Moby Walks are my Favorite!

When people ask me what that ONE thing is that every new mom should have, I will usually say a Moby Wrap.  Seriously, if you're expecting, go get one.  Or something like it.  It's amazing.  Of course, I think another thing that no new mother should be without is cloth diapers, but most people disagree.

Anyway...

I just came back from a Moby Wrap walk with Bunny.  It was the first time I'd been able to do that in a L-O-N-G time! My back is almost back to normal and with it's gradual healing comes the gradual re-usage of my favorite baby accessory.  And walking without a stroller.  Bunny has grown up a little since the last time I could wear her and it was different walking with her in the Moby today.

It's windy and she loves wind.  She loves when we blow in her face too! So she intermittently pulled her face out and threw it back with her little eyes closed and her cheeks puffed out in a gummy, open-mouth smile like a puppy throwing his head out the window of a moving car.  I thought my heart would burst to see her experiencing wind for the first time with such rapture and joy!

I used the wind as an opportunity to tell her about God.
"You can't see the wind and you can't hear it, baby girl, but you know it's there because of the evidence it leaves all around you.  You can hear leaves and grass rustling and see trees moving, and feel the wind rubbing your face and that's how you know it's here.  God is the same way.  Sometimes you can't see him or hear him but you know He's there because of the great things he does."

She didn't get it yet, but one day she'll understand.

She was sightseeing today too.  When I want her to go to sleep I take the one side of the Moby and tuck her little head under it with her face sticking out.  I did that because I mistakenly thought she was the same baby who'd gone on Moby walks with me a month or two ago and thought she'd go to sleep.  But she protested, refusing to be confined and sticking her little head out and looking to one side for awhile, then the other just observing everything.  And when the wind got too strong, she burrowed her little face against my breast seeking the comfort of my nearness.

Meanwhile, I was getting back on track to losing the last 5-10 baby pounds that had been sneaking back on me while my back recovered.  Losing weight while cuddling Bunny.  What can be better!  Wearing your baby is one of the best ways to bond, in my opinion.  It's an everlasting cuddle!

And today, we enjoyed said cuddle to the sound of the trees praising their Maker and the lilacs sending up sweet aromas of worship to Him.  And He walked with us as He always does.

...and this is what happens when your wonderful SLR focuses on YOU when you set it up rather than focusing on the background...oops!!!

My T-shirt fitted diapers

I now officially have a Small, Medium, and Large pattern for my fitted diapers.  A friend of mine has the large for her baby so I don't know if it actually fits well or not yet--especially since her baby is at the very SMALL end of a large right now.  But that's okay.  The patterns have been drafted.  Now, all I need is a newborn pattern and I'll be covered!

As for an Etsy shop.... I'm working on it, guys.  I am.  I'm slowly growing my "to sell" stash.  Maybe come summer, when I'm not teaching.

Preparing for a weekend away

So, this past weekend (Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon) my husband took his youth group on a weekend retreat and Bunny and I joined him, of course, because we LOVE our Daddy/husband.
In preparation for the weekend, I bought a boatload of prefolds and flats.  I don't use disposables--ever--which is simply a choice I have made that I don't expect others to do, but since I've traveled with all pockets before and found washing them somewhat difficult away from home (due to the finicky nature of microfiber inserts) I wanted to try something new.  Something easier to wash.  Pockets are easier to wear but prefolds (and flats) are much easier to wash.   Bunny had 7 prefolds before the trip.  I bought 12 of them for $21 at Sew Crafty Baby and 12 Oso Cozy Flat diapers for $15 at Mom's Milk Boutique.   

Anyway, when the prefolds came from Sew Crafty Baby, Bunny was more than thrilled to play with them.  We like to play "where's the baby" with pieces of cloth that can be put over her head.  I put it over her face and ask, "Where's the baby?" and she pulls it off and smiles at me and I say, "There she is!" It's one of our favorite games!

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Okay, so she didn't smile for these picture, but I promise, she loves this :-D

Bunny just loves swings!

UPDATE: $15 giveaway from RG Natural Babies (CLOSED)

So, we've had around 10 entries to the amazingly generous giveaway of $15 thanks to RG Natural babies.  Those who entered spent a L-O-N-G time on a quiz that I might have made just a mite too difficult.  Those of you who haven't entered just don't have the time, and as a busy mom, I understand that.  So I'm adjusting the rules slightly.

