he's a boob man

I peed already... where's my parade?

2011-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Potty training. The joys.

Perhaps we are a bit ahead of the curve here, seeing as the sprout is only 18 months old. But with the whole EC thing, it just seemed like he should be potty trained. And I hate (repeat HATE) changing diapers.

About a month ago we did something I swore I would never do. We bought a child's toilet seat for our toilet. We have a potty and it's a no go. The sprout's feet touch the floor and up he gets and starts running around the bathroom. And he's getting too heavy to hold over the toilet. So I went out and bought an infant potty seat.

First of all, if you want a potty that isn't covered in some disney character smiling back at your child's ass with the words, "Way to go!!" printed on it you are shit out of luck. Well, almost. But you really have to look for the plain boring ones that scream, "I'm a cheap bastard and it's obviously going to take me 18 times as long to potty train my child because he isn't trying to pee on Dora."

But I did find one. Tucked away behind the bright pink barbies and toronto maple leaf blue thomases. It was only a little dusty, blue with a white seat. A white squishy, cushy seat. The dude calls it the posh toilet. The sprout now pats his toilet and says, "posh" while he has a wee.

In an attempt to use positive reinforcement we clap and cheer when the sprout does his business. Sometimes we give high fives. Sometimes we jump up and down and do little twirls... errr... okay I only did that once. And then I fell in the bathtub. We stick with clapping now.

Only the sprout has decided that he's going to call the shots while he's on his thrown.

me: little sprout do you need to go pee pee?

sprout: taps diaper dry!

me: okay, let's go to the bathroom!

sprout: taps diaper dry! dry!

me: taking off diaper You are dry! Let's go go go! run into bathroom and deposit sprout on posh toilet

sprout: bum! (means sit on your bum on the edge of the cold metal bathtub, mummy)

sprout: pats toilet seat posh!

me: do you need to go pee pee?

sprout: stares off into space

sprout: psssssssssssssssssssssssssss

me: Yeah!!!!!! initiates clapping

(much clapping and cheering ensues)

sprout: Hug!

me: ummm... sure... kneels down and gives the sprout a hug

sprout: bum! (go freeze your buns some more on the cold metal bathtub)

sprout: daddy! bum! points next to me on the bathtub

me: daddy travaille (my pathetic attempt at teaching him french)

me: fini? all done? signs "all done"

sprout: signs "all done"

sprout: wipe! points behind him to the pile of cloth wipes on the back of the toilet

me: are you sure you're all done?

sprout: WIPE! (damn it woman, listen when I tell you what to do)

me: okay okay

Next thing I know the sprout is going to be expecting all his stuffed animals to have a little parade every time he squeezes out a dribble.

etsy envy

2010-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

The sprout's new bedroom was inspired by rocket ships and robots. So right now I am envying all things space...

And cute little boy clothes! There is such little choice :)

Rocket long sleeve tee from JackandChloe

Rocket fabric by Keri Beyer from luckykaerufabric

Knee patch wool pants from FuriousKingston

Robot tee from CantaloupeCorner

Lunar landing pod art print from johnwgolden

Rocket ship flashy pants from BayBeeGee

nobody puts duckie in the corner

2010-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

remember to lock your doors

2010-08-30T18:06:00.001-07:00

The doorbell wakes you up. It's 1am. And you know, you sense that something is wrong.

It's just kids, you try to convince yourself. They are running around ringing doorbells trying to give everyone a good scare. At 1am...

And then you hear someone try the door. Your heart starts to race. You think, I locked it, didn't I? You turn to the dude who is already climbing out of bed. "What's going on?" You ask. Like he knows. Like it's not pitch dark in your house. Like he can see who's outside from the bedroom.

"I don't know," he says.

Your heart is racing. Someone is trying to get into your house. You hear the sound of someone trying to turn the lock. You feel trapped. Scared. Frozen. It's making sense, what is happening, yet it makes no sense at all.

A burglar who rings the bell?

The baby starts to stir. Will a crying baby scare him off? You realize that you can't move. Your whole body is frozen. Listening. Waiting. He's still trying to open the door. And then nothing.

The dude is back. "Get him." He says about the baby. "Get him and call 911. Somebody is trying to get in." He's holding a knife.

His words unfreeze you. They give you a purpose. You get the baby. You get the phone. You force yourself to be calm. You quiet the baby. You call.

And you hear him trying the other door. He's still trying to get the lock to turn.

It's like you see yourself, you hear yourself, saying words you hoped you'd never say. "Someone is trying to break into my house." You marvel at how even your voice is. You fight to stay calm. It's like it's happening to you but at the same time it's so bizarre that it isn't. This has to be someone else. This isn't happening to my family.

She asks questions. "I don't know," you say. "I'm with my baby."

The dude comes and takes the phone. He gives a description. Height. Hair. Backpack. Barefoot. He tells her what direction he's headed in. He asks for a cop to come by. He hasn't put the knife down.

It's quiet again. No one is outside. The dude is waiting at the door. He still hasn't dropped the knife.

Ten minutes go by.

The cop arrives.

"We've apprehended him." He says.

"He's being very cooperative." He says.

"Never been in trouble with the law before." He says

"He's really drunk. Probably just thought this was his house. We're going to take him home."

On the stoop are his shoes and socks.

"Didn't want to track mud into the house," the cop jokes.

Only, I don't feel like joking. I feel relief that it's so trivial. But I feel sick. This is my house. This is my family. I don't fall asleep again until the sun is starting to come up.

And in the light of day, I can see the humour in it. I can see the guy telling the story about the night he got so drunk he tried to get into someone else's house because he thought it was his. I can see him laughing about it over a few beers with his friends.

But now it's dark again. And I'm afraid to go to bed.

Does he understand the fear he's left us with?

we bought a house!

2010-07-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

It is a 1960's bungalow. It still has the original kitchen with original stove, recirculating hood fan and single sink. The basement is original too. Wood paneling, orange carpet, orange bar. Oh ya, baby, there's a bar!

And it's perfect :)

Well, okay, maybe not "perfect". But I get to redecorate, which I am loving!

Since it's a mid-century home we are thinking about going (wait for it...) mid-century modern.

Aren't we original?

The best part? I get to do another nursery! And since we now know that the sprout is a boy it won't be yellow and green. I'm thinking robot, rocket ship...

Feel free to suggest your favorite mid-century modern design websites. I need ideas!

sometimes life just takes over...

2010-07-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Or it doesn't, actually.

Sometimes life ends.

This happened to be the case of one great grandmother recently. A lady who truly understood what it meant to live through hard times. A lady who was a survivor. A lady who fought so hard for all the things she loved.

She lost this last battle to cancer. And the sprout will never know his great grandma. Sure, he's met her and spent time with her. But being only one, he will not carry these memories with him.

Instead he will hear of how she survived the war in France.

He will learn that she once hemmed pants for Picasso, who offered to pay her in art. But she was so poor that she asked for money instead.

He will hear about how she came to Canada to have a better life for daughters, only to be swindled, left penniless and alone, with her daughters back home.

He will find out that grandpa lent her the money to bring them together. The same man who sat in the front row at her funeral and could not stand because he was crying so much.

He will learn that she had trouble pronouncing names and it took her years to say daddy's name, called mummy "brawny-winny" for the longest time and never quite got your name.

She was a woman who continued to love after life took away so much, and everything indicated that she should be defeated.

But she never was.

We will miss you, grandma.

