Continue reading]]> Hello there!  We are pleased to bring to you a  Buttons Cloth Diaper review and giveaway.  I had the opportunity to try a Buttons diaper for a few weeks so I could review it.  I was very pleased with the quality and construction as well as with the look and function of the diaper.

Buttons has options and I like options!  You can choose snap-in soakers with microfiber for a budget option.  If you are not a fan of microfiber, (which I am not), you can choose an organic cotton/hemp blend.  You can even choose an overnight snap in soaker that snaps into the regular soaker or into the cover itself.  They have a wide variety of cover options and the thing I like best about Buttons diapers is the attention to detail.  My diaper came hand wrapped in tissue paper and string!

Speaking of the cover, it is really well made.  It has 2 layers of PUL and double gusseted legs to help prevent leaks. It is a one size cover that fits babies 9-35 pounds.  I never had a leak with this awesome diaper.

If you would like to see my full review of this diaper, check out my YouTube video here.

THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND THE WINNER IS: BECKY ANN!!!  I have never had the first commenter win before.  Congratulations!  You have 72 hours to claim your prize.  Next in line is Anel!

GIVEAWAY
Enter to win a free Buttons cover and TWO snap in soakers of your choice!

DETAILS

Expires on 11/12/2014 at 9 am MST

A winner will be chosen at random

HOW TO ENTER

(Use any or all of these options)

1. Post a comment on this blog post stating what you like best about Buttons diapers= 1 entry

2. Follow us on social media = 1 entry EACH

Subscribe to the Positively Mommy blog (top right of this page)

www.youtube.com/user/PositivelyMommy/featured

www.facebook.com/PositivelyMommy

www.pinterest.com/positivelymommy/

twitter.com/PositivelyMommy

3. Follow Buttons Cloth Diapers on social media = 1 entry EACH

www.facebook.com/buttonsdiapers
www.twitter.com/Buttons_Diapers
www.pinterest.com/buttonsdiapers

MAKE SURE TO COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST TO TELL US WHAT ENTRIES YOU COMPLETED SO WE KNOW TO COUNT YOU

(If you are already following us on social media, that counts as an entry too!)

RIGHT NOW BUTTONS HAS FREE SHIPPING OVER $75 FOR A LIMITED TIME!!!

Continue reading]]> Charlene Freestone, a cloth diaper expert, an admin on the diapering group, Chic Utah’s Moms on facebook, and owner of the blog C, G & Mr. B, graciously allowed me to take some videos of her beginning Cloth Diapers Class held in Lehi, Utah.  You will see 6 videos here in this post that were taken that night, all with a different and helpful theme about cloth diapering.  Links to the diapers and items used in the videos are in the description of the videos themselves, so be sure to check those out (click on the title of each individual video to get to the links).

 
CLOTH DIAPER BRANDS, STYLES, & BASICS

CLOTH DIAPER ACCESSORIES YOU WILL NEED

HOW TO WASH CLOTH DIAPERS (WITH REGULAR DETERGENT)

HOW TO CLOTH DIAPER A NEWBORN (EASILY AND INEXPENSIVELY)

HOW TO CLOTH DIAPER TWINS SUCCESSFULLY!

CLOTH DIAPERING OVERNIGHT

Continue reading]]> While my husband and 13 year old were on a vacation, I decided to cloth diaper our one year old baby (I had decided to when he was first born as well, but never followed through). At that time, he had a horrible rash on his entire stomach all the way up to his chest as well as on his legs. My other kids have been very sensitive to bleach and I suspected he was even more sensitive than they were. I asked the doctor about it and he said he could prescribe a steroid cream. I am not even remotely interested in trying steroid creams as I feel the risks outweigh the benefits and I would rather find the source of the problem than treat the symptoms which is all steroid creams can do.

Within 2 days of cloth diapering, the itchy rashes on my little guy’s belly were completely gone. Within about a week and a half, the rashes on his legs were gone too. I admit there is a bit of a learning curve with cloth diapers and finding a routine that works for YOU (and not someone else), is vital. Now that I am in the habit, it’s no big deal at all and I figure it takes me about an hour a week in extra time. It also saves money. We will save about $1000+ by cloth diapering over the next 2 years. Cloth diapers have a robust after market value as well (especially Grovia), so once you are done, you can sell them for half of what you bought them for, and sometimes more!

I set off on a mission to find the best cloth diapers. I have tried 20-30 different types of cloth diapers and have narrowed down the best one in each category.  They are in no particular order. If you would prefer to skip my written commentary, please feel free to watch the video instead!

TOP 5 CLOTH DIAPERS

Some affiliate links follow.  I was given free samples of some of these diapers, but I am giving my true and honest review of each.

