Yesterday Bella went pee on the potty.

It was a really big deal here. We’ve been doing some casual (super casual) training for the past few weeks. Basically by training I mean I let her run around either with just pants or a dress on, no diaper, and then she pees. And I explain that pee-pee goes in the potty, she helps take off her clothes (or watches me clean up the small pee) and we go from there. She would want to sit on the toilet every so often, but nothing happened. I wondered what it would take for her to understand what the sensation of peeing in there, or just the act, would be.

Quite honestly? I had no idea what on earth I was doing. And everyone seems to have a different way of training, so it confused me even more. All I knew was we didn’t have the money to spend on cloth trainers and I wasn’t going to start disposables full time now.

So we just bare bottomed it. (more…)

Every morning for the past few weeks, Bella wakes up soaked in pee. Her sheets, her clothes, all her blankets and animals. It’s often so much she has to have a bath so it won’t cause her skin to sting.

Before I go to bed I check her and she’s usually fine. She does take a water bottle to bed and I know this is part of the reason, but if she doesn’t have it she wakes up crying in the night of thirst and drinks a lot of water at that point anyway.

This is ruining her mattress, which sits in pee for hours each night. It creates an extra 2-3 loads of laundry a week. She’s unhappy when she wakes up.

No matter what I put her in; wool, AIO, pockets, or prefolds, and no matter how much I stuff it, she leaks.

Besides not giving her any water, I’d love ideas of what we can do to help this. Is there a certain diaper that parents of heavy wetters swear by? A way to layer soakers and things to make it more absorbent? Her diapers work perfectly during the day, it’s just at night they’re not able to hold it all.

Also I’d love recommendations of what we could put on her bed to help keep both her and the mattress drier if this continues.

Thanks everyone. <3

We’re all moved into our new house. And it’s lovely. It needs some work, but nothing we can’t handle, and remind me never, ever to complain about my husband not helping enough around the house. This 3 day weekend Sam spent all his free time steam cleaning the carpet for hours, on the roof checking the air, outside working for Bella to have some lawn, and helping put all the furniture and back together and in place.

This morning I got that feeling I haven’t had much of since we sold our home last July. I was walking on the cool tile, getting ready for the day as Bella slept in our room. It’s hot enough that the most comfortable thing is to wear a dress or skirt everyday (which aside from the daily leg shaving, I am growing to love). The washing machine was going, the cloth diapers were ready to use again (how I’ve missed them), the fans were on to ward off the upcoming heat, the recycling bin was out again (yes. I missed it) and I was making breakfast. I looked around at our clean, white, pretty home and I was content.

And I had that overwhelming feeling of happiness for what life has handed me. I was thankful to be at home. To be *in* a home. To have the time to cook new recipes and clean till it shines. To wash cloth diapers, start a garden, knit slippers and be a housewife. To have farmers markets, Gymboree, an awesome base, and a zoo close by. To have a backyard for Bella to play in. To sit on my porch at night and listen to the children in our neighborhood play and laugh. To curl up to my husband at night again.

To have a Super Target, Olive Garden, and The Children’s Place within a mile of me.

Had to throw some shallow in there.

It’s been a hard few weeks. And it wasn’t the easiest to move in here. Everything that could have gone wrong did. But it’s been worth it. Because if that time in the hotel and the first couple days here hadn’t sucked so much (and they really, truly did – from the movers showing up 3 hours late to 2 cats running away to the air conditioning breaking to the smell of cat pee that took days to get rid of) I wouldn’t appreciate this as much. I wouldn’t see that El Paso offers some of the same things as Denver, or walk through my home and see the good instead of picking it apart.

Is life perfect? No. But quite honestly, it’s better than I could have imagined in the past few months of turmoil. I’m beginning to love it here.

And? Vlog of the house coming soon. Here’s a peek:

There is an uncomfortableness I often feel when people ask about the way we live and choose to raise Bella. From no TV (cable/satellite) to natural food, from baby led weaning to cloth diapers. Our decisions have often been the butt of jokes or incredulous stares.

And we’re pretty moderate when it comes to natural parenting. ‘Cause I heart Clorox Wipes. Sam loves bleach. Gerber snacks saved our sanity on the last two trips out of town. And the toilet wand with the throw away scrubbies? That thing and I are like this ::crosses fingers:: (more…)

I’m in the middle of helping 4 different moms and moms-to-be in learning how to cloth diaper and which to buy. I’m also buying and testing out different brands to tell you guys about. I’m dishing out my opinions on baby wearers, and the best bras for breastfeeding – from early on to a year in. (Yep, we’re still doing it here.)

It’s no secret I love cloth diapering. I love to buy them, prep them, wash them, fold them, store them neatly in Bella’s drawers. I also love to baby wear. I have a Moby, Ergo, Bjorn, sling – and my arms. And while breastfeeding wasn’t the easiest or most fun for me, I am an advocate for it because I know the benefits, but I understand how very painful and frustrating it can be.

So the other day, Sam mentioned I should think about starting some kind of online business that had to do with cloth diapering, baby wearing, nursing, etc. (more…)