Baths•Books•Babies

I believe everyone in the world has a small fear of being alone. Which in my opinion is ridiculous because you get in touch with yourself on a much greater level when you are alone. So when someone says “Oh, I’m a single parent.” you can clearly hear a pin drop. Why is that so scary? I’m here to put your restlessness at ease with 10 things that are purely awesome about being a single parent & just being single in general.

1. Your baby solely relies on you, and that is the greatest feeling knowing you are needed.

2. You don’t have to share the bed with anyone but your baby for those precious morning snuggles.

3. If the other parent is still in the picture, inevitably your babe will have a bigger family. Much more love also.

4. Also if parent #2 has designated days he/she takes baby you get a nice break to do whatever the heck you want! Go do some laundry! Seriously.

5. You don’t have to fight over which radio station to listen to in the car. YOUR car. YOUR rules.

6. I am all about a routine! So being a single parent I don’t have anyone else barging in on my plans.

7. If you’re a girl, you don’t have to worry about the beard hairs all over the sink. (Which to guests probably look like another kind of hair…)

8. If you’re a boy, you don’t have to worry about your others box of tampons on the bathroom sink.

9. I don’t mind getting child support, i don’t know about you..

10. At the end of the day, it’s your way or the highway. This is your baby, you make the rules.

So there. Now go snuggle your baby, they love you. :)

Remember when you first knew you were in love with your other? The first day he, or she said I love you and you felt like your heart was going to explode out of your chest. Palms sweaty and maybe even a little shaky. Thats what you feel like when you find out you are pregnant, all that and everything more. Scared, excited, nervous, happy, all of it. This blog isn’t so much about that first feeling of pregnancy, its more about the relationship you’ve formed with your significant other before you saw that positive test. Because thats where it all started, that was the beginning.

When your baby has been crying for over 20 minutes, and you’re about a minute away from loosing your cool. Thats when you find strength and encouragement in the one you love. They are the calm to your storm. They are your help when you need help, the one you can always count on. Bringing up a baby, and raising a child can be one of the hardest, most challenging tasks a person can do. But it is also one of the most rewarding experiences there is, so don’t let small troubles get in your way.

Always remember the connection with the one you love comes before your baby, children will always be in our lives. But it takes two strong people to make a relationship work. On a bad day, think back to that very first date, or very first kiss. Where was it? What did you feel? Read back into old messages when you first started talking. Rekindle that love, and go express it. On long nights when you’ve got baby puke slimed down your shirt, and the bags under your eyes are bigger than Mount Everest remember that person will always be there. Love, is meant to be unconditional, everlasting, and endless.

They are hard.

First off opening yourself up to someone. Stepping right outside your comfort zone into oblivion, is probably the hardest thing to do. You become totally venerable to judgement, broken trust, heart break everything. But you also open up to love, friendship, maybe even family.

I look back at the very first friend I had (that I can remember) her name was Nathalie. And she was gorgeous. She had dark black hair and all the boys liked her because she just had that open personality. I moved, so we are no longer friends but I’m sure at the ripe age of maybe 6 she was going to be my friend forever.

My first boyfriend, I was around 9. He wanted to kiss me and that was way too far, so we sat under the slide, after school during daycare. While listening to a fellow student practice his violin. Romance at its finest clearly..

My first REAL friend. My momma. She has always displayed unconditional love for me and I can be completely myself around her. The relationship me and my mom have is purely unbreakable and I love it. I can honestly say I would take my own life rather than hers because I couldn’t imagine a day without her here with me.

My first TRUE love. Yet to come..

Basically. Don’t be afraid to show your true colours. YOU are you. And no one can change that no matter how hard they try. You’ll go through life with people constantly agreeing and disagreeing with things you say or your ways of doing things. They have their own ways of thinking and so do you, everyone is different. Eventually maybe people will start to realize that and the phase of trying to be like everyone else will slowly fade away. To each their own. You are beautiful, flawless, and strong. Don’t forget it.

My little 3 month, 6 day old baby girl taught herself how to roll today. This tiny little step brings me so much joy, knowing that only a few short months ago I was doing everything for her. Now there’s one less thing, and in less and less time there will be nothing I have to do for her. My question then will be what can I do for you? Thats my job as a mother I think, always lending a helping hand toward growth. Teaching my little one new things each and every day, and in return, her teaching me.

So far being a mother is so rewarding. She knows me, when she cries she cries for me, knowing I will answer. I become her protector, her food, her calm to sleep, her doctor, her safe zone. I am her mom. Unconditional love written on my forehead, in bold.

This is what I signed up for. This is my forever.

No one can mentally prepare themselves enough for their first child. No matter what age you are you are never fully ready for what is about to come. Here is my list of 25 things I didn’t know, but wish I knew about a new baby and being a new mom.

1. Unconditional love has never looked so sweet.

2. You will never have the “perfect” sleep ever again. Or at least until your child has moved out. Say goodbye to those zzz’s!

3. Sometimes, you’ll need to leave baby in a safe place and take a step out of the room to gather your sanity. Unless you have the patience of a dead man, this one is inevitable.

4. Breast feeding is HARD! Don’t give up, you’ll regret it after awhile.

5. They say you shed weight from breast feeding? I doubt that. I think you shed weight from never being able to sit down and eat a decent meal.