Best Pocket

Baby Kicks Premium pocket diaper, color is called “Poppy”  (buy on Amazon)
Buy on Baby Kicks Site

Pocket diapers are the most popular type of cloth diaper on the market.  They are easy to use and very effective.  There is usually an outer shell that has an opening in which an insert is stuffed in.  The top portion wicks moisture away from the baby onto the insert.  You remove the insert before washing.  Here are some details about the Baby Kicks Premium pocket diaper:

• Cost: $21.50
• Comes with JoeyBunz pocket insert AND a stay dry liner
• Made from 30% certified organic cotton and 70% rayon bamboo.  The inside is velour.
• This is a one size (OS) diaper for 7-40 pounds and has a snap rise
• Awesome, soft leg gussets called “air” – no red marks
• Front pocket opening (most other diapers have their opening in the back.  You decide which you would like better)
• Side snaps (also available in Velcro) – no wing droop
• Very trim
• Waterproof PUL cover
• Very soft!  Like ridiculous soft
• Very minimal pilling
• No leaks
• Made in China

Best All in One

Grovia AiO, print is called “Pudge” (buy on Amazon)

Buy on Grovia’s site

All in one means everything is sewn in and attached.  No stuffing needed.  This is a really easy way to cloth diaper (but may have longer drying times and the cover needs to be washed every time the diaper is soiled because it is all one piece).

• Cost $24
• Comes with everything needed to diaper the baby sewn in (and a snap in/out doubler)
• Made from organic cotton
• This is a one size diaper for 10-35 pounds and has a snap rise
• Soft lining (no red marks)
• Thermal laminated waterproofed outer shell, called TPU (no solvents or formaldehyde involved in the process) – YAY!
• Side snaps – no wing droop
• Attention to quality and detail are apparent
• No leaks, very absorbant
• Very trim
• No pilling
• Doesn’t take a long time to dry
• They seem stain resistant to me
• Made in China

Best All in Two (Hybrid)

A hybrid or all in two (Ai2) is a 2 part system, usually involving snaps which keep the soakers in place (yes!).  Hybrid’s and All in Twos are my personal favorite type of diaper.  I like that you only touch the dry part to unsnap and I like that you can reuse the covers because that means less laundry and less wear and tear on the covers.  And, I’m all about less laundry and diapers that last the long haul.

Grovia Hybrid cover and soakers, print is called “Surf” (buy on Amazon).

Buy on Grovia’s site

• Cost $33 (but comes with 2 soakers) – so you get 2 uses out of this set
• The soaker is made from organic cotton (or alternatively choose the stay dry soaker which is not organic cotton, but is unbleached)
• This diaper set is one size for 8-30+ pounds.  It has snaps on the front (called a snap rise) for size adjustment
• Comes in Velco (also called Aplix or Hook and Loop) or snaps.  I like Velcro for my squirmy, busy guy.  It’s faster and a more custom fit.  I find it friendlier for my hubby and my daughter to put on too.  Velcro diapers will show more wear (pilling on the fabric), but they are really nice in the short term.
• Laundry tabs for velcro (genius!)
• Mesh on the inner cover helps keep leaks at bay
• Snap-in and stay in place soaker has TPU backing so the cover never gets soiled when baby wets.  When baby poops, I alway need to wash the cover.
• Cover dries almost instantly, but the soakers take quite a long time to dry.
• No leaking.  These are amazing diapers!
• No pilling
• Very trim.  You can hardly tell the baby is wearing a diaper.
• Made in China

Honorable mention in the Ai2 category:  Happy Endings Eco Diapers made from charcoal bamboo (a little larger than Grovia in the trimness factor, but they are very effective and nearly a third of the price).  And, no stains, ever. $11.  They have AWESOME prints and are one size with a snap rise.  They have double leg gussets to combat leaks. They dry very quickly.  I am still on the fence about whether I love or hate microfiber right now though.  The fabric does “pill” if that bothers you.  This is a normal occurrence with many styles of diapers.  As a bonus, these can be used as a pocket or an Ai2. Here’s a link to buy on Amazon if you wish.

Best Overnight Diaper

I have tried so many overnight diapers which make my son look like a bull-legged marshmallow man.  I’m serious.  It’s insane.  And, on top of that, they leak.  Just sayin’ my son sleeps 14 hours, so I wasn’t expecting a ton, but this diaper was the best and the trimmest of all of the ones I tried.

