Time to Train????

After our recent health scare of our youngest baby, who is now approaching 22 months. I have no desire to watch her grow up too fast. Besides I'm addicted to cloth diapers, really addicted and I'm pretty sure no new babies are in the near future. So when my gorgeous baby ran up to me the other day and said "bum, bum" and when I checked.... she was having a BM. I had a mild panic attack.

I was at my sissies having coffee, and she always has many Ikea potties on hand  (with three kiddies, three and under it is necessary to have potties every where). So we put my babe on the potty. I felt an ache in my heart thinking the times of the lie down and playful wiping and changing are rushing away, and soon I will hear the familiar call down the hallway "mom, I'm done, come wipe  my bum". I wont be able to put it off for a few minutes when it is more convenient for me.

Toilet training is demanding and time consuming. I knew it was coming. I had no plans with my third to be proactive though, My goal was by the time she was three we would have the task virtually mastered. Funny how things change over the years. My first was a potty star at 18 months. My second trained herself when she was two in our summer cottage outhouse. But with our third I'm not going to have the convenience of summer dresses and green lawns to catch the accidents, We are in the heart of winter it is wet and cold and we are always dressed in layers.

My question or questions is, is it okay to postpone training, or should I definitely follow the cues of my child? I would love to hear what you think

My last 1 year old gives me a gift

I have a tonne of unpublished posts, this blog is like my little life record book. I write now for a lot of different sites but this is where I publish or don't, excerpts about our life.

One of these unpublished post is about the health struggles we have had with Tinsley this year. I cannot bring myself to publish it, the feelings are still to close and I feel the intensity of the fear that gripped me during those months.

In the post it tells of unusual incidents, miracles and odd coincidences that all led to saving Tinsleys life. Tonight on the eve of her turning two I read an amazing story, called "Heaven is for real". It is about a young boys brush with death and heaven. This story accurately describes the feelings I had when I realized my prayers were just answered.

Earlier tonight when I was milking the last day of having a one year old. I sat smelling her hair thinking how lucky I was to have her. How close we came to the edge.

Sometimes we get into the grind of chauffeuring kids here and there, getting them into a lot of activities.  Brushing their hair a little to hard, just to get it over with. Rushing them out the door or car. Being annoyed at their art work on our walls. This list could go on and on.

But tonight, sitting there smelling my precious daughters hair, realizing she is going to be a "terrible two". I made a promise to myself and it will be a gift to  my children.

• I will take my time, I will show kindness and patience, it is what I would want to see reflected back. 

• Not to care about the artwork on freshly painted walls. If I lost my girls tomorrow their drawings would be rare pieces of cherished artwork. Instead of instantly scrubbing it off, I will snap pictures. In a year it will be a fond memory.

• I have never being a super scheduled mommy but I will schedule  for quality "at home" time. 

• I have three daughters, brushing and styling hair is a fun task and I'm going to treat it that way or not do it!

If the worse were to happen, I don't want to remember pulling hair or getting to the pool ontime. I want to remember quiet moments smelling their messy hair.

And my children will grow up with memories of messy hair and a kind loving mom... who smelled them alot.

To diaper a newborn.

Finding the right diaper for a newborn is a very challenging task. If your like me and like to experiment with many different types, it can be a little daunting to know all these new born diapers only last two to three months, before they outgrow them into real size diapers.

My last newborn was 6  pounds at her lowest weight. I want you to imagine that tiny baby with a very well made Rump-a-rooz or Mother-ease one size diaper. The diapers were lovely, but large on my baby. She was to say the least pear shaped and the diaper often started inches under her armpits. Even at 8 lbs they were too large looking to fit under her clothes. A job I did not relish was putting her in a trendy Gap outfit, the pants were definitely not designed to go over her cloth wrapped tushy!

This is where I knew I needed a trimmer diaper, even if it were just one or two to have on hand for when we were going out. The big dipes could be used for at home under sleepers.

A friend had dropped of some Nikki covers and some pre-folds. The covers were very small and trim, even the mediums were tiny. I liked the Nikki design they had really nice gussets and a mesh lining that kept the cover smelling fresh so it could be used more then once. But the pre-folds were still quite bulky. I looked on-line for forums to help solve my dilemma. I knew I couldn't be the only momma unable to squish her baby into the cute clothes gifted to us.

I found links to many inserts, but most had to be folded down for the newborn size. I found and ordered newborn inserts, but shipping would be two weeks. I was hoping for a instant solution. 

Thankfully, a wonderful momma in Seattle posted her solution to my big butted problem. She had went to Wal-mart and bought a pack of 24 cotton facecloths for 6 dollars. She cut a piece of fleece up into  home made liners. She would take a facecloth fold it in three and cover it with a piece of fleece.