A party would have been too obvious

2010-06-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

We decided we weren't going to throw a 1st birthday party for the sprout. I didn't feel like inviting a bunch of people over so the sprout could take a nap.

And I eat far too much cake anyways. I don't need another occasion to have more cake.

Besides, I have a hard enough time keeping my house clean. Now that we are selling I haven't gotten any better. Ugh.

So, what do you think a science major and a math major do with their first born for his first birthday?

Well, first we took a trip on a steam engine.

But the sprout decided we were going too slow, so he drove instead.

Then, he flew us up to the moon in a rocket ship.

On the way back to earth we stopped off at the space station to operate the Canadarm.

To end the day we traveled really fast down some optic wires, just like data traveling from one point to another.

And after all that, the sprout passed out.

Yes, he actually sleeps like that quite regularly. It helps amplifies the farting which is especially nice when he has his ass right next to your head.

You too can have an awesome, out-of-this-world birthday experience! Just go here!

happy birthday!

2010-06-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, little man!

uh... you missed a spot

2010-06-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

My child loves the broom.

Okay, that sounds like a euphemism for...

Well, we aren't going to go there.

But, seriously, the sprout loves the broom. Literally.

We've all been working hard getting our place ready for sale. Which has involved giving the sprout a lot of piggy backs in the Beco. (Oh, god... that sound like a euphemism too...) If I need to get something done, like, say, sweep the floors and the sprout wants to, say, cruise the furniture and put lots of sweaty footprints all over the nice floor I am trying to clean, it is just easier to hoist him on to my back. Where he can chat and drool on mummy's head and point and tell me I am doing it all wrong.

He always giggles when I sweep. It is by far the funniest thing I've done lately. Apparently, I suck at cleaning the floor. I suck so much that it reduces my child to a giggling lunatic.

I guess the sprout thought I needed a lesson in how it's done.
Can you see the dust that he's swept up? Genius child. I wonder if I can whore him out to cleaning companies and ~~make some extra cash~~ have more money to put into his RESP.

Oh wait, there is something against child labour, isn't there?

No child labour laws were broken during the writing of this blog post.

so apparently we aren't too cool

2010-06-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

For crawling, that is.

The sprout has never shown an interest in crawling. Standing and cruising is far more interesting.

Until recently.

Hello angry crawl.

You. big. meanie. You. have. put. me. on. my. ass. in. the. middle. of. the. floor. Well. screw. you. I. want. to. cruise.

So far he's only figured out how to crawl to the couch to pull himself up to stand. He hasn't figured out that cruising is a mode of transport. I haven't enlightened him to this fact.

He doesn't need to know, does he?

thump, cry, pause, WAIL

2010-05-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

You know that saying, the one about the forest and the tree falling?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, will it still make a sound?

Ya, that one.

Obviously, it will. The impact of the tree hitting the ground is going to cause some vibrations and sound is just vibrations.

But I digress.

What happens when the baby falls over?

This has been happening a lot lately. Someone wants to move faster than his feet will take him. Or he changes direction mid step and trips himself. Or he decides that he doesn't need to hold on who-cares-that-he-can't-balance-on-his-own-yet.

Thump.

Usually he falls on his ass. Sometimes on his side. Frequently on his head.

Cry.

It's like he's just testing to see if you are going to come to the rescue.

Pause.

If he is just falling over for attention, there is no pause. He'll keep crying till you pick him up.

But when you look over and his mouth is open like he's trying to scream but no sound is coming out and 5 seconds go by and then another 5 and you start to think, okay, little sprout, breathe. Just breathe.

Wail.

Full on screamfest. OH MY GOD! It's the end of the freakin' world. But maybe if I point over there at that contraband non-toy you'll give it to me to make me feel better. Really, your computer would make me feel much much better, mummy. Or the camera. Or daddy's fancy chopping knife in the kitchen. It's shiny...

Or, you know, boob would be lovely too.

So, what happens if the baby falls over and no one is around to hear it?

You'll never believe it.

The baby still makes a sound.

Thump, cry, pause...

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

At least he hasn't figured out how to fall out of his crib yet. I dread to hear that.

happy mother's day!

2010-05-09T05:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mama's out there.

Let's celebrate by... playing in the snow!

The dude is making me blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast :) The sprout is cruising the furniture. And I am sitting here ~~thinking I should really clean up my house~~ relaxing.

It's mother's day AND my birthday. I don't think I should have to do anything today. In fact, I think I'll go back to bed!

Oh, wait, no. Breakfast's ready!

Enjoy your day and indulge a little :)

Image via Getty Images

do people really live like this?

2010-05-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

We're house hunting.

You, know... that fun time where you think it's a good idea to spend too much money so that you can have a few extra square feet, a basement and a yard. And you get to go and snoop in other people's houses. Which I think is really what house hunting is about - spying ;)

We've been to see 4 houses so far. One was already sold when we saw it. One cost too much money. One was nice but we didn't like it enough to enter into a multiple offer bidding war.

And one was, how to describe it... in one word...

AWFUL

Absolutely, unequivocally, AWFUL.

The house was being sold "as is" and I was told that we could expect the house to be in very poor condition. Which we kinda figured it was from the pictures. We figured it would be dirty. We figured it would be smoky. We figured there would be peeling wallpaper, and crappy flooring and that it would be very messy.

Oh, how naive we were :(

We didn't think there would be dog poop every where, dirty dishes piled high in the kitchen, a giant hole in the ceiling, walls missing upstairs and "wall-to-wall" carpeting meaning random pieces of carpet strewn over the subfloor.

There was a toilet behind the stairs on the main floor. No door, no sink. The plunger was on the floor beside the toilet and a note on the toilet said "do not use". This was the 2nd bathroom.

We couldn't enter the master bedroom because "the guy" might be home and sleeping. But someone had cut a "doggy door" out from the bottom of his door to let the dog in and out. I assume, so that the dog wouldn't poop in the bedroom.

There was a pool in the backyard. If these were my friends, and I knew how they kept their house, I wouldn't go within 6 feet of that pool.

I left feeling a bit sick.

Do people really live like that?

Where was the pride of ownership?

I admit, I sometimes let my housekeeping lapse, but I don't think I could ever let it get to that point. This was years of dirt and neglect. Nothing was clean.

No, wait, the giant TV in the living room was spotless.

It's nice to see the owner had his priorities straight.

It still makes me feel sad when I think about it. I cling to the hope that they are moving out of here and going to a home that will be able to give them the help they need.

And for us, the search continues. But maybe we won't go to any more "as is" house sales.

feeling frumpy

2010-05-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

Do you remember, before you had kids, how you always thought that will never be me? I will never be frumpy. I will be the yummy mummy that everyone envies. I will shower every day and wear killer heels. I will turn heads as I push my designer pram down a posh shop-lined street and drink overpriced decaffinated beverages at a trendy cafe with all the hipsters typing on their laptops and ipads.

Do you ever notice that reality is often very different?

And it's not like I've ever been honked at by carloads full of teenage boys... more than once...

It all started off so innocently. It was a crappy day so why should I go outside? Why should I even bother to get dressed? Heck, lets go back to bed, little sprout. We can be lazy!

It has spiraled since then.

And now the poshes of mummy days is coming up - Mother's day. Only it's a double whammy in our house. It's also my birthday. And I feel anything but yummy these days.

I have a week to change that.

Motherhood is beautiful, so why shouldn't we be?

two lessons all boys should know

2010-05-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

(1) When a girl says "no" she means "no" and you should respect that answer.

(2) Mummy is a girl.

