Operation Christmas Child plus what we put in our box

My son is 2 now and for this holiday season I really wanted to show him the joys of giving in a very tangible way.  After reading a post from Katherine’s Do It On A Dime, I looked in to  Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse.  They are a great organization that sends shoeboxes full of toys, hygiene items and school supplies all over the world. Here is what our box look like.

Our box is for a girl, age 5-9, and we included:

·      Stuffed Elephant (Wow item)

·      School/Art supplies

o    A coloring book

o   A notebook

o   Colored pens

o   Pen bag

o   Glue stick

o   Stickers

o   Note pad

·      Warm hat, gloves and socks

·      2 handmade items – a necklaces and stuffed heart

·      Crochet kit with extra supplies

·      Hygiene items

o   Bar of soap

o   Tooth brush

o   Coco butter stick

o   2 wash cloths

·      a family photo with a warm note on the back

You can participle too! Go to the website, contribute $7 towards shipping per box, print a label and pack your box. The site gives you loads of idea on what to put in your box and they have some things that can’t be included so make sure to read it over before you go shopping for items. Get your children involved too by letting them pick out items for your box and explain to them how children across the world, who may never receive another gift, can receive the things we pick for them. Don’t wait to get your box together because boxes will be collected next week, Nov. 16^th – 23^rd.  Find your local drop location here. Comment below to let me know what you'll sending and share this post if you found it helpful.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

cloth diapering- the good, the bad and the ugly

My journey to cloth diapering started when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I had never given it much though to what kind of diapers my child would use until I was searching youtube for some money saving option for raising a baby and BAM! I got smacked in the face with cloth diapering. I thought, "well if it worked for my grandmothers then why couldn't it work for me?" I was excited at the prospect of saving money but then I discovered it wasn't my grandmother ball game anymore. I did my research and figured out with the pros and cons were to cloth diapering. I will talk about the different type of cloth diaper option in another blog but here is a simplistic list of pros and cons:

Pros

1. Less expensive: you can cloth diaper a child from birth til potty training for as little as $100 as appose to disposable diapering, which usually costs anywhere for $2,000- $4,000 per child from birth to potty training. And you can use your cloth diaper stash on your other children as well, you don't have to buy brand-new diapers for your second and third child.
2. Healthier for your child: With cloth diapering you can use natural products exclusively that don't contain the nasty chemicals that some disposable diapers have. I recently read an article where the content of a Huggles disposable diaper leaked on to a 18 month old while he was sleeping and he got 2nd degree burns from it.
3. Better for the earth - a child goes through thousands of disposable diapers a year. If you cloth diaper, you are saving those from going in to the land fill.
4. More convenient: In my opinion cloth diapering is more convenient because you never have to go to the store to buy more diapers. Yes you do have to wash them but you're doing your babies wash anyway and I wash his cloth diapers and his clothes on the same day.
5. Children tend to potty train at an earlier age: My little guy is only 8 months old so I'm not at that stage yet but I've done a lot of research that shows that cloth diapered children tend to potty train at least 3 to 6 months earlier then children in disposable diapers because they can feel the wetness and are more aware their bodies.
6. Numerous different options: Your options for cloth diapering are endless. You can choose all-in-ones, all-in-twos, prefolds with covers, fitted with covers or even flats with covers. Then there are different types of covers which include wool, fleece or PUL, which is a waterproof material. Not to mention you have mainstream options, work at home mom brands and you can even make your own. Every diaper brand will fit differently on different children, so keep trying options til you find what works for you!
7. You can use them for more than one child:
8. They are cute: Need I say more 
   

I guess I can't talk about the pros without talking about the cons.

Cons

1. Washing: Yes you do have to wash them. The pee is easy to handle, just do a cold prewash first. Now I think where people get squeamish is when it come to the poop. Exclusively breastfeed baby poop can go straight in to the washing machine. Babies who eat solid food need to have the diaper rinsed/sprayed in the toilet first before you put them in the washer.  That being said, depending on how big your stash is that will dictate how often you have to do wash. I personally do my son's wash every third day. I use prefolds and covers, pockets and all in twos and I love them! They are easy to clean and one of the least expensive options.
2. Addicting: Now I know that sounds crazy but cloth diapering can be addicting. There are so many cute options and styles. It can save you a lot of money but not if you keep buying more. 
3. Night time diapering: A lot of people struggle when it come to cloth diapering at night. I have had nights where I wake up to a wet unhappy baby who needs a new pair of jammies. It does take some trial and error but you can come up with something that works for you. Right now I use 2 folded prefolds and a cover. It works for now but there may come a time where I have to find something different. The good news is that there are many different things to try. A lot use hemp because it is extremely absorbent.

I'm sure you could come up with more hurdles but I believe they can be overcome with some trial and error and creativity.  Feel free to leave comments or questions below and keep an eye out for my post on types of cloth diapers coming soon. Happy Cloth Diapering J

5 Ways for Mommy and Baby to get more sleep while Co-sleeping

When my son was born he was a great baby but he liked to suckle all night long, which kept both of us up. If that works fine for you then you don’t need to change a thing but if you are like me it gets a little trying. Not only could I not sleep very deeply because having your nipple constantly suck on is hard to ignore but you end up laying in weird positions to accommodate the suckling baby. Fast-forward 2 years and I have a 3-month-old daughter who is also a great baby but she sleeps 5-6 hour stretches at night. I believe these tips are  key to getting her to sleep well at night, which equals a good nights sleep for mommy. *Disclaimer – I am not a medical professional and I am not suggesting you co-sleep with your child if you are not comfortable with it. I’m only giving you example of things that have worked for my family and me.

1.     Give baby a nightly bath – Baths are wonderfully soothing to babies, especially with lavender essential oil and Epson salt added to the water. I didn’t do this with my son but now since I’m already bathing him, I put her in there too. It also is a marker in the day that signals to her it’s going to be time for bed soon.

2.     Don’t sleep with baby right next to you – My son slept right next to me, in between my husband and I. With my daughter we have a sidecar setup, where the crib is right up against our bed and has only 3 sides for very easy access to her. I still feel connected and close to her but because she doesn’t smell my milk all night, she seem only to eat when she is hungry, not just because it is convenient.

3.     Don’t turn on the light- Light signals to the brain that it is time to wake up. This will disturb both you and your baby’s sleep rhythm. If you can do without, it will help both of you to fall back to sleep more quickly. If you feel you need some visibility, I recommend a dim book light that you can clip on to your nightstand and use during feeds and diaper chances.

4.     Limit diaper changes – I cloth diaper my children and often its hard to find a diaper that can last the entire night but if at all possible, change as few diapers as you can. I changed my son after every feeding which woke him up just when he got drowsy but with my daughter I only changed a poopy diaper at night. I use a stay dry type of diaper, such as fleece, with a prefold and her skin seems to tolerate it just fine.

5.     Nurse lying down – You may not be able to lie down initially to feed a newborn but once your baby becomes proficient at feeding it is quite easy to nurse while lying down. To nursed lying down lay on your side and have the baby lie facing you. You can lean forward or back to allow baby access to your breasts.  

Getting enough sleep with a new baby can be difficult but these tips may help you to get a little bit more.

Welcome to Labor, Love and Lipstick

The reason I chose that name is because those words sum up motherhood in a nutshell. First, we literally labor to bring our children in to the world. Then we labor daily to keep them clean, fed, clothed and challenged. We do this all because of the love we have for them. Lastly, we as mothers deserve to feel good about ourselves and if a bit of lipstick can do the trick then that’s what you should arm yourself with to take on the daily challenges. 

I hope you will check in weekly and subscribe :)