At the time I was changing my baby 8- 12 times a day and she only drank 1-2 oz at a time. I was pretty sure a terrycloth cloth would soak that up, the fleece acted as a great wick for the dampness and it protected the cloths from the mustard color stains from her BM's. The best part was it was very trim.

This solution worked great till she reached about 10 lbs. By then she was drinking 3- 4 oz, and a facecloth no longer did the trick, but my 24 pack of cloths did not go to waste. They now are now on hand as a reusable washable wipe.

This solution was cheap and easy but man oh man now that I see my friends with their newbies in lil`joeys and fuzzibunz perfect size, extra small diapers, do I feel envy. My advice would be to get one or two diapers meant specifically for your newborn. In the end you will love showing off your little one in a perfect fitting piece of fluff:)

Adventures In Babyland

This is my unsolicited review of Babyland cloth diapers.

I just finished my two week hitch of exclusive Babyland usage. They were used for nighttime, daytime, naps, and swimming. I used them on my 22 month old, and at night time my 5 year old daughter who is randomly making it through the night with out wetting!!! Yay!!

These were a online purchase from china. I had heard good reviews and wanted to try them for myself. I got them for a great deal, and I should have, almost 6 weeks for them to arrive, and the added bonus of my 20 dipes coming in two packages landed me with double duty!!

So the duty and wait time aside. The dipes looked great. I got half an order of print and half a order of solid.

These are the prints but I didn't order the new style with the second row of snaps.... read my Kawaii review to see why I'm averted to double rows!

Basic colors. The fabric is soft on the outside. It seems different the PUL I am use too.

So after two weeks here are the stats.

• One night time leak on the five year old..... my fault, I only inserted one insert because she has being doing so well and was revolting against the bulk.
• One baby night time leak.... she woke up for two bottles, and slept for almost 15 hours
• No poop leak
• No diaper rash 
• No pressure marks from being to tight.
• No stains from poops
• No awful lingering dipe smell after I didn't wash for 5 days ( this is where i fell in love with babyland)

At the same time a friend of mine also ordered Babyland, and we were sharing FB messages about how much we love them.

The prints are a hit,  hello kitty is the all time favorite here.... We are a house full of girls. The rabbit one which is the cream colour print has snowflakes on it, and the green one has kitties skating, which my girls love... it is winter. I wonder though if we will use those prints in the summer.

These made cute swim diapers, my husby takes our girls swimming once a week and he said he got many questions about where we got her swim diaper. My husband a proud cloth diaperer in public, slightly reluctant at home...teehee, would always respond "oh they are cloth diapers, they make good swimmers."

This comment would always result in FB messages (we live in a small town) about where I bought them. I have since resold 4 of my stash to other moms who although don't cloth diaper do swim and hate to spend moula on the disposable swimmers.

The fit on these was almost always perfect and only once after a restless nap did we have noticeable wing droop. With two inserts the elastics stayed snug against the leg, keeping any nap messes contained!

Babyland will soon be available here at TishToshBaby.com.

Did I just fall of the Kawaii Train?

This is my unsolicited Review of the Kawaii brand diaper.

I will be reviewing the Eco-Friendly Bamboo Minky, The Goodnight Heavy Wetter Snap version. And the Original Square Tab snap cross over.

Originally I was introduced to these dipes by my sister, who bought them directly from Kawaii's website.

The owner is really great at communication and is a fast shipper.

I love the luxury of the minky, It was definitely the diaper I put on my babe when we were headed to the doctors, or to a mom group. It is soft feeling and trim with one insert. My babe is 23 lbs, and I use it on the largest setting. It feels slightly snug around her legs and a little loose around the middle. If I tighten the waste it is too tight on her legs. It is good for about three hours with a babe who loves her bottles.

My big down side to the minky is, it stinks. It is very hard to strip the stench away. All my diapers are cleaned every two-ish days. They all basically come out smelling fresh and clean. Not my minky.  Because of this it has given up the throne of the show off diaper and now resides at the bottom of the stash, rarely getting used.

The goodnight heavy wetter. OMG this dipe is great. I will lay the ground work, I cloth diaper, a 20 month old who goes to sleep with 8 ounces of liquid in her system, she was waking up for one to two 4 oz drinks at night, and soaking through a heavy wetter disposable and the best of my cloth stash. She sleeps for 12- 14 hours and does not like to be changed in the middle of the night.

The first night I tried it, I was amazed. My sister had told me, I would like it, but i really do love it, it is soft around the leg and the inserts are thick. The baby gets up in the morning dry. The outer material is soft, and is a cute print.

