Confessions of a (not so) crunchy mama

I used a paper towel today.  In fact, I think I used three.  And you know what, I'm ok with it.

And while I'm in the mood to confess lets add:  my daughter wears disposable diapers more often than I thought when we made the cloth plunge; I use disposable razors despite owning an electric one which is buried somewhere in the closet; and I just can't get myself to commit to no poo (baking soda and ACV "shampoo").  

Rather than beat myself up over my sogginess, I'm trying to remind myself that this is a journey, not a test.  I truly believe that in order to live life to the full, I need to challenge myself.  Some challenges are worth persevering through, others I just need to let go.  And most importantly along this journey, I'm learning that extending myself and others grace sometimes means accepting a shoulder to cry on and a tissue (even though I have a handkerchief in my purse).

~Carla

Adventures in Babywearing

A Sling

There's a problem here its become quite clear.
Got a 6-month-old Sling fanatic who is clearly an addict.
Wakes in the mid of night screams with horrific might.
So outa the bed I fling and don the medicinal Sling.
Over the head the tool I fit and in it, him I sit.
Instantly he begins to cooo tis amazing what the sling will do.
Which route should I pursue, when he's 20 what should I do?
I gotta wean him from the Sling I tell you, its an addictive thing!
— Bondweign, Hanrath

A few years ago, I had no concept of what baby-wearing really was.  A friend of mine was a distributor of the Maya wrap (ring sling- adjustable with metal rings) and I bought one from her for my cousin.  I wasn't really sure what it was or how she would use it, but I decided it would okay since it came with an instructional DVD.

Fast forward 3 years and I have a baby of my own.  That same sweet friend who I bought the Maya wrap from not only got me one, but also got me a pouch sling and my Ohio besties sprung for a Boba 3G (Carla's recommendation) from my Amazon registry.  I also borrowed a Moby wrap from Carla.  So all in all, I have 4 babywearing devices to choose from.

Moby

Maya ring sling

Boba 3G carrier

When L was a newborn, I found that the Maya, Moby, and Boba worked best.  He was 7 lb., 1 oz and he fit snug as a bug in a rug.  In the early days, I could tuck his feet, bend his knees, and fit him snugly against my chest.  He would lay his head near my heart and that familiar sound and warmth would woo him to sleep.  I liked each wrap for different reasons.  For outside the home, I preferred the Maya or the Boba for several reasons- the Boba provides more support than the Maya, and was easier for me to use when alone.  The Maya wrap took me FOREVER to figure out how to put it on.  It was easier though to adjust to get the perfect fit.  I liked to use the Moby at home due to the ridiculously LONG fabric.  The Moby is just one looong piece of fabric folded in half, so it is much easier to use at home.  I didn't want to drag it across the parking lot.

Now that he is 5 months old, I am continuing to change the way I use my carriers.  Now I prefer the Boba and Maya.  I can now carry him on my hip in the Maya (thanks to my friend Rachael).  In the Boba, his legs can hang out, but he is still facing in.  He gets mad at this sometimes because he likes to be able to look around.  I have also tried to wear him in a pouch sling recently, but it still feels awkward to me. 

I LOVE to wear my baby.  Sure, I get some strange looks sometimes from people, but I love that it is a time for bonding with him.  It is amazing how much he calms down when I wear him.  It is also much easier when going shopping or doing a lot of walking than carrying that HUGE infant pumpkin seat.  Good gosh, my child is tiny and it is still way too heavy for me!  Before "luxuries" such as pumpkin seats, baby swings, and bouncers existed, moms (and dads!) were "wearing" their babies.  They understood (centuries ago) the calmness, bonding, convenience and joy that baby-wearing brings. 

Review the following links for the benefits on baby-wearing:

Dr. Sears on Baby-wearing

La Leche League on Baby -wearing



For your viewing pleasure, check out this video:
Baby Mamas (Put a Sling On 'Em)


~Trina

Homestyle Haircuts

I have a memory from childhood of sitting in the backyard of our whitewashed farmhouse parsonage in rural Georgia having my long red hair cut by my mom.  I'm not even sure how often I got my hair cut at that age or how often my mom was the one doing it.  But that memory is so fond to me as an adult, that I have begged my mom a few times to cut my hair.  She hems and haws for a few days until I convince her that I honestly do not care if every hair is perfectly straight.  I've never been able to make my hair completely straight anyway.  Katie observed Mom cutting my hair on the front porch a month or so ago and has since occasionally talked about the experience.  She is learning to cut paper and is intrigued by this newly discovered use for scissors.  I've tried to make it VERY clear that cutting hair is only a job for mommies and daddies, NOT for 2.5 year olds!!  But I secretly do look forward to the day (hopefully not for at least another year though) when I sit with Katie out on the back patio and cut her hair for the first time.  I hope it means as much to her as it does to me.

When I first started dating Steve, he was long overdue for a haircut.  He has very thick hair and at that point of his life, he wore it quite a bit longer than he does now.  He sort of swept it over to the side in a dorky, but lovable sort of way.  I smile now thinking about it.  Thankfully after I came along, he had motivation to be more "groomed."

