Be back soon

This is what's going on in my house:

I've been preoccupied with a miserable, feverish teething or sick baby. We woke up at 5am yesterday to Eli having a fever of 102 and screaming and crying. The latter proceeded to happen all day, no amount of comforting was consoling him. I held him all day, rubbed his back, sang to him, gave his cold things to chew on and cool sponge baths. Finally we got to sleep at 2am this morning (yup! he was up aaaaall day) and we slept until 7:30. His fever was down to 100 earlier and he's not crying and screaming, so he's getting better. I will be back in full force soon with some updates and reviews. Sometimes these things happen!

One tired mama + beware of your Baby Bjorn.

This mama is totally and completely exhausted. I don't know what was going on with Elijah today, but he cried more than he has ever cried before. I really think it has something to do with teething, but I can't be sure because I feel like he's been teething since he was 3 months old, and still no teeth. He is, however, practically CRAWLING. Uhm, yeah. Crawling, at 5 months, boy is starting early. I sure am about to have my hands full.

The cloths wipes are working out wonderfully. I do have to say this Prince Lionheart wipes warmer is fabulous, little E thinks so too. The potty is also working out great! We're definitely not full time EC, and there's some days where we don't do it at all, but I try to put him on his potty after every nap, and so far he pees in it about 90% of the time. I haven't caught a #2 yet but hopefully soon. It's not about potty training (I'm not really into the whole "training" thing either, I'd rather he do potty learning). If he started to hate the potty then we'd stop, but he likes it! I think he likes sitting down at that level because he gets to see all sorts of new stuff.

So recently I have been reading about different types of baby carriers and I found out that the Baby Bjorn carrier is actually not so great to use. The Bjorn puts a lot of pressure on the baby's spine and it's not a natural sitting position. This carrier can affect the spinal cord and even sometimes cause Spondylolisthesis. Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which a vertebra in the lower part of the spine slips forward and onto a bone below it. Uh, ouch. Luckily I don't use it much, I use a ring sling, but I have also been carrying him a lot, like if I am just running in to get coffee. So, if you have a Bjorn you might want to consider a different carrier. There are so many out there to choose from, there is guaranteed one that will fit your needs. Make sure you do some research before choosing a carrier too!

I am still looking for some green/eco-friendly baby products to put in my new years compilation. If you are interested or would like more details please don't hesitate to email me: jessicalwestbrook@gmail.com

Uh oh, baby is starting to stir (and I should be in bed)! Goodnight!

Teething, Sophie the Giraffe, and making diapers!

I've been encompassed by the wonderful world of teething, and when I can manage a minute to myself, sewing. This is why I haven't been writing all that much!

Elijah has been up really late the past 3 nights in a row. So exhausting! It might be some time before any teeth cut, but I know that that's what he is going through. The drooling is becoming excessive, the gnawing is a lot as usual, he's been rubbing his tongue against his top gum all the time. Fussy, cranky, sleepless! Oh how fun!

I just got Elijah Sophie the Giraffe. Hopefully that will help! Sophie is made out of 100% all natural rubber from the sap of the hevea tree and painted with non-toxic food grade paints. Finding 100% natural rubber and non-toxic toys is really hard these days, and now that everything is going into his mouth I certainly want toys and teethers that are free of chemicals, which means no plastic!
Sophie is really soft, slender (easy for babies to grasp!), and squeaks when you squeeze her!

As for sewing, I have been working on a bunch of different things! After using other peoples patterns to make some fitted diapers I finally drafted my own. All of the diapers I was trying to make were just too trim around the crotch area. I like a fuller yet trim diaper. After all, they are made to catch messes. I need to try the diapers I have made on Elijah and take some photos and get the sizing down, but they will be up for sale soon at Le Petit Owlet! I'm really excited for this! I am using all natural fibers, absolutely no synthetics. So far I have made some with a cotton print outer, french terry middle layer, and either cotton sherpa or bamboo and hemp fleece against baby. I am making these diapers with snap in soakers for quicker drying times. They are not waterproof, so you do need to use a cover with them, but they are all amazingly soft. I wanted to make natural fiber diapers because I have been running into a lot of problems with all of my synthetic diapers. They just get so stinky! They retain smells and stains, and it's a pain to get them out sometimes. I have stripped my pocket diapers way too many times, sometime I have even spent 4+ hours just running them through wash cycles with different stuff to try to get the stink out. I really don't want to spend that much time washing diapers, and I know there's a lot of people out there who agree! None of my prefolds have any stains OR stink! So natural fibers it is. Not only are they more breathable for baby, but much easier to wash for mom.

Here is a sneak peek!

Are you there blog? It's me, Jessica.

It's late. 1:40am late. I am terrible at going to bed early, I just can't do it. Lucky for me Elijah loves to sleep at night (for the most part), and in, so I am fairly well rested.

I think my little guy might be starting his teething. He's been pretty fussy at night, drooling a bunch, gnawing on his hands, and rubbing his upper gums with his tongue. He's 3.5 months old, so it's very possible that this is starting. I was really hoping he would wait until, oh I don't know, 9 months, 10 months, heck I would be ok with a year! With teeth will come biting, I don't like biting, especially biting while he is nursing. Ouch! We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Shutterfly.com - Ah-mazing. If you have a baby, or a child in general, or just love taking pictures and making stuff with them, then you have to get a Shutterfly account. I was told about this b a friend who made and received a free photo book. I like free! So, I signed up and uploaded some photos. They email me promo codes like every two weeks. I got the free photo book one, which I used and is pretty great, and I just used a promo code for 50 free prints. Buying prints through Shutterfly is cheaper than us printing our own, and they look better, all nice and glossy. They have more than just that stuff though! They offer prints in all different sizes: wallets, 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, even 20x30! You can make a variety of photo books from very small to very large, and you can choose hardcover, softcover, and how many pages you want. Calendars, posters, key chains, coffee mugs. Oh, and my favorite, holiday cards! I can't wait to order photo Christmas cards this year. I feel like such a mom. So, go sign up for Shutterfly and enjoy free stuff (you only have to pay shipping)!

I am starting to get my creative bug/I want to do things bug back. This is nice. I am going to start out slow, but I really, really, really want to start making stuff to sell in my Etsy shop. I need to make money, and I need a hobby. I am really excited about wool right now. Maybe it's the cooler weather we have been having, but I am in dire need for wool everything. I think I want to try to make some upcycled wool longies from thrifted wool sweaters, all I need is the sweaters, and a tutorial on how to work that magic. Eventually I would love to make some wool sleep sacks, wool overalls, wool, wool, OMG I love wool. I want to felt some wool too! I can make some felted beads, or felted diaper covers. Oh boy, so much fun.

I would also love to make little kids clothing. I have been thinking about it and I want to make stuff that is gender neutral. Think greys, browns, creams, black. Bamboo and organic cotton. Really simple, very mix and match, and perfect for people like me who hate pink and blue.

I need to replace my sewing machine. It's broken. I also would really love a serger. I want the best of both worlds!

P.S. I have now enabled comment posting for ANYONE! You don't need an account to leave comments on my posts anymore. I love to hear what you have to say, so start commenting!

xo