So when mummy says, "No, you can't sleep with me tonight", you are supposed to say, "Okay, mummy. I respect that. I'll go and happily sleep in my kick ass crib."

You aren't supposed to start wailing just because we walk into your room.

And when mummy caves and say, "Okay, you can fall asleep in bed with mummy, but then you are going to sleep in your ~~crying cage~~ crib." It's in poor taste to promptly fall asleep snuggled up to the boobs but start screaming the minute you hit the crib mattress.

It also isn't fair that you can look up at mummy with huge puppy dog eyes, squeeze out tears, and go, "Maaaaaaammmmmaaaaaaa!"

Damn it. We never should have encouraged this talking thing.

And when mummy caves (again) and picks you up, you should keep crying like something really is wrong and you really need to be held. Don't immediately stop wailing, break out in a huge grin and say, "Mummy, you're my bitch!"

Also, when I pick you up please don't point at the boobs as if to say, "I want that one now, mummy." And then start nawing at my bra straps. I'll get it out when I'm good and ready to feed you.

Okay. Right now.

Please stop banging on my chest.

Tomorrow, little sprout. Tomorrow you are going to sleep in your crib all night. Or, you know, maybe the next night...

giving the cows a run for their money

2010-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Cows have gas.
Gas = methane
Methane + oxygen = carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide = all bad for the environment
I get it. I do. But really? Cows? Their methane emmissions amount to 16% per annum...

Obviously, you have not been to my house lately. If you came for a visit you might change your mind. Cows aren't causing global warming. The sprout is. Or, more accurately, the fart symphony of green house gases coming out of the sprout's butt is. You've got to hear it to believe it. I should start selling tickets!

Seriously tho. He's not that big. I have no idea how he can have so much gas stuck up there. I have no idea where it all comes from.

And okay, maybe lentils isn't the best thing to serve a baby. Curried lentils, actually. But lentils are tasty. The sprout readily agrees.

I am sure his methane emmissions amount to at least 17%...

You cows ain't got nuttin' on my baby.

Except that we think you are tasty and we will eat you.

Mmm... beefy...

wanna win some wipes?

2010-04-27T05:17:00.001-07:00

Then head on over to Huppie Mama for your chance to win one set of 5 cotton flannel/organic sherpa wipes. These have been very popular in my Etsy shop :)

And while you are there you should check out her blog about living green with her beautiful baby girl down in Florida!

Also she is sponsoring a number of giveaways right now, so you might want to enter those too. Because it's fun to win stuff!

Happy perusing!

it's earth day

2010-04-22T14:10:00.001-07:00

What do you want to change in your life to make it greener?

I want to exchange all our plastic containers for glass or ceramic.
I want to switch to Bullfrog for our electricity.
I want to live somewhere that I can use a compost.
I want to buy less and use what I already have more.

How about you?

Image from www.dohosurf.org

my etsy shop has been featured!

2010-04-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

How exciting! Our first feature, evah!!

You should hop on over to Raising a King to see what lovely things Kristina says about our wipes :)

And you may find something useful (wink wink) if you are looking to shop at bee sew sew!

While you are over at Raising a King you should check out all the other great Etsy sellers she's featuring this month. There are a ton a awesome discounts and coupon codes! Including one for her own shop Buy some love. Seriously, how gorgeous is that?

Happy shopping!

I heart Oliver Jeffers

2010-04-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Boog. boog. BOOG!

It's the sprout's first word. He holds up a book and says, "boog!" He sits on my lap and points at his pile of books and goes, "Boog!" He sits on the floor and turns the pages, banging his chubby little hands on the books. He loves his flip-the-flap books and his touchy-feely books. I have more than once caught him petting monkey's tail. But not his monkey. His monkey has a fluffy tummy.

It's cute. It's so friggin' cute.

Let's face it, tho, after the 18th million time, the twist ending of "Peekaboo! It's you!" is lost on me. I think I want to shoot myself.

But then... one day, we found a penguin at our door.

It was when I was looking for a Christmas present for the sprout that I first picked up How to catch a star, by Irishman Oliver Jeffers. I got to the part where he considered flying his rocket to space only it was out of petrol because he had flown it to the moon last week. I was completely drawn in but the simplicity of the story and the artwork. Oh. my. god. The artwork! It is phenomenal! I *heart* Oliver Jeffers! It's just... he's just... I want to marry him... Actually, no. The dude might have something to say about that...
Jeffers writes from an amazing point of view - that of a child. But he does it in such a way as to make his stories endearing to the reader. As adults we often forget the simplest way from point A to B in a child's eye can be the most ludicrous avenue available. But that's what makes children so special. They are unaffected by the world around them.

Our favorite book right now has got to be Lost and Found. Or maybe it's The great paper caper just for the artwork which tells a fantastic story all on it's own. The day I bought that book I studied it for half an hour before going to bed!

Guacaholics anonymous

2010-04-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Over here at chez le sprout we practice baby-led weaning.

Baby-led weaning (def.): (1) The epitome of lazy parenting, only with a fancy name.

We have discovered that the sprout is quite fond of guacamole. So when the dude said he wanted to make tacos for supper I thought, score! Not only did I not have to make supper, but it was an excuse to make guacamole.

Yes, we eat guacamole on our tacos. We also only ever eat soft shelled tacos. We also put grated carrots on our tacos. Okay, we are admittedly a bit odd.

Baby-led weaning (def.): (2) Hand baby food. Sit back. Take pictures.

In an attempt to get more guacamole in the sprout's mouth and less on the floor (or flung across the table...) we started making guacamole sushi rolls. These are really easy.

(1) Make guacamole. Take the fruit of one avocado, the juice of one lime, 1/4 of a small onion roughly chopped, salt and pepper. Combine in a food processor until well blended and smooth.

(2) Rip off a piece of tortilla and coat said piece of tortilla in guacamole.

(3) Roll up said piece of guacamole covered tortilla.

(4) Hand food to baby.
(5) Take pictures

Avocados were harmed in the making of this blog post but it was all in the name of tastiness!

An escapade

2010-04-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I went in to check on my "napping" baby. Instead I found this:

Yes, that is my child, standing on the floor between the bed and the dresser, banging on the wall.

Ummm... dude! You are supposed to be sleeping. Not giving mummy a heart attack because she walked in the room and saw an empty bed.

You should have seen the look he gave me. "Hi mummy! Look what I did!" He was sooo proud of himself. And what do I do? I grab the camera, of course!

What I want to know is how he circumnavigated the pillow mounds on either side of him, dismounted the bed and landed on his feet with out a sound.

Actually, no. I don't want to know. I really might have had a heart attack if I'd witnessed that.

We no longer have that bed. The stupid thing was like 3 feet high and I practically needed a step ladder to climb into it every night. I promptly sold it 10 hours after this escapade.

We now have this bed:

Thank you ikea!

yoga pose du jour

2010-03-24T05:57:00.001-07:00

Bhujangasana
(aka Cobra!)

replacing the elastic in a fuzzi-bunz {a step-by-step tutorial}

2010-03-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

It happens to all of us, sometime or other. The elastic in a diaper goes. It snaps or it wears out and isn't stretchy any more. And it sucks. Diapers aren't cheap. Thankfully, the fix is. For less than $1 worth of elastic and about 35 minutes of time, you can replace all the elastic from a cloth diaper. It's really easy and only needs a basic knowledge of sewing and a sewing machine.

So here is my (hopefully) easy tutorial on replacing the elastic in a Fuzzi-bunz pocket diaper.

What you will need for this project:
(1) a FB diaper with elastic that needs replacing (I bought 5 for $5!)
(2) elastic. I like to use 1/4" swimwear elastic because it stands up well to washing, but you can use elastin (the clear elastic) or any other type in 1/4"-3/8" width
(3) a seam ripper (very important!)
(4) measuring tape or ruler
(5) scissors
(6) a small safety pin
(7) your trusty sewing machine with polyester thread (to prevent wicking). Your thread can match the diaper or you can use white thread (like me)

As you can see, the elastics in the legs and back of this diaper are all stretched out.

I started with the back elastic, since it's the easiest.

You want to turn the diaper inside out and start unstitching the casing at one end. Be careful not to put any holes in your PUL. You only need to unstitch enough to be able to access the elastic.

See how the elastic is sewn into the seam between the PUL and the fleece of the diaper? There is no need to unstitch all off that.

Instead just trim the elastic close to the seam.

Repeat this to the other side and then pull the elastic out. Usually there isn't much life left in the elastic so you can just throw in away.

Cut a new piece of elastic. For a medium FB I made the back elastic 7".

On one side of the opening anchor the elastic by stitching back and forth a few times. I sewed the elastic in on a slight angle so that when I restitched the casing I sewed over the elastic again.

Attach a safety pin to the loose end of the elastic and thread it through the casing.

Pull it through to the other side and sew it down in place by stitching back and forth a few times. I also attached it on a slight angle here.

Turn your diaper right side out and restitch the casing, sewing back and forth at the start and the end. Pull the diaper taut when stitching. When you release the diaper is should gather nicely. This is really easy to do because you just follow the holes left from the stitching that you unpicked.

I restitch the entire casing even though I didn't need to. It was just easier. I also made sure to sew over the ends of the elastic again to give extra strength to the attachment points. Hopefully this will prevent the elastic from snapping later on!

Much better!

On to the legs.

Turn your diaper inside out again and look for the attachment point of the elastic for one of the legs. You should be able to see the end of the elastic on the PUL side of the diaper.

Unstitch the casing.

This is where you can do like you did for the back of the diaper. Unstitch just the ends of the casing. Leave the old elastic in the diaper (it is sewn in so you can't take it out unless you open up the whole casing) and thread a new elastic through. Stitch the other end down and then restitch the casing. This works just fine but it does make the legs a bit bulkier.

That's why I like to unstitch the whole casing. As you can see the elastic is sewn in very well. You need to unpick the stitching and remove the old elastic.

To sew the new elastic down, select the three-step zigzag or elastic stitch. A regular zigzag will work too but won't provide the same degree of stretchiness.

Cut your elastic. For a medium FB I chose to make the leg elastics 6.25" but I tend to like a more snug fit! If you are only replacing one leg then take the measurement from the "good" leg so that they match.

Anchor your elastic at one end by zigzagging back and forth.

Pull your elastic taut while you stitch. I hold the end of the elastic where I want it to end and use the other hand to help pull the diaper through the machine as I sew.

The diaper should be gathered after it is stitched.

Here is the new elastic sewn in. If you are doing the other leg as well, do it now. Or, turn the diaper right side out again.

The casing for the elastic needs to be restitched. You can see where the previous stitching was so you just want to follow this.

Start at one end and with a straight stitch sew the casing, pulling the diaper taut while you sew and making sure to sew back and forth at both ends.

Et voila!

I recommend that you wash and dry (yes, dry, in the dryer) the diaper before use. This will help to seal up any small holes in the PUL left from the sewing.

I hope that you've found this tutorial helpful!

Please use and share this tutorial, but don't claim it as your own. A simple link back to us will suffice, and a comment to let me know. Thanks!

Etsy envy

2010-03-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes you see something and it makes you go, "oh, I wish my baby was the other sex because I so want to buy that! It's awesome!" I can usually pass over the pretty, frilly dresses because I know I'd be tired of pink if I had a girl, but today I got stuck in Heidi and Finn's Etsy store and just couldn't seem to navigate away from it.

The colours were muted, the lines modern and the designs simple. It was everything we look to dress the sprout in, only for girls. They were all girl patterns. Yet I sat there clicking through all the patterns. I couldn't stop!

I first came across the pleat bottom pants. Such a cool idea. It just jazzes up a simple pair of pants. It's like frills only not over done. They are simple but make a statement. Like, I'm hip and modern but I'm not going to be in-your-face about it.

This little green pea coat is another one of my favorites. It's just clean and simple. And would make a perfect spring coat, you know, if the sprout was a girl.

Still, there are supposed to be some boy and unisex patterns in the works. I have made a request to be a pattern tester. No idea if anything will come of that, but hey, I like to sew and would love to have some great modern, simple patterns.

The sprout could be so stylish :)

choosing an edumacation

2010-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

It's something the dude and I talk about a lot. How we want to educate the sprout. What we want him to get out of school. Do we want him to even go to school? Well, school in the traditional sense. Yes, of course we want him to be educated.

We have been going to a play group at Montessori school for the last month. For some reason I thought that the play group would be a lot more structured. But after we got there the first week and circle time was over, there were toys laid out and we were instructed just to have at it. It hit me then. Of course, this is Montessori. They encourage children to learn at their own pace, to choose what they want to do. As a student that excelled in grade school, I love this approach. If the sprout grasps something quickly he can move on sooner, and if he needs more time that's totally acceptable too.

They also use a lot of scaffolding. 3-6 year olds are in the same class and this helps the younger children. Children learn more from a child close in age but just above them in development than from an adult. I think it has to do with the way they are able to relate to each other. It's like new mums bonding after the birth of their babies. We've all been there and done that recently. We understand. Kids get it, and each other.

But, as much as I really like this way of learning, I am still not completely sold on Montessori. It feels a bit like a cult. They really believe that they are the best education. Like really believe it. And they want to tell you why.

Just like any alternative education, it's expensive too. Which doesn't help the cult thing. They want your $$$.

So much to think about...

when did you get so big?

2010-02-09T17:23:00.001-08:00

I had the joy of meeting (and holding) a new little baby today. He had a tiny little body with legs and arms all still curled up. And like all new babies he had that desire to be close to a warm body. As he looked up at me with his big beautiful eyes I looked down at...

my behemoth baby playing on the floor.

I had to blink back tears.

When did you get so big, little sprout?

I mean, I know you've grown a bit since you were born. You don't exactly fit into those clothes any more. But I just never realized how much you've grown.

It is not insignificant, that's for sure.

Sniff sniff... you are growing up far too fast.

the stupid things we say

2010-02-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

The other day the dude and I were discussing our parenting. Specifically, our natural parenting ways. And I said that we were pretty out there, even for natural parenting. That we were, like, "super" natural parenting.

"Supernatural parenting?" The dude looked at me quizzically.

"Yes." I said.

"So, we're channeling ghosts and spirits to help us parent?"

Har har.

for the love of science

2010-02-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

I love science.

It's like this dirty little secret I have. Shhh... don't talk about the B.Sc I have in biology. Okay, it's actually biopharmaceutical science with an honours in genomics. But, shhh...

A few years ago when I went back to university to take some psychology courses for fun (yes, I said fun), I became fascinated by infant word learning. And the prof was pretty cool. So when I had my baby, I looked up his lab to see if we could participate in a study.

They called me last week to tell me the sprout was eligible! Yeah!!!

