Sewing for baby

I have been helping a friend with some sewing projects for her new sweet girl's nursery on Tuesdays.  We have been having weekly sewing dates during Madeline's morning nap on Tuesdays.  All this sewing has spurred me to do a few projects on my list for my sweet girl.  Today I knocked out two of them and I am very pleased with how both turned out.

This first is a "bapron"  a bib-apron combo, for my girl who is eating now and needs to keep tidy.  This one is reversible and ties on the shoulder and on the back.  Next time I think I would do a button or velcro on the shoulder as the tie is kind of distracting for her.

I also made this t-shirt dress.  I used a old onesie that was too wide when it was her size and now fits her around the middle but was too short to snap.  This dress was so easy.  I just cut two big squares three times as wide as the onesie, sewed them together using french seams and then folded pleats until it fit the onesie.  I cute the onesie off at the bottom and sewed the skirt portion to the onesie top.  I would have liked to do a sash in a coordinating color, but I couldn't find anything in my stash so I used some rick-rack instead and it turned out cute.  This is such a great way to use an old t-shirt to make a quick dress out of scrap material.  I will definitely make more of these when she is a toddler.

Fresh Food and Baby-Led Weaning

We have been all about food around here lately.  Our big girl turned 6 months a little over a week ago and we decided she was ready to start some solids.  This timing is perfect because we are really starting to bring in a lot of fresh foods from our garden and we will be processing some of our meat animals in the next few weeks which means even more fresh food.

Here is our girl enjoying her very first food, sweet potatoes, these were from last years harvest as this years sweet potatoes will not be ready to dig for a little while.  She has been eating broccoli and carrots from our garden as well and will soon be able to try some peas and maybe some fresh pesto on some noodles.

She has also enjoyed some foods that we cannot or do not grow around here.  She has had avacado which she heard is good for a facial, bananas (she obviously can't eat a whole banana so I have been taking some of the left overs and freezing it with a little milk in ice cube trays for banana popsicles which her little teething gums appreciate), and watermelon which is just not something I grow due to lack of space.

Madeline is getting table food not purees or traditional food.  Some people call this method of feeding baby-led weaning.  We just look at it as her eating food.  She doesn't ingest much of what she is given so far, it is a learning process and oh is she learning.  She has had so much fun exploring the tastes and textures of each food.  She gags somethings (not to be confused with choking) when the food gets on her tongue and this is helping her understand how to manage food in her mouth.  We attempt to eat only organic and locally grown food.  Our garden and a lot of the local food we buy is not necessarily organic, but it is from people and places we trust to raise our food without too much unnecessary chemical interventions.  While we do not have a super strict rule about our food, we just try to make good healthy food choices, not all foods need to be organic for us to feel they are healthy and we eat unhealthy foods sometimes too (watch for coming post on cookie dough cupcakes).  However we are trying to instill an appreciation for good food in our child and we want her to be aware of where her food comes from, particularly if we did not grow the food ourselves.  We are a little more strict with what she eats then we are for ourselves.

a note on baby-led weaning:  If you choose this method of food introduction for your baby remember to never leave your baby unattended when eating.  Give your baby big pieces that he or she can handle easily and soft foods they can gum to start.  There are a lot of websites and even books about baby-led weaning.  Baby-led weaning is not recommended until the baby has reached at least 6 months and met some developmental milestones, such as sitting unassisted.  Do your research before you make choices for your child, every baby is different.

Mama made pants

I made some sweet quick change pants for my girl recently.  These pants take less than an hour to make from start to finish.  The first pair were made from scrap fabric given to me when I was collecting fabric for the nursery quilt.  These purple, green and blue earthy prints did not match the color scheme I was going for in our gender neutral nursery, but I loved them so much and knew there would be enough to make something, would our precious baby turn out to be a girl, and she was.  I was so excited to use this material for her and the pants turned out so cute.  They are elastic waist so I hope she can wear them through the summer, even if they get to short for pants they can be capris.  The pair below are reversible.  They took a little longer just trying to figure out the best way to do this.  I wanted to make them long so I could cuff them and see the fabric on the other side.  In all my effort trying to manage the reversible thing I forgot to pay attention to the print.  So now we have upside down owl pants.  At least when she looks down at her pants they are facing the correct direction for her.

A Summer List

Helping Mama in the garden by sitting and playing in her washtub

• Use this blog as a journal and a way to share with out of town family
• Sew for Madeline
• Organize the freezers (yes we have several)
• Garden a lot
• Visit with family
• Spend some time thinking and planning for the next school year, it is sure to be a good one
• Store food
• Cook everyday
• Organize my craft room
• Get a new male rabbit
• Knit Madeline a winter sweater for next year
• Organize my recipe binder/box/stack/loose papers with random food ideas on them
• Babyproof
• Make a cushion, cover and straps for Madeline's high chair (soon!!! she will be ready to eat this summer)
• Organize the basement
• PLAY WITH THIS ADORABLE BABY

Warm and cold and really good soup

Last week we had some interesting weather.  I was in the 70's Sunday and Monday so we went for lots of walks in our new stroller

still bundled up even though it was pretty warm it was not sunny for this walk like it was for some of the others

Then it started to rain and rain and rain, and it got colder and colder and colder.  By Thursday there was snow in the forecast.  We ended up only getting sleet and freezing rain, but if you drove in just about any direction a little ways there was snow, it was weird, we were in a small pocket with no snow at all.

staying inside and snuggling up with lots of blankets on cold rainy days

So on one of our really cold days I made this soup.  It was really good!