HappyEndings Eco Diaper, “Night, Night” diaper, Mine is the “ABC’s” print which is no longer available (buy on Amazon)

Buy on HappyEndings Eco Diaper site

• Cost $16 + comes with soaker
• Made from charcoal bamboo which is naturally antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial
• One size diaper with a snap rise
• Stay dry layer protects baby’s skin from wetness
• Has a sewn in overnight booster that ROCKS!
• Double leg gussets
• Trim fit for a night diaper
• Customizable to your needs
• Use as an AiO diaper if you are not using it at night
• Has a back pocket to stuff the insert into
• Effective as a night diaper, even with a heavy wetter
• The fabric “pills”
• Not technically organic, but is so much more effective than any organic overnight diaper I have tried.  Charcoal bamboo is not bleached and is a natural material that is great for sensitive skin.
• Made in China

Best Fitted / Prefolds

A fitted is made from all fabric with snaps (no cover).  A prefold looks like an awesome burp cloth.  People tend to choose fitteds and prefolds because they are easy, very customizable and budget-friendly.

OsoCozy Fitted – Choose appropriate size (buy on Amazon)

Oso Cozy Fitted (buy on clothdiaper.com)

OsoCozy Prefold – Choose appropriate size (buy on Amazon)
OsoCozy Prefold (buy on clothdiaper.com)

• Cost for organic SIZED fitted $10, Cost for prefold $3.50-$5 depending on size
• Choose your size and get a custom fit for your baby
• Prefolds are made from 50% bamboo and 50% cotton
• Lint free
• Covers more surface area, so it absorbs more (great for heavy wetters)
• The fitted comes with a sewn in soaker
• Birds Eye Weave fabric on the fitted
• Easy to use
• Easy to wash
• Needs a cover (get double gusseted covers here for under $8.50)
• The quality is absolutely untouched with OsoCozy.  Their fabrics are thick and absorbent and so, so soft.
• You can use the prefolds as a doubler or as a soaker with the addition of a cover
• Keep in mind these diapers will shrink 10-15% when you prep them
• Made in the USA

If you have any questions, please post a comment and I would be more than happy to answer or help in any way I can!

Continue reading]]> I have recently had the opportunity to try out a few different baby carriers and/or slings.  See the following short video reviews below for my honest opinion.  I was not paid or given free items for these reviews.

Infantino Mei Tai

Bity Bean (love this one for short term wears and in the pool!)

7 Sling (ouch!)

I hope you found these baby carrier reviews helpful.  I still hold to the Boba being my very favorite carrier from birth all the way to 1 year +.  If you have any questions, please post a comment.

Continue reading]]> This post is a little bit about how to prioritize your time and a little bit of me venting…

I am a busy Mom.  I have diapers to change, kids to feed, a large home and yard to keep up. I work part-time. I have food allergies which makes everything a little difficult.  I do home school with my kids.  I am active in the LDS church and local community which require a lot of my time.  I am always in a hurry and I am always stressed from the moment I wake up in the morning to the minute I go to bed (and even in my sleep, I dream about being stressed!).  I am responsible for so many things and sometimes it feels like the world is on my shoulders.  I don’t know how long I can continue like this as something has got to give!  I am pretty sure this is not the way God intended me to feel.  I think he wants me to enjoy life, to learn all I can, and to be happy.   I can’t say I am unhappy, per se, but I do feel that I could improve so many areas in my life.  This is something I recently did a post on being the “perfect” Mom, which I do not believe is attainable or even desirable (at least in the sense that most of us look at it in).  Over the last few years I have really leaned towards living a more simple and meaningful life.  I fail miserable sometimes, but I also make huge strides at other times.  Over time, I inch closer and closer to this goal.

While out on a dinner date with my husband last week I expressed to him that I felt like I was running, running, running all the time trying to keep up with my life and I felt as if I wasn’t really accomplishing anything of value.  He is super laid back, so I didn’t expect him to be able to relate.  He said a lot of times he feels the same way, but he felt like if he was doing the most important things first, it wouldn’t matter so much if he let the little things go.  That conversation prompted me to reevaluate my priorities quite a bit.  Do I really need to do all the things I do?

My Aunt Patricia frequently reminds me that Buddhist wisdom teaches that “who you be” is so much more important than what you do or what you have.  Who you are has value and merit just in itself.  When you work on that, all other thing fall into place somehow.  It’s important for me to hear when I complain about my life being too ‘busy’.  I have to remind myself that I create my busy life and I have the ability to simplify it as well.