It was a study to see if the sprout could differentiate between 2 similar sounding vowels in French and in English. The sprout sat on my lap with a video screen in front of us. I got to wear massive headphones and listen to horrendous music while the sprout was tested to see if he could differentiate between the two vowel sounds.

A checkerboard pattern would appear on the screen while a disembodied voice would say the sound. The first time this happened the sprout looked around wildly trying to find the source of this new voice. Apparently a lot of babies due this :) Once he had habituated to the first sound, the experimenter switched it to a second similar sound to see if he could tell the difference.

It's like dessus and dessous (over and under in French). A native speaker (one that has learned French from birth) can differentiate between the two sounds, however slight that difference is. English or bilingual non-native speakers (aka anglo me over here) can't. The only reason I know these are supposed to sound different is because of all the ballet training I had. Glissade dessus and dessous. Still, as a baby learns language are they able to differentiate between the sounds at such an early age? Do they pay attention to that detail?

I'm seriously hopping up and down I am so excited that the sprout is helping to find the answer.

I am such. a. dork.

Nonetheless, the sprout gave a stellar performance. He made it to the end of both trials that we participated in (French and English). He was able to provided two whole data points for the research... for science... for the greater good! Well, okay, maybe that's going a little far.

But he did get a t-shirt!

I'd just like to give a huge shout out to the Language Development Lab. Yeah awesomeness!

co-sleeping wannabee

2010-01-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

We co-sleep from time to time. Usually when I am just so tired that I fall asleep nursing in the middle of the night and wake up an hour later with a baby in the bed. Or we are on vacation and have a king sized bed.

I remember when there was a time I said I would never co-sleep.

Yeah, that lasted, oh, about 28 hours. And that was only because the sprout was in NICU for the first 24h.

How we eat our words.

Still, nightly co-sleeping never became much of a habit mainly due to the size of our double bed. And the uncanny ability that tiny babies seem to have for taking up as much space as possible (think starfish).

Until recently, that is, when the sprout decided that sleep was for sissies (of which he definitely is not). He's ended up in bed a lot lately. Secretly, I love it.
But then last night he up and sleeps through the entire night in his own bed. What the? What about me? What about my cuddle time? And I thought I'd be happy that he slept through the night.

I don't. I feel put out.

eco-pottying

2010-01-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

I'm all for being green and using sustainable materials. Seriously. C'mon, my 7-month-old is quasi-potty trained. Admittedly, we have been spending a lot of time in the bathroom lately. (Someone hasn't learned the art of how to hold it.) Still, I can't see us ever getting one of these bamboo potty seats:Sometimes I think that people take living green to a ridiculously silly level. This would be right up there, maybe not at the top of the list of silly green things, but pretty high on the list. I think I'll go with the greenest eco-potty seat available - not having one. It's more fun watching your child fall into the toilet anyways.

From Growing Up Green.

adventures in potty training my 7-month old

2010-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

You may remember this. Well, since then we have mostly been skipping the bucket step and holding the sprout directly over the toilet. One less thing to worry about cleaning. And he can't knock pee all over my bed from the toilet since the toilet is, well, stationary, in the washroom and not my bedroom.

I used to take a clothed baby into the bathroom, lay him on the floor, strip off his pants and diaper and then over the toilet we'd go. We had lots of success with this method. Success of the peeing and pooping kind, anyways. But my back was starting to ache from all the lifting up down up down. So I got cheeky.

Lately, if the sprout's been playing and needs to go I just strip him right there, in the living room, and then pick up a half naked baby, cheeks out for all the neighbours to see and walk to the bathroom. So far, so good. I've been doing this for about a month now.

Well, this afternoon I picked up a half naked baby and started to walk to the bathroom. On my way there I thought, "Gee, little sprout, you seem awfully warm..."

Yes, my half naked baby peed on me.

I was asking for it, wasn't I?

recalls

2010-01-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

It seems lately that there have been a lot of recalls on baby items. Drop side cribs that malfunction, strollers that amputate fingers, plastic bottles that might cause cancer. We try so hard to protect our little ones by providing them with things that aren't harmful, that aren't dangerous and that aren't carcinogens. The companies can only do so much. There is one variable that no one can completely predict: humans. I think Douglas Adams said it best.

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

I hope that the world will eventually realize that there is only so much others can do to help prevent unforeseen circumstances and that we need to take responsibility for our own wellbeing. After all, what do you trust more? Your motherly instincts, or the "hot" indicator on the bottom of the rubber ducky?

remember that thing...

2010-01-19T16:37:00.001-08:00

Do you remember that thing? You know what I'm talking about... That thing that you do... usually when it gets dark outside. And you wear pyjamas. It generally involves a bed with pillows and blankets. And your eyes are closed. Yeah. That thing.

Oh, right, sleep!

Yeah, I miss that.

fool-proof birthday presents

2010-01-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today is nana's birthday. I never fully realized (until now) how easy it is to make a birthday present for a grandparent. Seriously! And let me tell you, it's cheap too. Dirt cheap. Like, less than $5 cheap. And it takes about 5 minutes. Well, maybe 10 minutes. 15 if you want to be really really creative. Guaranteed to make the receiver teary eyed, unless you're nana, then there was probably out right crying.

Step 1: make a sign. This is the fun crafty part, but since it's from a baby it doesn't matter if it's crappy. The whole point is that the baby made it. You don't even have to be witty or long winded.

Step 2: take a picture of the baby holding the sign. If the baby is really young you can "help" them hold the sign. The sprout wanted to chew on his sign, but that just made for better pictures.

Step 3: print pictures. Since what you wanted to say was on the sign already you don't even have to pen a card.

Et, voila!

yoga pose du jour

2010-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Ananda balasana
(aka happy baby pose!)

milk, please

2010-01-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

For the last couple months we have been trying to teach the sprout to sign "milk" when he wants boob. I like the idea of baby signing. It seems like a great way for the baby to communicate what he wants while his verbal speech is still lagging behind. So, every time I go to feed him I ask, "Tu veux du lait?" and I open and close my hand to sign milk. Then when he is eating I usually do the sign a few more times. Repetition seems to be important for the sprout to remember anything. He has a few issues with memory at the moment.

I thought "milk" would be easiest for him to learn because he always wants boob. I decided just to stick to one sign first, as not to confuse or overwhelm him. Also, up until the dude bought me a baby sign language book yesterday, I didn't know any other signs. But I digress...

The sprout can now open and close his hand successfully. I have no idea if he understands that he's asking for milk. He tends to open and close his hand around my hair... but he sure is happy to receive boobies!

Now, I'd really like to learn the sign for, "Mummy, I need to pee." It would make pottying so much easier.

happy new year!

2009-12-31T19:24:00.000-08:00

It is the eve of a new year.
A year that I hope will bring much laughter…
Tears of joy…
And many many hours of playtime…

On the eve of this new year it is customary to list our resolutions.
But I never make any.
It is too easy to break them.Instead I try to remind myself of the type of person I want to be.
One that cares for others and the world around her.
One that laughs and cries and sings (when no one is listening).
One that is considerate, polite and kind.
One that smiles…And so on this eve I am reminded of that person.
I am reminded of her and of him – my son
Because those are all the things I want for him too.
I want him to be happy.

And although we will likely be fast asleep well before this eve has ended and the next day begun, I am reminded. So I will go and kiss my sleeping baby and think of all the wondrous things he has yet to discover.Because I know that will make me smile.

food

2009-12-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

The sprout is still not showing a lot of interest in food. But give him a spoon and it's the best thing ever! It's too bad that whenever we put food on the spoon the sprout wipes it off before putting the spoon in his mouth. Well, wipe/fling food across the table. Same thing really.

fighting christmas

2009-12-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

This year I have been really struggling with Christmas.

