Cloth diaper storage

It's usually easy when it comes to storing disposables but with cloth diapers you want something so they can stay organized and in rotation that way one is not getting worn more than the other. Can you do this cheaply? Yes! I was on Pinterest and came across a basket idea but the baskets they were using were expensive and that is not what I had in mind.

One day while I was at the Dollar Tree where EVERYTHING is $1 I came across an isle of baskets. Now they weren't as good or as sturdy as the ones I had seen but they looked like they would do so I purchased 6 of them at $1 a piece. 

These baskets were just plain colored nothing special. I planned on doing my nursery in silver, gold, and black. I had a can of silver spray paint ($3) but no gold so I went out and bought a can which was around $3. I sprayed 3 baskets gold and 3 silver. Let them dry.

Once they were dry I used a drill with a screw bit and screwed one single screw in the top center of the basket to keep it hanging on the wall. 

It took no time to make this and my final cost was only $12! So far they've held up nicely. I even purchased an extra basket and sprayed it, it's used for my cloth wipes.

Cinnamon Banana Almond Butter Pancakes

I posted a recipe before that was pancakes made with bananas and eggs. I personally was not a big fan of this but I did enjoy the banana taste in them so I decided to come up with my own concoction even though I'm sure it's online or in a recipe book somewhere.

What you'll need:

•whole wheat pancake mix 

•almond butter

•1 ripe banana

•cinnamon

•vanilla extract

•mixer

•cooking spray 

•lite or sugar free syrup 

1- mix up the batter as instructed on the back of the box for how many pancakes you'd like. this recipe is for about 10 pancakes.

2- slice banana and drop into batter.

3- sprinkle cinnamon on the top to your liking. 

4- using a teaspoon that you'd eat with fill it with vanilla extract and dump into batter.

5- with the same teaspoon scoop out 4 good size scoops of almond butter and add to the batter.

6- with mixer blend everything until no banana chunks are left.

7- use cooking spray on your pan, pour batter to the size of pancake you'd like

8- flip pancakes until a golden brown, repeat last 2 steps until batter is gone

 

These were absolutely wonderful and had my house smelling so good! Assuming you use a very ripe banana it will have an awesome flavor to it. This was a big hit in my household and we all enjoyed. We topped it with some lite syrup and ate them up. If you have some left overs put them in baggies and freeze for a quick breakfast some other day!

Sunning your diapers

• It will save you money on your electric because you will not have to use your dryer, it bleaches the stains right out, gives them a fresh smell, and the uv kills bacteria. 

There are a few things I've read but not had to deal with (okay 1) on the down side to sunning.

• Leaving them in the direct sun or heat too long can ruin your PUL/TPU, the weather may change without you knowing and they may get rained or snowed on (this one has happened to me!) and of course bugs.

Now all of these are easily avoidable. Don't leave them out too long or remove them from direct sun once bleached out, check the weather, and check diapers for bugs. I would not recommend drying diapers and covers (inserts are fine) because drying can shorten the life of your diaper so sun and hang dry as often as possible. I have a few pics to show how well sun bleaching works.

Wah la! Stains be gone! The sun works wonders on stains.

*for more tips on cloth diapering please comment and I can email you a copy of my cloth diaper 101 booklets. This includes diaper prep, wash routine, dry routine, cd safe rash creams, ways to strip your diaper, ways to rid yeast from diapers, DIY no sew wipe fabric, and wipe solution.*

Hello September

September is a great month, well if you love fall. This is the month when every one begins to set out their beautiful fall decorations, football on Friday nights, hot apple cider with the family, fall festivals begin and most importantly my oldest sons birthday!

It has been a hot past 2 weeks so I am definitely looking forward to some cooler weather. Fall is one of my favorite seasons (next to spring). I personally feel as if it is the season that brings us closer together as a family. We enjoy the festivals together, pumpkin patches, Halloween, and one of my favorites Thanksgiving. Yes, I know Halloween is in October and Thanksgiving in November but with September here that means they are nearing soon.

In September id really like to attend 2 new fall festivals. We just moved about a year ago therefore this is our first September here and I'm sure there are a few festivals we can find rather than going to the same hometown ones we grew up attending. I'd also like for us to attempt hiking as a family again (we did back in July) but this time actually make it to the correct destination. I'll definitely keep you posted on how those things work out for us!

Hope you are ready to enjoy the beautiful month of September as well.

How I overcame mastitis

I've talked about the clogged ducts which were awful but not anywhere near mastitis. My mastitis came up shortly after the clogged duct which was the same time I was dealing with over supply. I had an oversupply with my second son but still not near as much as with Berran. On a Friday my left breast began feeling like a bruise. It wasn't red yet just really tender, couldn't move on that side at all without it hurting. Luckily my step mom had taken the two older boys that weekend and I was still on maternity leave so I was able to get plenty of rest. By that night I had body chills, aches and a fever. I was taking ibuprofen every 6 hours. I contacted my breastfeeding peer counselor Saturday morning as I was still in pain and running a temperature. She told me to continue the ibuprofren, nursing from that side, drinking water, resting  and go to the doctor as soon as I could. It was a weekend so I was going to have to wait until Monday. All day Saturday Bear and I spent the entire day in the bed. I was nursing him from my left side every 3 hours and pumping the right side. At this point my breast was red and feeling hot so I began doing hot compress before feeding and cold compress after. I definitely was not feeling any better. I began nursing him in every position I could think of, anything to clear the lump out. I continued doing those things throughout the rest of the day and night. Sunday I was feeling a little better. I was able to get out of bed and complete some light house work but soon enough I was down again. I could not wait until Monday morning to get some antibiotics but until then I continued doing what I had been doing. He woke up for his 3am feeding and I felt wonderful but I thought it was probably just the ibuprofen making me feel better. Woke up Monday still feeling good. Skipped out on the doctor and felt so accomplished because I had overcame it without antibiotics! I was very lucky that it did not turn into full blown mastitis. 

If you begin feeling mastitis symptoms you should:

•nurse from the effected side first and every feeding.

•stay in the bed you need plenty of rest.

•keep plenty of drinking water near by you must stay hydrated.

•hot compress before a feeding and cold compress after.

•massage your boob.

•nurse baby with his/her nose in the direction of the lump.

•if that doesn't work try switching nursing positions.

*I am not a doctor and this is just information I was given to help relieve the pain and symptoms of mastitis. If you think you have an infection or the pain persists after trying every home remedy you can then seek help from a doctor,*