Now you might have read my title " Did i just fall off the Kawaii train" The original cross over Tab is what has sent me into Kawaii retreat. I had heard of inconsistencies when I did my Kawaii research but I feel like this is extreme. I had tried this style of diaper and originally thought they were great, and cheap.

The outer material is so soft and flexible. They are easy to stuff and the inserts expel easily in the wash. You get two microfiber inserts.

The website says they fit 8-36 lbs. As I said I have a 20 month old who is 23 lbs, she wears 2 year old clothes and is exactly the right weight for her age. I ordered 12 of these dipes for my stash.

This is how i found my daughter after a three hour nap.

The picture doesn't do it justice, she screamed in pain when I wiped. I couldn't put another dipe on for hours, and she has a scar along the inside of one of her thighs from this injury.

The diaper was on the largest possible setting. I am finding it hard to believe that they would ever fit a child who is 36 lbs.

My resourcefulness discovered by using only the top row of snaps the fit along her leg is much better, but she always has painful looking snap imprints on her hips.

I cant imagine how these would have fit in her younger rollier days. I'm holding out hope that as she grows taller they might fit better.

Kawaii has some great prices for some well made diapers, If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to not buy in bulk.... like me. If a diaper doesn't work out you don't want to be stuck with a tonne of them.

things I learned in 2009

You know those facebook notes, list 25 things about you, or list of blah blah blah. well I get them read them, but I never have time to write them out. Come on I have five children running around all day, I only get to creep for a few minutes. I read this good one, "who cares about resolutions what life lessons did you learn in 2009"

This creep cost me a day of rethinking 2009. During my hectic day I found myself constantly giggling at my families antics. And this was usually while standing inline with a cashier waiting for money as im gapping out:)

So here it goes

Friends come and go. Those of you who are lucky enough to be my friend;) probably know I am all in as a friend. You can basically ask me to do anything and i will!!! Im always thinking about you and how to make your life better, how to help you out or uplift your life. I will devuldge my deepest secrets, talk about my married life, talk about premarried life (which is much funner). let you hide out in my house after you meltdown and throw macaroni at your hubbys head. I will plan and conive on how to get yours, mine or one your friends husbands back for being men. But sometime this close relationship grows apart. Im ok with this, as I am that friend who can pick up 8 years later and be just as good as we were.

Bad parenting will always come back and embarass you at inoppurtune times. Case in point, "B if you dont listen im going to get your butt with a wooden spoon" this is something I say, often I am joking. I have never spanked my child with a wooden spoon.... i dont even spank. But my parents said it to me.... they didnt spank either, and so i say it to my brats:) Well Children are sponges who never forget what you say let alone the tone you say it. So Im having a mommy playdate with new mommies and their toddlers and such, my daughter Mia can be heard over the baby monitor shrieking "if you dont give me that im going get your butt with a wooden spoon..... mortified.... mommies please close your gaping mouths.

That I am soooo done with reproducing. 4 to 5 days a week I have a 8 month old and 18 month a 2 1/2 year old a 4 year old and a 6 year old. I call the yougest my Irish triplets and they themselves r a full time job. Cloth diapering them is ridiculous, temper tantrums are outrageous, and the chronic napping is a burden and a godsend.... I love them all but full time so many younguns is like being under house arrest. So I have made the descion to send my hubby in for surgery.... Im not into being infertile, but im totally ok with him being infertile.

I have had three children exit my body... I did two virtually drug free... had some gas but what was the point. With my third My delivery was different...not as fast and furious as the other two.... more like medium and painful. By 7 centimeters I was desperate, when they talked about pain management I was like get the dr here NOW!!!!! And the next twenty minutes were me huffing pointless gas and asking how long till he gets here.... when they said he was here just had to get his jacket off... I was like no no no he can leave his coat on. they laughed. $#@% them! then they wanted to check me.... no no no I dont care if you see her face( the babies) i want drugs! The dr just gave me a spinal... it wears off in 1 1/2 hrs but it will do the trick.... I havent slept in three days. Pain free is amazing I sleep instantly for twenty minutes... I wake up and say "soph can you check me i think i need to push" I cant feel it though. She says yeah you do! Now the spinal didnt last 1 1/2 hr it lasted about 30 minutes but it was well worth it!

I cannot drink like a single lady! My best girl ended a 8 year relationship this year and to be supportive I embraced her singledom and hit the clubs. No one should drink heavily and be confronted with dirty diapers in the morning.... enough said

that breast is not best..... yeah i said it. So all you breast beasties trying to cram it down every new moms throat shut it....! Sorry but im on my third baby and I have experienced it all. Breast, bottle, soother, no soother. I am going to tell you what is best. Well there r two best, one is whatever frickin works! The other, the ultimate best is a baby who will nurse, and who loves the bottle whether its filled fill breast milk or formula. A baby who likes a soother who but who can go without. A baby who can find comfort in her mothers touch not just by chomping down on her over abused nipple. So think before you speak in certainty, you dont know if your strong opinion is hurting a mother who just couldn't do it. And to all you new moms, there will come a time when you dont want to be the only source of nutrition for your baby. and thats ok!