Southwestern Chicken Soup

• 1 package fajita seasoning
• 1 lb cooked shredded chicken
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 8 oz cream cheese cubed
• 2 cups grated cheddar (I used a little less)
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• handfull chopped cilantro

Put all ingredients into the crockpot or dutch oven except cilantro.  Cook on high (crockpot- 1-2 hours) or medium low (dutch oven- 30 minutes) until hot and ingredients are combined.  Stir in cilantro before serving.

Cloth Diapers

So we are a month into our cloth diapering experience and I love it.  A lot of people have asked me what diapers I like and what I don't recommend so far, so here is what I think.

Through all the illness we have had lately I have been using disposables at night because she wakes more frequently (we got a bunch from the hospital and some as a gift) and we have been sleeping in the living room because it is closer to the kitchen to clean all the nebulizer parts and pump parts as needed.

Anyhow.  We registered for and purchased a variety of brands and styles of cloth diapers so we could see what we thought and I have started to learn what I like.  So here is my analysis....this is my opinion and reflects how the diapers work with my child as a newborn.

GroVia all-in-one newborn diapers (we got 2 of these):
These are the cutest diapers and fit really well for the first few weeks, but she is already outgrowing them and probably won't be able to wear them anymore.  These are a little pricey to only last 2 or 3 weeks on a fairly average sized baby.  On the flip side most of the other fancy (not just prefold) diapers were WAY too big those first few weeks so they were handy.  They have started to leak most every time she wears them this past week so that is why I have decided to retire them.

Thirsties all-in-one:
We got one of these in the size 1 and it is great.  Has fit on the smallest adjustments since the beginning and will fit for a while.  My favorite all-in-one so far.

Besides the GroVia and the Thirsties AIO the only other diapers we could use those first few weeks were prefolds, everything else was too big, especially the one size diapers and the small/size 1 were too big too.

Flip Diaper system:
These are cool and I really love the inserts.  These are a one size diaper and they really have a lot of adjustments so they can fit pretty well.  We started using these this week (week 4) and they fit taken up all the way in every direction.  That gives me hope that they will fit for a long time.  These have a lot of stretch and seal well around the legs so we have not seen any leakage.  The inserts adjust as well and do a great job of wicking the moisture through the insert so it stays very dry against her bottom.  These are very bulky on her right now but that does not surprise me in a one size diaper.  These were also very affordable.  We got a "weekender" set that came with 2 covers and 4 inserts for a great price.

Swaddlebees pocket diapers:
I don't like these, we have 2 of these.  They may work for some, but they just don't seal up around my babies tiny legs and thus everything leaks out.  I will try these again when she gets bigger.

Best Bottom:
We got one of these in cow print that is so cute.  This is an all in 2 diaper like the flip with a cover and an insert.  These inserts snap in which I imagine will be great when she is on the move more.  I will admit that I don't really use the right inserts with the right diapers all the time....I just use whatever insert is on the top of the stack or just a folded prefold as an insert.  This diaper is great because it is very heavy duty.  It has a lot of adjustments so I think it will fit for a long time, though it just got where it fit as tight as it will go this week.

Thirsties duo wrap:
Thirsties has a lot of diaper options.  They have the all-in-one, the duo diaper which is a pocket diaper and the duo wrap, plus they make just plain old diaper covers.  We have 3 of the duo wrap in size 1 and I LOVE THESE.  The first few weeks these were too big to use with an insert, but fit over a prefold as a cover prefect.  Now I can use them as a cove over a prefold or I can throw and insert in them.  They have leg gussets that prevent leaking wonderfully and they have quite a bit of adjustments.  We will definitely get more of these when it is time to get some bigger sized diapers. These are also very reasonably priced

Bumgenius AIO:
We have one of these in the small size and it is very bulky right now but I think would make a great overnight diaper once Madeline starts sleeping longer spells at night because it has 2 inserts built in that wick the moisture through well like the flip inserts.  This diaper is also really cute and will probably not seem as bulky when she gets a touch bigger.

These are all the diapers we have tried so far (we do have 2 fuzzibunz and 2 covers for prefolds..no idea what brand.. that were hand me downs, we haven't used them yet because they are kind of big)

The all-in-one diapers are great  for on the go and seem like they would be great to leave for a sitter because it is just like a disposable, one use and you put it in the wash, you don't have to worry about showing someone how the diaper works like with prefolds or any insert/pocket diaper.  The pocket diapers really aren't for me right now.  I can see how they can be great when babies are a little bigger because you can stuff them with extra inserts.  The all-in-twos with the inserts are my favorites right now, I love that you can just change the insert and keep using the covers for a few uses, really saves on wash.  We have a lot of prefolds and I use them the regular way with a snappi or as inserts, they are handy and the ones we have are very absorbent (I have no idea what brand they are because they were a hand-me-down from my sister).

So this is what I think so far of the diapers I have tried and this is how they work for me on a small baby.  My opinions and likes/dislikes will probably change as she grows and gets to moving a lot.

Monster cookies

Made these cookies the other day.  I had a bag of M&M's in the pantry and wanted peanut butter cookies.  I found this recipe on pinterest and modified it just a little.  They turned out amazing....Myles loved them and ate several and he is not a big sweets fan.  Here is the recipe:

YOU NEED:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup regular sugar
1 stick butter
3 eggs---you know your eggs are fresh when they are just a little dirty
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup M&M's (I think I might try peanut butter M&M's next time)

TO MAKE:
1. preheat oven to 350
2. spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray
3. combine butter, peanut butter and sugars in mixer
4. beat in eggs and vanilla
5. mix in flour, oats and baking soda
6. fold in chocolate chips and M&Ms
7. scoop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet (I used ice cream scoop, made 22 good sized cookies), flatten out the dough a little once on cookie sheet
8. bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges