Making The Switch To Eco-Friendly Cloth Diapers – johanna
January 2nd, 2009 | Filed under: THE DISH ON PARENTING

New moms have plenty to think about these days. There is the birth plan, what color to paint the nursery, breast feeding vs. bottle feeding and cloth diapers vs. disposable. I passed on the cloth mostly because I had memories of my mom swirling the cloth diaper around in the toilet to clean the fecal matter off. I have listened to my mother-n-law recount her experiences scrubbing the garments with bleach and how her awful her hands hurt. However, if I knew what I knew now I most likely would have chosen the more eco-friendly way. By now I am too set in my ways. That is not to say with time and a little coaxing one day I will switch over.

A friend of mine recently switched over to cloth diapers. Forget all images of safety pins and plastic covers. These things are amazing. Patty makes hers as the cost to buy them can be costly at first (about $15 plus per diaper). Happy Heiny’s and BumGenius have snaps allowing them grow with your baby from birth to toilet training. The gDiapers starter kit have disposable inserts but the refills are fairly expensive.

The all in one diapers are shaped like underware and made of a waterproof material on the outside with Velcro closures. Inside there is an insert that absorbs the urine; also making it convenient to reuse the diaper after adding a new insert. Another great modern invention is the flushable diaper liner making poopy diapers a cinch to clean. For night time use many moms use two liners or doublers inside the shell for extra absorbency. Hemp and bamboo being the preferred liner as they are more absorbent than cotton. At the end of the day they still have to be washed. Some moms leave them in a bucket of bleach water. Some throw them in the washer for the next day. The fall back is how many times they have to be washed. I suspect the amount of water used sort of defeats the point. On the other hand it is nice to think they are not filling up the land fill.

Technorati Tags: bum genius, bumkins, cloth diapers, eco freiendly diapers, flushable diaper liner, fun family, going green, happy heiny's, kushies

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January’s Website Review: The Happiness Project & My Simpler Life – johanna
December 31st, 2008 | Filed under: THE BOOKSHELF, THE DISH ON PARENTING, THE ORGANIZED HOME

This month’s website review happens to include two websites; The Happiness Project and My Simpler Life.

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT is a memoir written by Gretchen Rubin about her year long adventure as she sets out to test every theory, tip and scientific study on being happier. The website is her daily blog on the subject.

MY SIMPLER LIFE - SIMPLE LIVING
Beth Dargis is a simplicity coach. Her goal is to help teach others how to love life, work hard and have fun, how to stay positive and take time to relax. She helps her clients “uncover what is the most important things for them to be doing.” She coaches those individuals “searching for something more in their life while releasing what they no longer need.” There is no need to become a client in order to become inspired or get tips on time management off of Beth’s website.

Both The Happiness Project and My Simpler Life teach how to step back, breathe and enjoy what we have at the moment. My brother once told me you are who you are now, unless you change who you are today. I have come to realize their is never going to be a better day than today unless I make it so. I find I am happier when I break free of me. When I can step back and think of all the joy around me. It takes time and a lot of practice. I am also trying to laugh more. Something I lost for a while. It is really hard to be angry when I am laughing or singing.

Technorati Tags: 10 tips to being happy, Beth Dargis, change, Gretchen Rubin, my simpler life, New Years resolutions, the happiness project, time management

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Winter Flu Season Tips – johanna
October 12th, 2008 | Filed under: THE DISH ON PARENTING

Fall is almost here and that means, allergies and colds. Last year, we had an epidemic of colds, flu’s, ear infections and the like up until March of this year. As much as I love my Pediatrician, I am determined to make it through this flu season without weekly visits to see her or our friends at Urgent Care.

With the first onset of cool weather, I run a cool mist humidifier every night and supplement an extra dose of vitamin C. (per our Pediatrician’s suggestion, I dissolve half of a 250 ML chewable tablet in milk or water once a day.) If they are sick, we give them a dose of Acidophilus in their food to help support their immune system.

For stuffy noses, I use Little Noses Saline Drops and run the Theraflu or vicks room fan. (One runs on batteries and the other is a night light that plugs into a wall socket.) I have one for our room too. They work wonders. Or, I add salt and eucalyptus oil to the humidifier. It is also helpful to place a small folded blanket or pillow under the mattress to elevate the head.

I keep Childrens Motrin around in case the flu hits and they develop a high fever. We also have Childrens Advil and Tylenol in the event they get an ear infection.

****These are suggestions approved by our Pediatrician for our children. Please consult your child’s Pediatrician first to get his/her approval.

Technorati Tags: baby cold remedies, baby congested, baby flu, flu season, kids flu

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