Somewhere, along the way, the meaning of Christmas, or at least what I thought Christmas was, got lost.

When I was about 8, I remember Christmas lost its sparkle, its magic, its je-ne-sais-quoi that makes you unable to sleep from being too giddy. I remember going to bed after opening all my presents and satiating myself with turkey and pie thinking, I just got a bunch of stuff... Why?

Since then my love of christmas has come and gone, but this year it's totally left me. And with my new baby, I thought maybe I would be able to find something that would make the crowds with the pushy, impatient people not seem so rude or the endless buy Buy BUY mantra just background noise. But I haven't.

I want to teach the sprout that Christmas isn't about the stuff. But I have to fight every. single. relative. The sprout doesn't need an entire toy store or a clothing store. I keep trying to reiterate that what he needs right now, more than anything else, is to spend time with people. He won't learn from a toy that plays for him, but he will learn from interacting with real people.

I don't want my son to be a consumer. I want him to be a carefree, happy, engaging little boy who loves to spend time with his family.

But on the biggest consumerist holiday of them all, how do you tell the kind, generous grandparents, "No, really. DON'T buy him anything. Really."

Etsy envy

2009-12-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

This week I am coveting the gorgeous sewing from SewnNatural. It is a mother-daughter team that have created a beautiful, simple collection with a touch of whimsy. I remember my own mother teaching me how to sew, so I feel a bit of nostalgia remembering all the times my mum and I worked on projects together. With keen attention to small details (look at the elephant on that baby blanket! He's sooooo cute!) and the use of natural, organic and repurposed vintage fabrics, I could buy one of everything for the sprout. Sadly, my credit card begs to differ. Still, a girl can dream...

I think the sprout would look great carrying around the child-sized lion messenger bag. Six months isn't too young to start pulling your own weight, is it? Well, maybe I'll wait till he's bigger than the bag. And the nap mats! Now that is a brilliant idea. This one with the owls really appeals to me. Owls are nocturnal and only come out when all good boys should be asleep :)

Although I can't buy everything, I think the sprout will also adore his new elephant blanket. The vintage blue stripes and super soft organic flannel are sure to win over my little boy who loves all things soft and warm.

And, an even bigger plus, SewnNatural is local! A homemade business based in Ottawa. It's just one more thing to love. And if that wasn't enough, you can enjoy 10% off your next purchase when you enter wordofmom10 at checkout! I am off to get poor on Etsy!

peekaboo!

2009-12-21T16:35:00.000-08:00

The sprout loves this. I mean, giddy, body trembling excitement when we play. And, finally, Cracked.com has explained why:

We're calling it Peekaboo Ending because it relies on the same ass-backwards logic that makes infants squeal with delight when someone hides and unhides their face. When we're born, we believe that things stop existing if we can't see them. To an infant's mushy, half formed brain, peekaboo looks like their mom is blinking in and out of existence with a stupid look on her face. Roughly translated, those squeals mean, "Holy shit, moms a wizard."

Yup, enough said.

Squeal!

happy half birthday!

2009-12-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

Dear little sprout,

Happy half birthday! It's been 6 months, but it feels like only yesterday...

I remember when I first laid eyes on you. You were so small. So teeny. Looking up at me with big blue eyes. Taking it all in. This new place. This new person. "So... you must be my mummy?" You must have thought. And you must be my baby.

I didn't take a single picture of you in NICU, in your isolette. You were so small, hooked up to monitors and it made me too sad to think about remembering that time. But now I wish I had. I wish I had just one picture of your isolette. So that I could remember not how hard it was seeing you in there, but how far you've come since.

A little blob was all you were. A tiny little baby. But now you've tripled in size. You've grown and you've learned so much. You squeal when you're excited. And your legs start kicking, your whole body trembling. You pout right before you cry. The bottom lip slips out and the tears start to form in your eyes and I can't help but laugh. It's too cute. You talk. We have entire conversations and I haven't understood a word you've said, but it's okay, because it was so much fun.

You wear your heart on your sleeve, mr sprout, and I am so tuned in to your emotions. Our hearts are intertwined. And I feel pain when you're hurting, elation when you're happy and I cry tears when you're sad. I am so proud to be your mummy. I am so lucky. I love you. xo

~mummy

and the grand total is...

2009-12-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

32!

Thank you to everyone who posted comments while we participated in Cans for Comments 2009. It has been a huge success and I know the Shepherds of Good Hope will appreciate the food. It's been a lot of fun receiving comments so I hope everyone continues throughout the rest of the year. I feel loved :P

cans for comments - progress report

2009-12-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

We are up to 28 cans! That's 28 tasty goodies for the good people over at the Shepherds of Good Hope. Now, what do you think? Shouldn't it be more? When I wake up Friday morning, I am going to be counting my comments. That's only 2 more days to comment for a needy cause!

So, today, I want to hear about what you are giving for Christmas. We all know we'll get some pressies in the end, but what are you giving?

I'll start :) We've bought an automblox, a Sophie and a Wooden rattle for Toy Mountain this year. Oddly, I haven't bought anything for people we know. I think I might do some baking! Mmm... gingerbread!

P.S. Now get commenting!

feeling sad

2009-12-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

There's a downside to breastfeeding. I’ve got one word for you: attachment. Not the sprout’s attachment to me, more my attachment to him. It certainly wasn’t anything anyone told me about. The longest I have been away from the sprout since he was born is about 3 hours. And I was in tears by the time I got home. Trust me, it wasn’t from engorgement either. I just need to be close to him. Yet at the same time there is something missing in that closeness. I’m sad.

There, I’ve said it. That one little word that has been haunting me a lot lately, making me feel like a shit mother. I love my son. I love that he has thrived on being 100% exclusively breastfed. I grew him. I nourished him and satiated him and he is the little boy he is because I had a huge hand (errr… breast) in it. And I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t go back to the beginning and buy a pump or introduce bottles. I am firm in my choice. It is what has worked best for all of us.

But when you have a baby who won’t take a bottle and wants nothing to do with a soother it’s wearying. Only mum will do. I see friends whose babies happily take a bottle and they get to go to the movies, or get their hair done or go out and get to just be... instead of mom for a few hours. I haven’t cut my hair in two years. And I know I could say to the dude that I want to go to the salon, and here is the time I am going and would you watch the boy. I could do that. But then I’d have to leave my sweet little boy.
So I don’t make the appointment because then I would have committed to it. Instead I spend the time with the sprout. Watching him play, basking in his smiles, changing him when he’s wet, feeding him when he’s hungry and rocking him to sleep when he’s tired. And I am thankful every day that I have a job that allows me to be at home with my son, to experience this stage in his little life, to see him grow and learn and just figure out the world. But then the feelings of sadness start to creep in and I try to push them away. I’m fine. I am a mother. I have the most gorgeous boy in the world. There is no reason for me to feel this way.

Yet I do. Trapped in the circle of needing to spend time away from my son but unwilling to leave him.

I Parent By Nature - Finalists announced!

2009-12-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't win. But that's okay because the finalists chosen were all amazing! I did manage to make a shortlist of favorite entries (cloth can be easy and fun) and that made my day! Not to mention, I received a pretty awesome shout out today for the thank you I sent back :) Here's a snippet of my thanks:

I have been reminded of how much the power of words can shape my son. And I want him to grow up knowing that he is loved and supported. I want him to feel inspired by what he reads, what he sees and what he hears.

