig zag stitch over the edge, sort of like a rolled hem.

So do you think I am nuts? Would you ever dare to use cloth wipes in your household?

Mod Podge Fun!

This is my first attempt at Mod Podge! If you don't look too close it came out pretty good. I am practicing for Penelope's 1st Birthday party. I am going to Mod Podge some vases, like the one in the tutorial below, for decoration for her party.






















I reused a couple of bins of Seventh Generation wipes a long time ago and I use them for storage by her changing pad. They are the perfect size to hold knick-knacks. One holds all her hair bows and the other holds her wipe spray, diaper wipe cream, etc.  I had some fabric left over from her diaper cover I made, so I thought I might pretty up her bins with it!

Modpodge is simple enough, you just have to sort of get used to moving the fabric with the glue to get it all smoothed out. You put a coat of Mod Podge on whatever you using, and then put the fabric on top. Then you let it dry and put an additional coat on the fabric to seal it. Here is a good tutorial for more details.

Send Me Your Pictures!

A few weeks ago on a Friday Link Love post I mentioned that I would love to see some your pictures of you and your babe doing yoga! I have seen a couple trickle in but I would love to see more!

Also, if you have been inspired to do a Recycle, Reuse, Refashion of your own, send those pics to me as well. 

You can send them to info at mamaandbabylove dot com or stephanie dot brandt dot love at gmail dot com.

So send them and I will do a show and tell!  Can't wait to see them!

:)

Big Switch Update: Part 1

 In my inbox this morning was a post from a fantastic mindful parenting blog I like.  The first sentence of the post is this:

"A child's flow is a powerful force, like the traffic on a highway."

The words that struck me were "powerful."  One of the reasons I am drawn to Attachment Parenting is that it aims to teach parents how to interact with children with true respect.  My needs are equally important as my daughter's needs are.  I have no desire to force my power over my daughter.  She is powerful and perfect just as she is and I try very hard to listen to her and respect her needs AND wants.

The post came in a timely manner, because this weekend I attempted to use the Lact Aid with Penelope and it has me deeply questioning whether I am going with my daughter's flow or if I am trying to force my power over her.

The Lact-Aid is a bag of milk that hangs around your neck, with a piece of tubing that comes out the top.  You put the tube on your nipple and then latch baby on.  They get milk from you AND the Lact Aid.  Its similar to Medela's Supplemental Nursing System or SNS, but its engineered differently so the way the milk flows and the vacuum/suction works is different.  Because of this I had heard a lot of women who find success with the Lact-Aid system even after the SNS failed them, like it failed us.    I wish I had heard about the Lact-Aid when Penelope was  tiny baby and also when she first started comfort nursing at 5 months.  Things might have been different.  Sigh. 

She had a really hard time this weekend with the Lact-Aid.  She varied from simply turning her head away from my nipple and wanting nothing to do it, to being completely distracted by the bag and tubing and playing with it, to screaming hysterically like I was poking her with a hot torch.  The crying is what really got me thinking: "What am I doing!?!"  Why am I am trying to do something she clearly does not want to do?  I would never force her to do something in other parts of our life, so why is  it OK to try and force her to use the Lact-Aid?  Does the benefits of 100% nursing somehow trump all my parenting values?  I don't think so.  It seems like forcing her to use the Lact-Aid is a step in the wrong direction.  She gets everything she needs now already, 100% breastmilk from me because of pumping and all the comfort she needs from comfort nursing.  I am trying to quit bottles and go to full time nursing, purely for myself and my needs of wanting to stop pumping.

When I spoke the owner on the phone (which by the way, he was wonderful and kind), he told me to patient and that its a process, especially with an older baby.  But it just feels wrong.  He gave me some tips, like to try and cover the Lact Aid with a scarf (what a joke) and to try and slip in the tubing when she was drowsy/asleep, which I did and even when she was asleep, sliping in the tubing woke her up and made her cry.  Once she was totally asleep I was able to get it in, without waking her up, but by that point she was, well, asleep and not sucking very much at all, so what is the damn point to have the tubing in her mouth is she is not sucking!