There are now TWO ways to enter:

THE FIRST WAY:

Those who take the quiz still have TWO chances to enter and AMAZING chances at winning.  Here's why:

First Chance: If you take the quiz and you are the first person to get it the most completely correct, you will win a $15 gift certificate.

Second chance (20 entries): If you take the quiz then you can write 20 comments here telling me that "you took the quiz" and you will get a chance at ANOTHER $15 gift certificate.  In addition, you can add the other three comments that are listed below.  Some of you already did, just tell me again here.  I'll go back and publish them so you can see (I won't publish the quiz answers though)

THE SECOND WAY:

Those of you who AREN"T interested in taking the quiz because you are busy mommies and don't have enough time, you may still enter with these 3 chances

Mandatory entry:  follow my blog.  Then, tell me what you like most about RG Natural Babies.

1 entry: If you place an order at RG Natural babies between now and April 30th, comment here with the order number.  Those of you who already did so on the other post, just transfer the comment here.

1 entry:  Tweet, blog, or facebook about this giveaway and write a comment here leaving me the URL.  

So, now those of you who haven't the time to take my quiz, you still have a chance at the $15.  So go for it.  Enter.  And if you find yourself with an extra half hour--or more in the case of some--take the quiz.  You'll learn A LOT about RG Natural Babies and you will not only get 20 entries here, but you will have TWO CHANCES!!! What can be better than that, huh?

Thirsties Duo Wrap with Snaps

Well, about a week ago, the snapping Thirsties duo wrap I ordered from Diaper Junction came in.  I don't know if you remember, but with my stash cash I'd ordered it a couple of weeks ago and they'd accidentally sent me one with aplix.  They were very good about replacing it.

Well, it's here, and I like it.  Bunny does too, and the Rose looks amazing on her! Lately I've been letting myself get a girly colored diaper here and there.  I have enough diapers that I should be able to do this.  I hesitate partly because I've finally found the diapers I prefer to use and I'd like THOSE diapers to be mostly neutrals.  In diaper covers, however, I have mostly girly colors.  One green, one white, two pinks, a purple, and a bunch of girly knit wool covers.  I will go hog wild on the wool covers because I can make them for very cheap, but I really need to start getting some neutral covers.


But I digress.  Wanna see Bunny in her new diaper?  Sure you do! She's adorable :-D

I tried it on a few different settings before I found which fits.  Currently, the smallest rise setting fits, and depending on what type of diaper is underneath, sometimes the waist is at the smallest setting and sometimes not.

She wants to show you how well it matches her dress!

These are pictures I considered entering in Kelly's Closet's NINES photo contest, but ultimately decided on a better one.

Time to play outside, doing one of her favorite things--picking dandelions!

I'm VERY fond of Thirsties covers.  I'm sort of new to the Diaper cover with fitteds/prefolds/flats thing because I bought all pockets until very recently.  But of the few covers I've tried, Thirsties are my favorite.  

However, there are a couple of things that I'm not a big fan of on the new Thirsties with snaps.

1) The fit is great without them for Bunny, but crossover snaps would be wonderful

2) The flap that's normally on the inside of the front part of a Thirsties with aplix is closed up because the snaps go through both layers.

3) The snaps are VERY sturdy and sometimes when I pull them open I'm afraid I'll rip the PUL--though this hasn't happened. 


So I contacted the customer service at Thirsties and told them how much I love their product but that these are the things I would change about their snapping cover.  They said that they are working on those very things and a newer version of the Thirsties cover with snaps will eventually come out with crossover snaps and a flap that is not closed.  I'm very pleased.

In the meantime, I'm going to build on my stash of Thirsties Duo Wraps with both aplix and snaps.  Currently, I have one Thirsties cover in Medium with aplix and one Size 2 Thirsties Duo Wrap with snaps.  I just amassed more Diaper Junction stash cash to use and with it I'm planning on getting a Size 2 Thirsties Duo Wrap with aplix closure (among other things). 

Very VERY exciting!!