I've had the privilege of cutting Steve's hair for at least the past 7 years.  The last professional hair cut he had was for a friend's wedding 6 years ago.  I was still perfecting my skills at that point and he felt like he should have a "real" cut.  The set of clippers we have been using for the past 3 or 4 years is a basic Wahl set that Mom got us for Christmas.  Steve's preference is to have the back of his hair a level or two shorter than the top.  And I've learned that there needs to be some sort of fade between the top and bottom or he gets what I affectionately refer to as "wings" on the side of his head.

And as you've probably guessed by now, I'm going to brag about the MONEY we save by cutting his hair at home.  I typically cut Steve's hair once a month (more like every 3 weeks in the summer), but I'm sure he would only make time to get a professional hair cut every 6 weeks.  So let's say he were to shell out $15 (is that the going rate these days?) approximately 9 times a year.  That's $135 a year not counting the time and gas it would take to go to a barber.  The clippers only cost my mom around $20 and it only takes me about 20 minutes from setup to cleanup!

I've tried to convince Steve that he should cut my hair.  He gets irritated that I even mention the possibility because he thinks he would be ruining a "masterpiece."  So I guess I'll just deal with twisting mom's arm every once in a while when I can't make it to my wonderful hairdresser.  And I can't wait to do a future post about Katie's first cut.

Laundry Day the Natural Way

I am very sensitive to fragrances of all kinds, but especially those that are used in detergents and softeners because I carry the smell around via the clothes on my body.  When we go on walks, I can smell whether someone is doing laundry when we walk by a house based on the fumes coming out of the dryer vent.  Since I started becoming responsible for my own laundry, I have become more aware of the plethora of products, fragrances, additives, dyes, etc. etc. that literally leave my head swimming when I walk down the cleaning aisle of the store.  Here are some ways I've been working on making my laundry day a little more natural:

Vinegar vs. Softener

One of the first changes I made in the laundry process was to eliminate softener in the washing machine by substituting vinegar.  I'm not completely certain, but I believe I picked up this tip from one of the greatest books I have ever come across, The Complete Tightwad Gazette.  I simply splash about an 1/8th of a cup into the softener dispenser in the washer.  (or this past summer when I used a washer that did not have a dispenser, I put vinegar in a Downy ball).  Softener actually adds chemicals to the fibers being washed to make them feel softer whereas vinegar dissolves residual detergent off of the fibers leaving materials softer and cleaner.  Also, I don't use any dryer sheets as the vinegar virtually eliminates any static.

Detergent

Until recently, I struggled to find a laundry detergent recipe that seemed feasible to me to make.  I faithfully clipped coupons for All Free & Clear to match with sales and was able to get detergent at what I considered a decent price.  I lacked motivation and just continued with what worked and was "convenient".  Then, I started having problems with my daughter's cloth diapers leaking.  The build up of the detergent I was using combined with our extremely hard water was keeping the inserts from getting clean and therefore cut down on absorbancy.  I researched natural, cloth diaper friendly laundry detergent and found the following recipe:

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Equal Parts:

Arm N Hammer Super Washing Soda

Baking Soda

Sun Oxygen Cleaner

The original author of the recipe goes into the science of why these ingredients work so I will spare you.  I initially tried using 1 cup of each product as a starter.  I mixed up the ingredients with a wire whisk and stored the finished product in an old ice cream bucket.  The recommendation is to use 2-3 Tablespoons per load, which is about the equivalent to the scoop size which came in the Sun Oxygen Cleaner bucket.  I made a little cheat sheet of the recipe and the amount to use per load and taped it to the top of the bucket as a quick reference for mixing up refills and for anyone doing substitute laundry duty (aka Steve). 

Although the original recipe was intended as a cloth diaper detergent, I have been using it on all of my laundry with satisfactory results.  I figure if the detergent is strong enough to clean all of the lovely residue off of diapers, it is surely good enough for all of my laundry.  This recipe is truly very simple to make.  And one of the best parts to me is that all of the ingredients cost less than $12 total!!  I estimated that the original containers of ingredients should last at least 6 months if I don't use them to clean anything else around the house.  I also feel pretty good about the ingredients that go into the detergent.  No dyes or perfumes or super nasty harmful chemicals.

Drying

My next step in simplifying/reducing the impact of my laundry process is to line dry more of my clothes.  I always line dry diaper shells, sweaters, and other no-dry items, but I have had ups and mostly downs with hanging other clothes to dry.  Honestly I think it's somewhat less stressful to line dry because I don't have to worry about clothes sitting in the dryer getting wrinkled until I remember to take them out (ahem... like right now).  Once clothes are dry on the awesome drying rack I got from IKEA, and I bother to do something about it, I can throw them in the dryer on air fluff/no heat if necessary to remove stiffness.  There is the sacrifice of floor space while drying unless it's a nice day outside and I can put the racks on the patio.  Also, I just love the idea of line drying as I mentioned in an earlier post about the prairie in my mind.  So I basically need to motivate myself to get back into the habit.

Guess I should go do something about those khakis that have been sitting around in the dryer for hours...

~Carla