Parts of me wonder if I am giving up on the Lact Aid too soon.  Having her turn away from me and not want to latch on, or to cry, brought back so many feelings of rejection from when she was a tiny baby and wouldn't nurse.  Even though I know it was not personal, and she physically could not latch and nurse, it was still very painful to have breasts FULL of milk and have my baby to turn away or cry.  So parts of me wonder if I am giving up because I can't handle the rejection anymore.

Other Big Switch updates:

• The sippy cups still have not arrived!  
• Increasing solids is going good.  The girl really likes eggs, meat and fruit! 
• Its been three nights with no night time bottle and that is going ok.  She is waking up a lot more, but I think it has more to do with her developmental stage...she just started WALKING!!   
• We have been watching lots of YouTube videos of baby's her age nursing and reading the book Mama's Milk.  It is such a cute book!
• I am also going to do some more research about renting a scale again to see if it works with an older baby like her, who is 22 pounds by the way!  

So what do you guys think?  Go with my gut or am I giving up too soon on the Lact Aid?

Friday Link Love: 9.9.10

Penelope has been wearing an amber teething necklace since she was 4.5 months old.  Its suppossed to help with teething pain.  How much it is helping I don't really know.  We rely heavily on Hyland's Teething Tablets and Tylenol on the worst days.  Apparently, the lighter the shade of amber, the more healing properties it has, so I am thinking about getting her another one.  Because after last night and Miss P, crying unconsably from 2-4a, we need to bring out the big guns.  Maybe I will start having her wear her necklace AND this anklet!  How freaking cute are these?!?

Want to get in shape after baby?  If you are local Tallahasseean there is a new workout series in town at Good Friends Fitness.  It looks awesome, check it out!

Did you know that even organic canned foods have BPA in them (including organic formula cans!)  I learned this from Sarah, at the Healthy Home Economist blog.  I love this blog!  I feel like I have something from hers in my Link Love every week.  Save me some effort, and go ahead a subscribe, its so worth it!

Here is another great blog post of hers about giving babies cod liver oil.  See what I mean?   She will blow your mind with the information on her blog.  If you think you eat healthy, and your baby eats healthy, you might want to think again and check out her site!!

This week I ordered some sippy cups (BPA free of course) for Penelope as part of our game plan for the Big Switch.  This is the kind I ended up ordering.  Hope they get here soon!



This is a cup I want to get when Penelope is older.  I LOVE that you can use an 8 oz canning jar with the lid and sleeve. Genius!



P.S. If you are in need of sippy cups and like these, please buy through these links and send a few pennies my way!

Homemade Growth Chart

 

Isn't it pretty? I am so freaking proud of myself for this one.  I didn't use or see a tutorial online, so I just made it up in my head and went with it.  I did get inspiration to do in the first place from Etsy, but then I just kind of looked at it figured it out in my head how to do it! 

 

First, put baby on the floor to play happily, so you can get down to bidnez. Isn't her outfit ridiculous? It's so over-the-top cuteness, but I love it.  It has a matching beret hat, but it was just too much.

Then cut out your fabric, in a long rectangle. I didn't write down what my measurements were, and I am too lazy to go upstairs and measure it for you all, so just go with your gut.  I made it so you have to hang it 2 feet up from the ground and the chart goes to 6 feet total.  Pin the two pieces of fabric right sides facing.  Then sew all around the edges, but leave a hole to turn it inside out, as if you were making a pillow.

Then I cut out the straps to hang the growth chart, again I don't have measurements for you, sorry.  Just use your eye. Both if you want. :)  For these you cut out rectangular strips again, and fold them down the midline, right sides facing.  Sew a long the long edge, leaving the ends open. Then turn them inside out. You can use this tuturial as a good example.

    

To sew the straps, I just inserted them into my hole (that's what she said...sorry couldn't resist a "that's what she said joke!), I mentioned above to be able to turn the growth chart inside out, and pined in place.  You could also do it like I did here, when I made the Crinkly Baby Toy.  I looped them over the hanger and lined them up nice and even (or so I thought-shesh you can even see it in the picture that they are laying on a slope) before pinning them in place.

Then I sewed a top stich all the way around.

Isn't the fabric beautimus?  I had enough left over to make this dress for P.

 

Then came the fun part. Not.  See all those little lines. I sewed them all.  I did a zig zag stich and went over each twice to make them each a darker, thicker line. It. Took. Forever.  First, I used a ruler to measure the distance make out the lines with a pencil. 

Then I made little flowers with covered buttons to be markers for each foot.  I had intentions of hand embroidering the numbers in the center, but I got so burnt out from the sewing the lines and just wanted to get the damn thing finished, that I just took a brown sharpee and wrote the number in. From a distance it looks fine, but up close the marker bled a bit into the fabric.  

And p.s I made the dress P is wearing.  And this is my new hair cut!

ABC's of Yoga for Kids

This is kinda a lazy yoga tutorial, but its been a crazy busy week so far, and today I am keeping a friends baby, who is about the same age as Penelope.  Let's just say, I am really glad I don't have twins!

Here is a great site that a friend posted on her facebook page this week.  It's a book, that shows pictures of kids doing yoga poses.  They are all animal related and it looks super cute!  I will have to add this to my wish list for Penelope.

They even have a coloring book and poster.

And they offer a couple of free downloadable coloring pages that are just adorable.

On a side note, Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes start up TOMMOROW.  I am so excited!  Hope to see you there!

Can You Teach an Older Baby to Nurse?

I have always held onto the dream that it is possible and that I would get to exclusively nurse Penelope one day.  I dream of not having to pump of course, and the freedom that it would give us, but I also dream of having a true nursing relationship.  I am thrilled and very thankful  for the nursing experiences I have been given, but I want more.   I have it in my head, that if I can teach a older baby to do yoga and go poo on the potty on their own, I can damn well teach an older baby to nurse.  I feel like Penelope is getting to that stage.  I feel like she is almost ready.  By ready, I am not sure exactly, but I feel like this moment I have been waiting for, her whole life, is getting closer.  When she nurses, I say things like "do you want milk from mama?"  When I offer her a bottle, I say "do you want milk from your bubba?"  When I feel her sucking harder or make swallowing sounds, I say "Yay, Penelope!  That's a good girl, get that Mama milk, you can do it!!"  She is beginning to comprehend.  She also eating more and more solids each day and she is drinking slightly less milk in a 24 hour period now too.

I am apart of an online support group for women who have had to exclusively pump and not by choice.  Of the almost 500 women on the group, only two (that I know of) have had success getting their babies to 100% nurse full time.  One mom got her baby to fully nurse at 4 months after the babies third frenotomy and one got her 12 month old to exclusively nurse after stopping the bottle cold turkey and switching to sippy cups and the result was the baby wanted to nurse more than use a sippy cup.  Both babies were comfort nursers like Penelope before they went to exclusive nursing.

I have found as much information as I think I can published online, but I would love to see if there are any other mother's out there that have gotten their older babies, specifically ones around Penelope's age (she is almost 10 months) to exclusively nurse after bad starts, pumping and baby being able to comfort nurse.  I have also looked up information on women who adopt an older baby and get them to nurse, and toddlers who re learn how to nurse once baby number 2 comes along and they want to nurse again after they have weaned, but still would love more detailed information from personal accounts.

