Newest blankie

Personalized Shirts and Things

Here is what I have made to date.

Works in progress

Here are two thirds of each of your orders.  The stroller toys should be coming up in the next few days.  I work full time and my hubby is out of town right now, so free time is at a premium.  Hope you like what you see. (Sorry the picture is sideways.  I have no idea why it's doing that).

Fabrics and ribbons

Thank you for bidding on my auction items!  I am so glad to be able to contribute something to help Shannon's family.  Below I've posted the pictures of the items that I make.  Your items have not been made yet, so you can choose everything!  I know I said a boy and a girl package, but really, you can choose whatever you like.   Have a look at what I make, and then I'll walk you through what I need to know to get started.  If you would just like me to choose for you, that's fine too.

Paci/toy strap: giraffe

Tag Blanket: White and Black fleece, blue plaid, blue bubble, red and giraffe ribbon
Stroller toy: stripe knit and black fleece back with matching ribbon

Stroller toy: Flower and white fleece, red daisy, blue plaid, pink stripe and Queen for the day ribbon
Pink Plaid paci / toy strap
Bow holder: teal back with brown and teal centre, pink stripe accent, butterfly bottom weight.


Info I need from you

Tag Blanket: 

1.Choose one fleece and one knit, or two fleece fabrics. and however many ribbon types you want (there will be 16 tags on your blanket).

2. Tell me what initial you would like and what ribbon you would like it made with.

Stroller toy:

1. Choose one fleece and one knit, or two fleece fabrics. 

2. Choose up to 6 ribbons.

Paci clip or Bow holder:

1. Choose your ribbon(s)

If you choose the bow holder, let me know if you like the butterfly, or if there's something else you'd like to see.  I need to head to the craft store for that, so I can look for something more personalized.

 Your shipping address.  

green stars

Yellow with dots, Owls, Monkeys, Dinosaurs

Knits Top to bottom: Stripes, birds, blue/white animals, coloured animals
(I these fabrics are brand new gagou tagou receiving blankets that I just took out of the package for this picture.  Forgive the wrinkles).

Fleece: Purple flower, bears, white, purple, black

L to R: Giraffe (Very limited), pink plaid, blue plaid (sold out), red, blue flower, black flower, red flower, blue bubble(Sold out), pink stripe(Sold out), red daisy(sold out), "Queen for the day", "That's what friends are for", Brown and teal, Wide teal (bow hold only)

Black and white, Brown with teal dots, Red with white dots, Orange animal, Purple.

Sleep Training...that worked for both of us.

I'm against sleep training....sort of.

My kid doesn't sleep through the night. Well, he's done it twice in nearly 9 months.  But for the past three months, since teething started up, he's been waking up every two hours through the night.  For months I would get up with my little boy, settle into the rocking chair and nurse and soothe him back to sleep.  I would do this a few times a night.  Many people thought I was nuts, and I repeatedly heard the advice to sleep train him and it would all be over.  I couldn't do it.  I couldn't fathom the idea of putting my boy to bed walking away and letting him cry himself to sleep.  After chatting with many moms, and reading many websites about sleep training, the least traumatizing method seemed to be to put them down and let them cry, but go back periodically to soothe.  I thought about this but decided that my boy was too stubborn and it would never work.   That was until two nights ago.

It was midnight, I had just been nursing my wee lad, when I couldn't get him to go back to sleep.  He would fall asleep in my arms just to wake when I put him down in his crib.  This routine had been going on for months and I finally reached the breaking point.  I looked at my rocking chair, the place of so many awful nights of sleep and I couldn't bring myself to go back there.   I had finally reached a point where listening to him cry was easier than sleeping sitting upright.

So, we began some gentle sleep training.

Dear hubby went and got us both some ear plugs, and I went to hug and kiss my boy.  I told him that I loved him, but it was time to sleep.  I walked away...for two minutes.
After the two minutes, I went back in.  I hugged and kissed my boy.  I told him that I loved him, but it was time to sleep.  I walked away....for four minutes.