6. Sometimes. Peeing while holding your baby just has to happen… You’re not the worst mother in the world, I promise.

7. Baby’s two month vaccinations are hard on mom too, it’s okay to cry.

8. Babies can NOT be spoiled at three months, that is a crock of poo and studies stand with me on that. Don’t listen to your grandmother.

9. Hemorrhoids can happen after birth too. They suck.

10. There’s nothing more mind settling knowing that your baby is asleep, and now you can rest too.

11. It’s okay to call over a family member or friend to watch baby so you can have a shower. It’s probably needed anyways.

12. You go ahead, and you look at that baby, and you cry! You made that! You’re a superhero!

13. Your poor, poor nipples… They won’t ever be the same.

14. You really don’t NEED that change table. It’ll probably just get used for clutter anyways.

15. Babies smell lovely. Soak that up.

16. You’re allowed to bed share, you’re allowed to co sleep, you’ll allowed to put them in the crib. Whatever works best for YOU momma!

17. You rock that 5 day old pony tail, don’t let anybody tell you different. 18. No matter what the nurses say you don’t HAVE to look down there two weeks postpartum.

19. Cradle cap sucks and I have yet to figure out how to get rid of it faster.

20. Newborns aren’t known for their flawless skin let me tell you that much.

21. They grow fast, don’t spend all your time wishing they could walk, or talk, or crawl. Live in the moment now.

22. Swaddle. That is my only true advice. Unless you want your babe to be woken up by his own arm smacking him in the face.

23. Welcome all advice, take in what works best for you.

24. Don’t cheap out on a decent stroller. You’ll be using it for the next two to three years.

25. Love every minute of this precious life you have in front of you. Time goes all too fast in this world.

Ever notice that fresh, new baby has a distinct sweet smell? Ever wonder what that’s from? Me too… Sorry to say I don’t have the answer. Google might? Let me go look.

Ah, that never fails. So some say it’s that cheese like stuff that covers babies when they first come out (otherwise known as vernix caseosa), and other say it might be from amniotic fluids.

Regardless of the cause, babies smell wonderful after they’re born. I wish I could save that smell in a jar and look back on it when Ever is 15 and wanting to go to a party every weekend. Or worse.. God forbid.

-J

94 days ago I watched as my daughter came into our world for the first time. She took her first breath, opened her eyes, and felt touch for the first time. Not only did she experience many first that day, but so did I. I saw her face, heard her cries, and held her in my arms for the first time. I had my first look at true, unconditional, endless love. Until this day I had not known a love other than the love my own mother has expressed for me, and I’m so grateful now that she can experience that too. I love you Ever, xo

CLOTH DIAPERS YAY!

*warning: there’s poop talk in this post*

Never would I have thought I would be a cloth diapering momma. My family (usually the older generations) would ask “Are you using cloth diapers?” Um. No? Sounds kinda gross. My grandpa would repeatedly tell me how he would get home from work and my grandma would make him scrape off the poo from the soiled diaper into the toilet and then scrub the cloth in bleach. Not only does that sound smelly and toxic, but why on earth would you take on 5 different steps when disposables are maybe 2? That’s silly.

Well. I’m silly. Those were the old days! They’ve found easier ways for everything including cloth diapers.

Pros: 1. More cost efficient in the long run 2. No blowouts 3. Contain smell better 4. Reusable.. Duh 5. They’re cuter 6. No chemicals 7. Fewer diaper rashes 8. Soft on baby’s bum

Cons: 1. Can be messy 2. Costly upfront 3. There’s like a bajillion different types 4. More laundry 5. No sun? No fun.

•••The reason I say that about the sun is because I swear by it as a natural bleach for my diapers and liners. No joke! Literally put those bad boys out in the sun for an hour, stains be gone! Voila, they’re like new. Plus they smell actually “spring clean” not like an advertisement on a Bounce sheet box. (No offence to Bounce) •••

I decided on Sun Baby pocket diapers for me and my little bean. We also love Rumparooz, All Things Fluff and. As you can probably tell we tried out a few brands and so far, Ev being 3 months Sun Baby works best for us!

Like all cloth diapers it’s always nice to have them “pre-folded” before you get them on your babe! Always wash them before the first use.. Cloth is advertised for no chemicals, but you never know what’s on the fabric to begin with. Taking chances isn’t an option with your little sweet cheeks!

“They” say to change baby’s bum every two hours, but that always stretches a little during naps. The count of liners inside the diaper determines the amount of absorbency you’re going to get: One liner = 2-3 hour nap. Two liners = 4-5 hour nap. *on average for us*

How they work: Once baby’s done her business, her bums all wiped down (I made cloth wipes also out of baby washcloths, baby oil, water, and baby wash) I take out the liner, and throw both the liner and the diaper into a wet bag *big waterproof bag with a cute outside*. DONE.

How I clean: Laundry day I take down my big wet bag, unzip it, and throw everything inside the bag into the wash. Because Everly is breastfed her poop is pretty water soluble so I run it once on a cold rinse cycle. (If her poop was more solid I would use flushable liners inside her diaper.) After that warm/cold water full cycle with the wet bag this time.

How I dry, two words: Clothes line. :)

That's it! That's literally about all you need to know on cloth diapers and how to. No stains if you've got sun, no smell. Nothing. It's that simple people, get onboard the train of the cloth diaper trend. Beep beep!

If you have any questions ask them in the questions and quirky spot! Enjoy your diapers!