So here's some information about our situation and the questions I have:

I have talked about my nursing woes and successes here a couple of times.  I am still not ready to tell the detailed story, because like I mentioned in my birth story, this story is not over yet and not ready to be told.  I am still in the thick of our breastfeeding journey.  The short version of the beginnings of our story is that Penelope had severe tongue tie.  The first frenotomy at day 6, did nothing to free her tongue.  Finally, at 8 weeks, I went with my gut and got a second opinion and we did in fact need  a second, much deeper, frenotomy.  She also had TMJ from her Atlas vertebrae being out.  It caused her muscles on the right side of her jaw and neck to be so tight they would spasm and they caused her pain.  She could hardly move her jaw enough to open her mouth wide enough, and then she couldn't drop it down to create the proper suction movement.  On top of both those things, I have flat nipples.  I also think there might have been some issues with her palate being on the smallish side and my nipples being on the biggish side.

Finally, after taking her to 5 million different appointments and trying every breastfeeding contraption and trick known to man, AND spending a small fortune, I was finally able to get her to comfort nurse the day before she turned 5 months old. She nurses to sleep and if she is fussy and wants a little comfort.  I am basically a human pacifier. But to eat, to really get a full feeding, she wants her bottle. Or as we call it, her bubba.

Lately, I have been feeling like something needs to change.  Maybe its because Fall is in the air.  I don't know. Or maybe, like I mentioned before, I just am starting to realize that Penelope is ready to try.  Mostly, I think its because I am so. damn. tired. of. pumping.  Maybe my urge to quit pumping is the signal she is ready.   My original goal was to pump for 12 months.  To try to follow the World Health Organization guidelines for breastfeeding as best I could.  Soon after that, I decided I wanted to pump for 2 or 3 years, because if I was exclusively nursing Penelope, we would do child led weaning and would probably nurse for at least that long.  I am pretty damn close to my original goal.  Only two more months to go.  If I have pumped for 10 months, I can certainly last two more months.

Right now, I pump two times a day. Not bad you say? Yeah, well, each pump session is over an hour.  The mid day one really is not that bad.  It's during her nap and now a days her first nap is an hour and half to two hours, so I have some time to get things done after the pump session.  It's the night time one that is killing me.  Penelope goes to bed late, and that is not the problem, it actually works for us, because she usually sleeps late too.  So I put her to bed about 9:30 or 10p.  It usually takes about 10 to 20 minutes to get her to fall asleep by nursing. By the time she is good and asleep, I could easily fall asleep myself.  But instead, I have to force myself to get up and go pump for over a damn hour.  Then make bottles.  Then clean bottles. Then wind down all over again.  By the time I am just about to drift to sleep, she wakes up for night time wake up #1.


My specific questions are this:

1.  If I quit the bottle cold turkey, how long do you think I could go without starving/traumatizing her before I re introducing milk in a sippy cup. The plan would be to quit the bottle and only offer the breast for a day or two, trying to communicate to her that if she wants milk, she has no other option than to get it from me.  I will try the SNS again when we quit the bottle to see if it helps, but it has never helped us in the past.

2. Is there anything I can do to teach her how to be a more efficient nurser and suck harder?  I already give her praise, massage/tickle her jaw, tug on my nipple as if I am about to pull it out to get her attention and pull it back in, and do compressions to squirt milk in her mouth to get her to get going more or have more interest.

3.  Check out my "game plan" to get her ready for the Big Switch, let me know if there is anything else I should add.

GAME PLAN:

1. Start introducing more solids.  As of now, she eats a handful of blueberries and half a piece of bacon for breakfast, nothing for lunch or snacks, and then at dinner she gets one egg yolk, and pieces of whatever we are eating-usually mixture of meat, veggies and fruit.  The total of the evening food is only about a handful or two at most.  I already started this today and added another full egg yolk for breakfast.  I will also give her some fruit throughout the day for snacks.