That I love to camp but I love a five star resort more. thats all

Husbands get more and more useless in the delivery room. Case in point. With my first he was there all the time. followed my desires with out going off course. My second he slept through most of the labour but came in for the pushing. My third he actually stood over top of me while i was in excrutiating pain reading a yachting magazine and ocassionally peeked over the top to see how i was doing. If bringing our child into the world wasnt using up every ounce of strength I had. I would have choked him.

that your parents were right when they said "wait till you have kids" "what goes around comes around" and other things like this. I admit that when we had bria and she was perfect and helpful and still is that i thought they were wrong. Im slowly learning that its the middle child to watch out for....... she is sweet and quiet and cute, and up to absolutely no good, she has the listening skills of her father....none. And the inherited desire to do it her own way.... thats from me. She has the inability to retain simple request "not to".... i think i gets translated in her brain to "you must always colour on the walls", or "you must give you baby sister peanut butter bread. " So What your parents said is true.... I hold onto this and am waiting for the time i get to say it to my kids:)

I learned to never say never. What you think you wont do today, might be neccesary to do tomorow.

I learned 7 bottles of wine in a few hours is not good for the pupils. ( yes I shared them with other people)

This is where I found this blog finished..... I guess thinking about drinking to much wine made me quit..... thankfully I can say by 2011 I learned never to drink homebrew like it was water:) Also I have learned some hard lessons since this time but I have allso learned some amazing soul lifting ones aswell. I love that life keeps moving.

Maybe cloth diapering is for you

You know you've pondered the idea, thought "I would like to wrap my babies bum in cloth instead of disposables". I'm sure you have weighed the pluses against the minuses and the reason you chose not to was the price or "too much work".

I'm not pushy about what you choose to do, in our family we use sposies and cloth, mostly cloth but we have sposies for back-up.  But I will be honest, I get pretty annoyed with people who tell me they didn't do it because it would be too much work...... In my head I think, "Uh-huh, and you know this how?"

It is almost always non cloth parents who will tell you how hard and labourous cloth diapering is, who will turn off potential fluff moms with their strong opinions. All the moms and most the dads I know who fuzz butt (cloth) their babes think its easiest thing ever. Most feel pride at showing off their fluffy bummed babes. Cloth mammas love and get addicted to the different methods, annoy their sposie friends with details on their latest addition to their fluff stash.

So Im going to give you links to online stores, group buying,  and other ways you can try cloth diapering for the cost of two months of disposable diapers. Then you can choose if it is for you on your own.

First cloth diapers are not costing the ridiculous 24 dollars a diaper anymore. (but if you do buy one for this price you cant go wrong, I love my rump a rooz and BG's) There is a lady in Richmond BC who sells Kawaii diapers for around 6.50 bucks each. Find them HERE she gives discounts for group buying and free shipping for over 70 bucks. The diapers are amazing and they are the first ones I have found that get us through our baby's 13 hour sleep. They are one size and I have tested them on a 6 month old and a 1,2,3, and 5 year old, boys and girls.

If you are an ebay shopper she has a online store where you can get them cheaper Here but ebay has an amazing assortment of cloth diapers browse them here

Most come  from over seas, and at first you might revolt against this idea, but do your research, find out where the most popular diapers are made, Lots of these diapers are made in the same same factories as the the top ten diaper brands.

So If you spend 40- 80 dollars you get yourself a nice little stash to actually try it out, to make the diapers pay for themselves you only have to use them for two months, after that you can sell them used or trade them. Try places like craigslist, facebook groups, usedeverywhere or my fave  Diaperswappers.

And for you adventuress do it your self mammas. Try wazoodle's diaper store, for the supplies to make your own. The packages are pretty well priced and you will love showing off your home-made fluff:)

I mentioned group buying. This is a real valid option where you can get a decent amount of diapering supplies for the fraction of the cost. I'm holding one now, where you get 10 diapers 2 wet bags and 20 inserts made overseas, snap closure prints and solids available. We are hoping the price will be 45- 50 dollars. Message me for pics and deets!

 The bonus of having cloth diapers is you never run out, they are good for a long long time. Our five year old still has to where a diaper at night, so thats 365 diapers a year,  her disposable cost would be 170 dollars a year. But two night time heavy wetters set us back 12.50$

I hope you choose to try:)