OH, and I was so blessed to win the $25 gift certificate from Kelly's Closet's facebook painting giveaway! I got two swim diapers with it.  Came in just under $25.  I was very VERY pleased!  I LOVE filling my stash with free stuff!  The Kelly's Closet winnings is now the third random giveaway I won.  I forgot to tell you, but a company I'm going to do a giveaway for entered me in one of their giveaways (I didn't even realize it) and I won a Bumkin's cover from them.  Bunny's butt is nicely fluffed these days. 

Anyway, I digress.

Go get yourself a Thirsties Duo Wrap.  And try the snaps! They really are cool, even if they still need a few improvements.  I'm NOT sorry I got mine!!!

Fuzzi Bunz Wonder Wipes WInner

This is so SO late and I'm so SO sorry! Life just caught up with me and with my back out for two weeks time left me behind for awhile!

In any case, early in the morning on April 16th, I went to random.org and discovered that ISHA had won my giveaway.  I promptly sent her an email and then...silly me... forgot to post the winner here!

After TWO people emailed me to remind me to do so I've finally remembered!!!

So, belated congratulations are due to Isha for winning some amazing cloth baby wipes from Wee Little Changes.

Again, I'm so sorry this took me so long.  It's really been one (well two) of those weeks. 

ANOTHER handmade wool soaker (and tutorial--sort of)

You guys must be sick of my show and tell.  I don't think of myself as a show off (even though that's probably a perfect word to describe it), I just like affirmation, I guess.  But anyway, here's a new wool soaker I made.  I wanted to take pictures along the process to give you a tutorial, but since my back was out all week, I just laid flat and knit, knit, knit.  That's why it's so detailed.  There wasn't much else I could do this week.

Okay, I'll try to give you the pattern, but keep in mind I'm a novice knitter, so forgive me if I don't say things correctly.

I'm not good at knitting patterns anyway--well, not at giving them to people.  But I'll describe the soaker briefly.  It's basically a triangle.  Here's the pattern without abbreviations because if you're like me you don't know what those abbreviations mean. Well, I'm learning but i just wish knitting patterns would spell things out for you rather than assume you know what all those letters and numbers mean!

FYI, this is not my pattern.  A friend gave it to me, photocopied from a book.  I wish I could tell you the name of the book but I keep forgetting to ask her!

Okay, here goes:

You will need size 7" needles, at least 10 inches long
100% wool yarn
A crochet hook
a tapestry needle

For embelishments:
Size 5" needles
Tapestry needle


Soaker:
(This soaker didn't seem to have a size on the pattern, but it fits my 16lb girl generously so I"m thinking it will fit about 15lbs-25 or 30lbs (M,L).  I'm not sure how many stitches you would start with for a smaller baby)
*Cast On 90 stitches.
*Right Side: Knit 2, Purl 2, repeat til last two stitches, and knit 2.
* Wrong SIde: Purl 2, knit 2, repeat til last two stitches and purl 2
* You will repeat these first two rows for about an inch.
*On the wrong side, purl 2, knit 1, yarn over, knit 1, repeat til the end, last two stitches will be purls
*Then knit 2 purl 1 purl 2 together (the yarn over and the second purl), repeat til the end of the row, ending in two knit stitches.
*Continue with the ribbing for another inch, alternating with pairs of knits and purls.  (The next row will be on the wrong side so it will be Purl 2, knit2, repeat til last two stitches, purl 2)

*When you have two inches of a ribbed waistband done including eyelets for the drawstring, you're going to start with either a garter stitch or a stockinette stitch.  I've done both and I prefer stockinette because it looks so pretty, but it is slightly more complicated and only very slightly.  Actually with this particular soaker, I created stripes by switching the stockinette stitch to the wrong side for 6 rows, then switching back.  Don't know if I'd do it again, though, because it's hard to match up the stripes in the front when you sew the triangle together)

The actual pattern calls for you to knit every stitch from now on, knitting two together at the last two stitches of every row.  This will create a garter stitch finish.  It's also very easy.

For this particular soaker I knit one row, then Knit the last two together, then purled one row and purled the last two together to create my stockinette stitch finish. It created my triangle, but the two sides of the triangle looked different--I mean, the edges of each side looked slightly different, but the triangle was nice and symmetrical and the difference is barely noticeable.