2. Get her back to cuddling in a nursing position when she gets her bottle. Up until a few months I ago, I held her in a cradle position and had her rest her check on my boob (also called bottle nursing), to mimic breastfeeding as much as possible.  I had gotten really lazy about this in the last two months.  Penelope had gotten so active and mobile that she didn't want to sit still long enough to get her bottle.  She would much rather play than eat.  She hasn't gained a pound since she was 6 months old (she is 21 pounds then and now), so I started to get a bit worried and decided that getting milk in her body was more important than her getting the skin to skin and being in a cradle position with her head on my boob.  We also get lots of skin to skin from nursing to sleep and baby wearing, so I didn't think she was being deprived.  So we started having her sit in my lap, in a reclined position, but her head facing out so she can still look around and do her dance/kick routine.  She was more willing to sit and get her bottle this way.  Then she started wanting to sit up or stand up and have her milk, and I let her do that too, again, because I was more concerned about getting milk in her.  But now that she is eating more solids, I think this is a good first move.  If she wants milk, she has to be in my lap, no question about it.

3. Offer her the breast more.  I do this a lot already, but I need to do more consistently before I offer the bottle.

4.  Maybe start putting the SNS on, while we nurse to sleep. Getting her to take in more milk while nursing to sleep, and thus needing less from the bottle to begin with before we even make the switch.   I wonder if she would more readily accept it when she is sleepy?

5.  Get rid of the nighttime bottle.  I have already started doing this too.  We are down to 2.5 ounces in the bottle.  I have been giving her a bottle at night this whole time, even though she would nurse at night, because I wanted to give her a full feeding at least once at night in hopes that it would help her sleep longer stretches.

6. Wait for the sippy cups to arrive.  I ordered this one.  If the Big Switch fails and she is starving and miserable, then I am going to reintroduce sippy cups for milk, no more bottles ever.  The reason I am using these types of sippy cups is because they are BPA and Phalate free and one of the lactation consultants we have worked with told me to use a sippy cup with a straw because the negative pressure sucking a straw is similar enough to the negative pressure sucking while breastfeeding and it might actually make her more of an efficient sucker now that she is older.  Also, if the Big Switch fails at 10 months, I will try again later in a few months.

7.  When I do the Big Switch, I am going to dedicate a few days to doing nothing but hang around the house with her, so that I can offer the breast as much as possible.  I will also be topless most of the day.  Penelope always comfort nurses in the bath with me.  As soon as I am naked and she sees my boobs, she opens her mouth and makes a dive bomb for them!

8.  Once the Big Switch has started, I am going to cut each pump session by 15 minutes or so, leaving me a bit more fuller for her.  If it goes well, I will continue to wean myself from the pump in 15 minute intervals.

9.  I will try the SNS at all regular bottle feeding times, in hopes that the milk will flow faster for her to keep her nursing for a full feeding.  In the past, this has never worked for us, she either can't transfer enough milk even with the SNS, or it tickles her mouth and annoys her and she wants nothing to do it.

10. During the Big Switch, give her lots of attention, skin to skin and praise.  Giving up the bottle, the thing that has given her milk and comfort since she was 2.5 weeks old could be pretty traumatic.  Even though its going to be a little traumatic, I really feel that going cold turkey is the only way to get some success.  I feel like when we gave  up the paci cold turkey when she was 3 months old (I gave her one at 4 weeks when I felt like nursing had been shot to shit), it was a big piece of the puzzle that helped open the door for her to latch on to me.

11.  I will give her more water from her water bottle to keep her hydrated.  And closely monitor her pee and poo output.

12.  Spend lots of time visualizing success.  I am big believer in the Law of Attraction.  I need to visualize me putting the pump away, or Hanging Up The Horns as we exclusive pumpers say.  I need to see the milk flowly freely and in large quantities from my breast into her mouth and belly.  I need to picture myself putting away the bottles and pump parts and see myself nursing her in public or at home, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

13.  Lots and lots of praying.  I have been doing this every day for her entire life.  Every day, I pray: "Please dear God, if its your will, help Penelope figure out how to transfer more milk so I can exclusively nurse her and be free from pumping."  

And on that note, if you pray, please pray for us.   To get her to 100% nurse to get the milk she needs at this age, is going to be a full on miracle.