If you haven't already checked out the blog to inspire contest hosted by Parenting by Nature, I encourage you to take a look at the finalists and cast your vote!

P.S. Comment for cans!

it was bound to happen

2009-12-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to do a bit of EC. So we have a potty bucket for the sprout. It's just easier to toilet him wherever we are changing him. Which today, happened to be on my bed. Diaper off, holding him over the bucket, he peed. Yah!!! We sing our little song and do our little dance. Well, okay, there is no dance. But we do sing the song. Yes we are sad. (And NO I will not repeat the song.) I put him down so that I can get a wipe and move the bowl just out of arms reach because I wouldn't want him to knock it over...

And with a move demonstrating much more agility than a 5 month old should have, he made David Beckham proud (or any Brazilian professional soccer player, really). The sprout rolled over, kicked the bottom of the bucket -- like one of those sideways, airborne sort of World Cup caliber kicks -- sent the bucket spinning backwards off the bed, pee flying everywhere, and the bowl landed right-side-up on the floor. Umm... GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!! Because, really, what can you say to a 5 month old half naked baby lying there looking incredibly smug? Who, by the way, managed not to get a drop of pee on himself!

There's baby pee on my pillow. I predict more diaper changes are going to be occurring in the bathroom.

P.S. Comment for cans!

cans for comments

2009-11-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

Celebrating the season of giving!

From December 1-10 we are doing cans for comments! Make a comment on any of my posts between Dec 1 and 10 and I will donate a non perishable food item to the Shepherds of Good Hope in Ottawa. 10 comments=10 cans! It's that simple :)

Share the love! Check out these other participants:
Carol-Ann Photography
Fulton Photography
Worth a tri
101 things in 1001 days
Luv Monkee
Ruby Pickles
Tutu FabooJenn M
My Little Big Life
Kenzie Prudhomme Photography
Mon Petit Amour
Ryan & Michelle
The Life of a Modern Housewife
Rambling Renovators
Cans for Comments

intervention needed!

2009-11-26T17:49:00.001-08:00

Please help! The sprout is addicted to ~~Sophie the Giraffe~~ baby crack.

It all starts when I hold Sophie in front of him. Those deep penetrating black eyes unwaveringly staring back at him as if to say, "C'mon, boy! Just take one little nibble! My ears are very tasty! You'll regret it if you don't." How can he resist? He's only a baby. He hasn't developed willpower yet. And his chubby fingers reach out to grab the smooth rubber. He ~~throttles~~ gently caresses her neck before shoving an ear into his mouth. For a moment there is a satisfying gnawing sound almost like the volume has been turned down on someone scratching his nails on a chalk board. Then he whips Sophie out of his mouth and holds her up, giggling as if to say, "Oh yeah! That's the stuff!" And then right back into his mouth she goes, only this time he chooses to nibble on her nose. Meanwhile his legs are going a mile a minute, the excitement so blatantly evident, infecting every inch of his little body.

I can't help but smile. The euphoria that such a simple toy brings to the sprout is so infectious.

But then it all starts to go downhill. No longer satisfied with her facial features the sprout decides to nibble Sophie's rump. Only his chubby 5 month old hands don't have the dexterity to to maneuver her. Down down down she falls, all 3 and a half inches to the floor. There she lies, motionless, nose to the floor. Forlorn, almost forgotten, except for the big huge pout that has arisen on the sprout's face. "SOPHIE!" He whimpers. "I need my Sophie!" The excitement is gone. The twenty dollar cheap thrill over. His legs heavy, he rests them on the floor, floor supporting his weight. For those few moments before out of sight out of mind kicks in he is so sad, so lonely. It's pathetic, but my heart aches for him.

So I pick Sophie up and hold her out for the sprout to take again. As she squeak squeaks a smile slowly spreads back on to the sprout's face. His eyes light up and he squeals. Sophie, stoic, ever spotted stares back. The black abyss of her eyes taunting him, teasing him, patiently waiting for her next foray into the sprout's mouth.

sitting pretty

2009-11-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

It's a big day for a little man! The sprout got a new highchair today. A fancy Handysitt highchair. Not that he's actually eating real food yet. That would mean I'd have to share the feeding duties. And I don't wanna. At least not yet. However, we thought we'd try it out.

I'll take one boob, straight up please!

I Parent By Nature

2009-11-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

When I signed up for this parenting ‘thing’ I’m not sure I really knew what I was getting into. Sure, I knew there would be crying and diaper changes. I looked forward to the smiles, the giggles, the cuddles and the cute little feet, but I’m not sure back then what I really thought parenting would be like.

I certainly don’t remember anyone telling me I’d be this tired. Still, when I picked the Sprout up this morning he gave me a big gummy smile and my heart melted. The bad, sleepless night forgotten, I kissed his sweet smelling chubby cheeks and tears of happiness started to well up in my eyes. Seriously, I’m like a drippy tap these days.

And then…

He let out an unholy noise. Before he even finished filling his diaper I groaned inwardly. Okay, maybe a little outwardly too, because, really, who enjoys changing poopy diapers? At least I knew, taking off his PJ’s, that I wasn’t going to find any surprises waiting for me. We’ve never had a blow out with cloth diapers.

I remember people telling me we were nuts to cloth diaper. However, we always knew we were going to use cloth. It was actually my husband that said it first. For us it was an environmental choice, a cost effective choice, and one that we knew would limit the Sprout’s exposure to chemicals and dyes. Something we were concerned about since my husband and I both have problems with skin allergies and eczema.

However, cloth diapering didn’t start out so smoothly. When the Sprout was days old I found myself standing in the diaper aisle at the local store staring at the wall of plastic wrapped disposable diapers. I was feeling incredibly lost. We hadn’t expected to have a miniature 5lb baby that didn’t fit into any of the cloth diapers we owned. But what brought me to this place? I had never stood in the diaper aisle before because I never intended to use the products here. I had no idea what to look for in a disposable diaper. What was the difference between the yellow and the blue packaging? I remember thinking to myself, what am I doing here? It was a moment of panic (I needed to find something to put on his bum!) that led me there, and five bewildered minutes before I realized I didn’t belong. The next day we went to a cloth diaper store to buy a dozen prefolds and we have never looked back.

I now have fun telling people we cloth diaper. It’s worth it just to see their reactions. We intimidate a lot of people until they see me change the Sprout’s bum. “That’s it?” I guess they are expecting to see me perform advanced origami and have diaper changes take 10 minutes. When we tell them how much we’ve spent, total, on cloth diapers their eyes tend to bug out. “That’s it?” Yep, that’s it. The thing is, we could have spent about half of what we spent and still outfit our baby in cloth.

So, do I think we’re nuts to cloth diaper? Nope! All it took was a bit of confidence in what we wanted to do to make it work – and a desire to prove the sceptics wrong. I certainly wouldn’t change anything. I love his great big bubble butt.