Lather, rinse, repeat..I walked away for six minutes....8 minutes...10 minutes.  

By this time, he was sweaty and upset, but losing steam.  Some time during the 10 minutes away it worked and he fell asleep.  Four hours later he was up for snack and went back to sleep just fine.  Sweet!   An hour later at 5am he was ready to start the day, but I wasn't.   Thus began round two of lather, rinse, repeat.  This time during his second stint at 10 minute away he fell asleep.

I'll admit, I was worried.  It took longer the second time to go back to sleep.  Was this not going to work?

So, last night we tried again.  8oz. bottle at 8, and went to sleep no problem.  Breastmilk snack at 11, put him down and the fun began.    Lather, rinse repeat.

I hugged and kissed my boy.  I told him that I loved him, but it was time to sleep.  I walked away...for two minutes....four minutes....then all of a sudden it was two hours later!  What?!  He put himself to sleep in 4 minutes.  Ok, it was only for two hours, but that worked, so maybe it will work again.   Two minutes....four minutes....

Suddenly it was 6am, my hubby was getting ready for work, and the little man continued to sleep for two more hours.  I even had an hour of mommy time to write this blog.

It took collectively less than an hour of crying over two nights, for me to have the best sleep i've had in three months.

It might not work for every baby, but it certainly worked for mine.

The best part?   His Applecheeks cloth diaper didn't leak a drop!  Stay tuned for my review of Applecheeks as an overnight cloth diaper.  Thanks to Dawn from Storks and Berries for recommending the diaper!

New Mama Thinks...

Why do I use cloth?

I love my cloth diapers!  I have no problems doing cloth diaper laundry two or three times a week.

Why?  It's really very simple.

It's better for the environment...better for my son's bottom, better for my wallet (most of the time), and really, they're just super cute!

I have used many different brands; Bum Genius, Fuzzibunz, Sweet Pea, Kushies, Kawaii, Motherease, Applecheeks, Rumparooz, Blueberry and Little Prints.  I will be posting a review of each type of cloth diaper, so check back often!

New Mama Thinks..

The Teething Baby Part 1 - Amber Teething Necklace

So, my kid doesn't sleep and it's taken many bleary eyed, middle of the night google searches to come up with the conclusion that his restlessness is all related to his teething.  He's drooling, chewing, cranky, restless, and doesn't want to eat (which is a whole other blog post).  So, what do I do?   Aside from just getting used to waking up every two hours through the night, and the occasional acetaminophen when he really seems to be in pain, I've resorted to two more natural options that seem questionable in their effectiveness, but if they work, fantastic!

First up is the Amber Teething Necklace.

Wearing an amber teething necklace is a traditional European remedy for teething symptoms.  The story goes that the Baltic Amber that the beads are made of, contains succinic acid that is released when the amber warmed is by the child's skin.  Succinic acid, it is said, contains healing properties that acts as an anti-inflamatory and provides pain relief. It is helps to calm a restless baby.  Necklaces are said to be effective enough that they are made in adult sizes to help combat a variety of your own aches and pains.

I purchased my boy's necklace from Marianne, at Bush Babies Baby Boutique in North Bay, when I was putting in an order, and couldn't help but keep adding to it (see my future post about Sweet Pea cloth diapers).  Marianne chose a beautiful cognac coloured necklace (see picture above) for my little boy when I was having trouble deciding which one I liked best.  It looks great on him (see left), and I get lots of compliments, even though most people think it's just an accessory.

Does it work?  I can't be 100% certain since the babe hasn't told me just how it feels to wear the necklace, and even though my baby is still restless at night (I don't have him wearing it then), he is perfectly happy during the day.  He most definitely drools less when he is wearing the necklace, and his first two teeth came in with little pomp and circumstance.  

The bottom line?   Considering that it does seem to have some effect, and is super cute, I recommend giving it a try!

New Mama thinks...