Thank you for taking the time to read this entire post and thank you in advance for any advice you have for us.

Friday Link Love 9.3.10

This is a great company that produces toothbrush and other things from recycled plastic.  FYI, if you are local, you can buy the toothbrushes at New Leaf Market.

Fantastic site if you are teaching your child sign language, but need to teach yourself first!  It has video explanations of how to sign the word.

Have you seen the new edition of Rhythm of the Home?  I have an article in it, titled Moroccan Baby Wearing.  Peter and I traveled there in August of 2008, it was such an amazing trip!


Interesting article about the benefits of vernix on a newborn baby.  You are not suppossed to wipe it off!  I am curious to the effects of a waterbirth on the vernix.  We never wiped Penelope off, but she came out so clean because she was born in water!

AMAZING video on YouTube called the Story of Stuff.  I posted this on the Facebook page last week but forgot to include it in the Link Love. So here it is!  It's 20 minutes but totally worth it.  Hope it makes you stop and think.

And lastly, not a link, but a request!  Have you been doing yoga with your baby and toddler?  Send me your pictures!  I would love to share them on the blog and inspire other parents to get started with their home yoga practice.  You can email them to me at Info (at) MamaAndBabyLove (dot) com.  Can't wait to see them!

Recycle, Reuse Refasion III

This is a beloved dress from my college years, more exactly, my hippy college years. Who am I kidding, I am still a hippy, but I just dress more preppy now.

And since I would not be caught wearing this dress anytime soon, but it has such a pretty print, I decided to cut it up and refashion it!





















First I made this little top for Penelope. It's the same basic idea of a pillow case dress, but I cut it short to be a top and only did the front to make it a halter.
To gather the back, I just did two darts. You could probably also do elastic or a basting stitch.





























Then I made myself a head scarf. Which I can't use anymore now that I have chopped off all my hair.  Well, maybe I could. I guess people with short hair can still wear scarfs in their hair, I will have to try!
















I also attempted to make myself a shirt, similar to the Snappy Baby Dress I made, but I sewed the yoke together instead of doing two pieces with snaps. I used a shirt I have in the same style and tried to make a pattern from it. I did well on the actually assembly of the shirt, but I got the sizing wrong. The armholes are too short and it doesn't fit my boobs. Oh well, I am sure I can figure out how to save it and turn it into a dress for Miss P.

Tot Yoga: Warrior!

This is the tot pose for Warrior. This pose is so much fun once baby can stand! They don't have to be able to stand by themselves, just be able to stand while holding onto something. They love it!

First to get them to come over to the wall. Try to let them crawl over or walk over themselves. You can stand facing the wall and pat your hands on the wall to get their attention. To get them to comprehend this pose, you do it to give them a visual. Stand facing the wall, with the palms of your hands touching the wall, then lift one leg up behind you and say Warrior! Don't lift your leg too high, just below knee height, similar to what they will actually be able to physically accomplish.

If they don't pull up by themselves you can try and place them in a standing position. Then lift one of their legs up and say "Warrior!!" "Yay! You are doing Warrior!" "Good job!"
Then lift their other leg up and repeat the praise.

When they crawl or walk over to the wall, give them praise. When they pull up and put their hands on the wall, give them praise. When you or they lift their leg, give them lots of praise! Don't expect them to be able to do it right away, most times its takes them seeing you do it and having you help them several times before they can do it on their own.

Here is a quick little video of Penelope doing Warrior. Her first in fact!
Sorry it's not right side up, I have no idea what the hell made it come out like that. I swear, the second I think I have all this online, web, blogging stuff under control, something else pops up I need to learn. Stay tuned folks, I'll get it together one day. ;)


Just FYI, most of the baby yoga poses I post, I learned at my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training. The founder and creator, Helen Garabedian, has a great book and dvds that you can purchase to help your home practice. Or you can go to her website and try and find a class near you!