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Etsy envy

2009-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

If I had all the time in the world I would make the sprout a whole set of felt play food from umecrafts on Etsy. Can you say way cool? That artichoke makes me want to go out and buy a real one just so I can find something to make with it so that when the sprout is old enough he'll copy me making the artichoke recipe! And the fruit sections? What a great way to safely teach the sprout to use a knife so he'll be able to make me supper in, errr... a few years :D

I adore the variety of the felt food patterns this seller has to offer and the fact that they look so realistic. le sigh. I am off to get poor on Etsy!

granola

2009-10-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realization that we are rather granola. We cloth diaper... not just at home but on the plane, on our vacation. And because I don't like to change poopy diapers, I have been potty training my 4 month old. Yup, he poops in the toilet. I always thought that the change stations in the wheelchair washroom stall were silly, but now they are just so handy. They must make those just for me :) We eat lentils. We shop at the farmers market. The sprout plays with wooden toys. We don't own an exersaucer or a TV. Yup, rather granola.

The thing is, I like being granola.

Now I have to go and save the sprout from his wooden playgym. He's taken hold of one of the wooden rings and can't figure out how to let go. Silly boy.

super

2009-09-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Awesome!

psst!

2009-09-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

The sprout does this really cute thing sometimes when he's eating. He'll hold his little hand up to his face as if he is trying to whisper to the booby. And I'll ask him, "What secrets are you telling the booby?" He'll look up at me like it's none of my business. Whatever it is is strictly between him and the boob. Personally, tho, I think he's saying, "Psst... Psst... You know you'd taste better with bacon?" :)

food tastes better when it looks good, right?

2009-09-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

I like watching those cooking shows or going to fancy restaurants and seeing how they arrange the food on the plate to make it look pretty. I am sure that it tastes better this way. I mean, it must, right? Or why would they do it. I was just thinking that since I am food, that I must taste better too, if I look good. And what better way to look good than the new fall line at Milkface (god I love that store). I am currently drooling over this pretty little number.

Oh, what a pretty dress you are. How I want to wear thee in all your polka dotted splendor. I am sure that my milk would be infinitely better while I wear you. Le sigh. I love Boob nursing wear. It’s comfy and stylish and so practical for right now. But why does it have to be sooooo expensive?

the fog

2009-08-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

I sometimes feel like I'm standing in the middle of a fog. I am turning on the spot but I can't quite make the way out. And I am tired. I am just so tired. I want to lay down but I can't. My brain is whirling away, like a children's top, but it's spinning out of control. And then he's crying again and all I want to do is soothe him. Comfort him. But I can barely hold him. My arms want to give out under the weight. I'm hushing him. I do it subconsciously now. I do it more for me than him. I need the reminder. I need the calm feeling of a hand on my back, the sound of a heart beating, the warmth of a body next to mine. And so does he. We are both so tired. Our distraught energies feeding off each other. Deep breaths. Calming breaths. The waves of sleep start to crash down around us. I feel us drifting off. But for how long? And my eyes spring open. I look down at my sleeping baby. So peaceful now. Dreaming of cuddles and boobies and dangling toys. And I wonder when it will be my turn. I hate insomnia.

2 months

2009-08-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

My little boy is 2 months old. What happened to the time? But at the same time it's like there wasn't life before the sprout. He's come so far in such a short period of time. To look at him now you'd never guess he was a preemie. He's already doubled his birth weight. He's growing so fast and changing so quickly. I don't want to forget the little things, and I am so afraid that I am going to, so I thought I'd start a list of the things I want to remember :)

1 month

2 months

(1) The sprout will sometimes be sitting in his vibratey chair, all calm, and he'll open his mouth up wide and look around, as if to say, "Okay, I'm ready. Put the food in here!"

(2) His maniac laugh/cry when he's hungry.

(3) Finding his fist when he's doing his hungry laugh/cry and going, "Hey! What's this?" Pausing, gnawing on his hand for a moment, realizing there's no food coming out of it, and then resuming crying.

(4) Trying to figure out how to make his fist hit the toys on his wooden play gym even tho he can only just reach the toys with his hand open. He gets all frustrated and his other hand ends up hitting the toys. He turns his head, all surprised and resumes trying to hit the toys with the other fist!

(5) The way he smiles at my boobs when he's about to get fed like they are the most fantastic things ever. And in his world, I guess they are. They give him food.

(6) Chatting and snuggling with the boobs :) mmm... boobies...

okay, one more...

(7) Him raising his arm above his head to stretch and then letting out a great big fart!

Looking forward to seeing him grow even more!

eliminating spit up

2009-08-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, to say that the sprout is a spitter is a bit of an understatement. He's a greedy little gus and nursing is his favorite activity. So, I am getting a little tired of the spit up. I go through at least a dozen receiving blankets a day. I have started to alter my diet (no dairy) and how I nurse him to try to minimize the spit up but I think I am going about this all wrong. Then I found this: Why should I try to get rid of something when I can just cover it up? This is way easier! Fabric that hides spit up stains? I am totally in! Check out Pukies for their whole line of stain friendly fabric products!

an alternative

2009-08-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

If I couldn't have mummy's milk I'd have... BEER!

Free stuff!

2009-08-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like to win free stuff?

I was recently perusing the life of a modern house wife blog and am in love with the giveaway this week! Zutano Itzy-Bitzy has such cute clothes! The sprout would look fantastic in the blue dino onesie. I love wrap onesies since the sprout doesn't like having me yank things over his head, or he spits up on things as I am pulling them over his head.

going back to work

2009-08-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

I love my job. So I always knew that I would go back to work very soon after the sprout’s arrival. Now, before you get too shocked, I do not have a 9-5 job. I teach one-hour yoga classes. Going back to work means 1.5 hours away from home at a time. He should be fine and dad can always give him formula if he gets hungry…

I don’t want my son to have formula. I don’t want to share :( I never anticipated how attached I would feel to the sprout after he was on the outside. Feeding is our time together. It just wouldn’t be the same if I was plugging a bottle into his mouth.

So today was my first trial run back at work. I subbed a class for my boss. And it went okay. I managed to get through the hour with my sanity intact! The sprout survived too – no bottle, no formula, and only a small amount of hungry crying. The sprout even came to pick me up at work so he didn’t even have to wait until I got home for his first lunch.

Still, at 7 weeks, it was hard. I am in no way upset that he was a month early. It means I have an extra month with him before I am back on the schedule. I love my little boy and feel oddly fully satisfied being a mother. This is a good job :) Now how do I get paid in cash for it?

Beets me!

2009-08-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

We are still fairly new to this breastfeeding thing and it still surprises me how what I eat can affect what he poops.

For instance: beets.

It’s summer here and that means that we can get fresh local beets. It no longer surprises me when I shit red poo after eating them, but when I saw that come out of the sprout? Yeah, I was shocked. Oh my god, I thought. What is wrong with my new baby? And then I slowly started to process that I had had beets at supper. Tasty things, done up in foil on the bbq with olive oil, balsamic and fresh thyme. Maybe… maybe, just maybe they affect him the same way they affect me. I wish there had been a warning, like red milk! Then maybe I wouldn’t have been as surprised.

I am still waiting for him to start pooping rainbows, but I guess red poo is a good start.

he's a boob man

2009-07-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

The sprout is 6 weeks old. We’ve been breastfeeding for 6 weeks. And I think we are finally starting to get the hang of this!

I never wanted to breastfeed. I always saw it as being physically attached to my baby. I didn’t want to have that sort of attachment. I wanted to be able to get out without him. I wanted to keep my independence. Then I got pregnant and something switched. Of course I was going to breastfeed! That’s what you do.

So a few days ago when I was feeding the sprout I looked down at him with my big baby blues looking up at me with his big baby blues and I thought, “I am really enjoying this.” It surprised me. But I love sitting there with my little boy in my arms, his warm body squished up next to me, listening to him gulp gulp gulp. It just seems so special. It just seems so good. It just feels so right.