To rectify that problem, in the future I'd like to try knitting a row with a slip slip knit at the beginning and a Knit 2  together at the end, and then purling a row, and repeating til there are two stitches, but I don't know how many stitches that would leave at the end.

Are you confused yet? I hope not.  I just want to help you do this yourself if you choose. :-)

(If you want to sew embellishments onto your soaker, now is the time to do it--before you sew it up. Though, it is possible to put them on a completed soaker as well so if you forget, don't worry!)

Once you have your triangle completed, you're going to pull the two sides of the ribbed waistband together and sew them together.  Then, pull the tip of the triangle up so it touches the seam of the ribbed waistband, and sew down each side about 2-3 inches.  (2 if your little one has chunky thighs, 3 if they're skinnier)

It will look like this when sewn...well, it might look better because I'm not good at sewing my knit seams together seamlessly yet

For the drawstring, you will crochet a chain.  I crocheted two lengths of yarn together rather than just one so the drawstring would be stronger.  I like to weave the drawstring into the soaker, leaving the bow in the back so my daughter won't pull on it and possibly undo it giving her a long, dangerous piece of string to play with. 

I sort of made the pattern for the rosettes and leaves up myself.  I'll give you my best guestimate of how to make them now if you're interested.

Leaves:
1st row: Cast on 2 stiches
2nd row: Purl 2
3rd row: knit 1, make 1, knit 1, make 1, knit 1
4th row: purl 5
5th row: knit 1 make 1 knit 3 make 1 knit 1
6th row: purl 7
7th row: knit 7
8th row: purl 7
9th row: slip slip knit, knit 3, knit 2 together
10th row: Purl 5
11th row: Slip slip knit, knit 1, knit 2 together
12th row: purl 3
13th row.  Either slip slip knit and knit 1, or knit 1 then knit 2 together.
Bind off leaving a nice, long string

Weave one end of the string into the leaf, leave the other end out to sew the leave onto your soaker.  You can either sew all of the leaf on, or just the one half, giving it a more 3D look.

Rosettes:
1st Cast on 10 stitches (you can cast on less for a smaller flower, more for a larger one)
2nd Purl 10 stitches
3rd Knit 1, yarn over, repeat til last stitch, knit one
4th Purl all stitches.
5th knit 1, yarn over, repeat til last stitch, knit one
6th Purl all stitches
7th bind off.

You will be left with a ruffle.  Take the length of yarn at the top (wider end) of the ruffle, and weave it in using a tapestry needle.  Use the length of yarn at the bottom of the ruffle (smaller end) to sew it onto your soaker.
First, you'll roll the ruffle into a flower.  Then, secure it with a few stitches, forming it to the shape you desire. Then, use your tapestry needle to sew it onto the soaker, preferably next to a leaf or two.

If you have trouble with any of these steps, you can always search you tube for a video tutorial.  That's what I did when my friend wasn't readily available to help me.  I learned a lot from you tube since I'm the type of person who has to see it done rather than look at pictures in a book. 

When I was done with my soaker, it looked like this on my pretty, little girl and I was pleased :-D

 Look who's trying to learn how to crawl! I don't know who told her she could grow up so fast!  I feel like she's early, but according to Babycenter.com, 7months is right on target for crawling.  Man on man, though, I'm not ready for this!

I submitted this photo to the Earth Angels Diaper Company Photo contest on Facebook.  I'm always putting her photo contests!

Oh, Daddy! You're so wonderful!

Your nose is very interesting.  If I could only just get it in my mouth...

Bad picture quality because that's what happens when you try to use natural light for a photo that isn't well-lit naturally.  I caught her trying to crawl in her bedroom. 

And then doing push-ups! Is this normal???

I like that she's finally noticing the mural I painted in her room for her.  I worked for three months straight during the last bit of my pregnancy painting this mural for her.  It's the Parable of the Lost sheep, and yes, I did paint the correct amount of lambs on the wall.  Yikes!

Hey! It's Daddy! Time to go! I want more Daddy cuddles!

Let me know if you have any questions on how to make this.  I want to emphasize that my knitting experience is not very vast, and a lot of the time, I don't really know what I'm doing or how to explain it to some one else.  I would suggest you only ask me questions as a last resort as I'm sure you all know some expert knitter who would be much more likely to be able to help you :-D

Good luck!