Last night, I felt inspired to make a simple priority list for my life.  I really want to give my best effort of each day to accomplishing a little of each priority.  As you notice, each priority does not have a million ‘to do’s’ after it.  Because once it does, it becomes stressful.  In celebration of simplicity, I want to leave my day open to inspiration and interpretation while still achieving my most important life-goals.  For me to feel balanced, I feel like I need to do the following and probably in this order:

• Relationships
• Health
• Spirituality
• Fun
• Education

I think some of my LDS friends might wonder why I have not listed spirituality first, as we are told when we put God first, all other things will fall into place.  Well, I think spirituality is so interwoven into my daily life that it actually is first, but in terms of ‘to do’s’ (immersing myself in the scriptures, prayers, service etc) that I can’t really feel very spiritual if the first 2 needs (relationships and health) aren’t met.  Everything else is off in my life if my relationships and/or my health are not functioning.

As you may notice, work or making money did not make the list at all.  I think that while work is a big part of my life and takes up a large part of my time, it is not necessary to living a good or purposeful life (for me anyway).  Work does play into education a bit (as when I am working, I am also learning new techniques and skills).  However, I wish work to be less a part of my life rather than more.

If you would like to see my explanation of each life priority, I will link to it here shortly…

I also would like to do a follow up post to see if I was able to stick to my priorities…  How do you prioritize your time?  We’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

(The photo above is attributed to Quotesnmiles.)

Continue reading]]> In a previous post, I went over different curriculums and homeschool basics that you will need to get started.  With this post I would like to share a few resources that have helped make our experience doing school at home fun and (mostly) free.

A few weeks ago I decided to take my first grader out of his charter school mid-year to do home school.  It was an agonizing decision, one met with lots of prayer and pondering.  His classroom environment at school was hostile and strict and he was feeling like he was a “bad boy” because his teacher was always telling him what he was doing wrong.  He was starting to have anxiety every day before school and feeling sick to his stomach just thinking about going.  Finally, I couldn’t watch the problem escalate and do nothing.  I talked to the principal, but nothing really improved.  A home school friend of mine encouraged me to take him out immediately.  I just needed a little push to get over the fear of starting.  Once I did, a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders and it was actually a very easy transition.

The staff at the school was sad to see our son leave.  I donated some supplies to them on his last day at school and I was talking to them about curriculums and they graciously offered to print up the rest of the year of Saxon math worksheets for our son for free!

Here’s what a typical day looks like at our house for our first grader (who is on a second grade level).  This is the order we do school in.  My son works independently on his workbooks and asks me if he has questions.  I encourage him to find out answers on his own and give him the resources to find the answers.

Homeschool Basics: All of these items can be purchased on Amazon and be at your door quickly.  You can have your kids starting home school this week!

• Saxon Math (free for us – provided by the school).  FYI – your local school is REQUIRED to provide you with materials they have and you need for free because they get money for your child from the government even though he is not attending school.  Our son spends about 45 minutes on Math and does 4-8 worksheets every day.  If you can’t get your Saxon Math worksheets or books for free, consider buying them used on ebay or see if you can check them out from your local library.  Our library has a PERC where you can check out 6 educational games and materials for children (free).  They have a lot of math games and workbooks.  We could use those resources exclusively for math if we wanted to make it free.  Do a google search for printable math worksheets for second grade and you can find a lot of practice sheets that you can print for free.
• Language Arts – I have tried a few different workbook series but I think the DK workbooks are the best in my opinion (Costco has some decent ones, and I did not like the Sylvan books).  The DK Workbooks are high quality and well thought out (and most importantly aren’t ridiculous like some of the workbooks for his age group).  As a way to enforce the parts of speech, we use Mad Libs and he can make up his own funny stories.
• Reading – We read a lot.  We have family scripture study every morning and we encourage our son to read the hard words.  He has magazine subscriptions that he got for Christmas (Zoobooks and the Friend.  I would also recommend Highlights).  These can be checked out from the library if the cost is a deterrent. Our library is a great resource and it’s free!  They have a free professional children’s story time every day (however our son is 7 and all of the other kids are pre-K).  We go to the library faithfully once a week and get lots of books.  We love fairy tales.  Sometimes we read them together and sometimes my son reads them on his own.  Our library has an entire children’s wing with only fairy tale picture books.  It’s amazing!  When I first started homeschooling, I went to my librarian and asked her if she has any suggestions.  She said she also homeschooled her children and gave me a list of resources.  I have learned it doesn’t hurt to ask!
• Spelling & Handwriting – My son writes 2 sentences about the books he reads every day.  We encourage him to write complete sentences and form correct letters.  We use this paper and then he draws a picture about the sentences he wrote.  There are entire curriculums based on reading books, so we feel like reading and writing helps him a lot with spelling.  We also do a “word of the day” which is well above his level.  We tell him the definition and how it’s spelled and then have him write it and we use the word throughout the day to reinforce the usage.
• Specialties (each one is one day per week and these could be optional) – Science, Art, Health/PE, Geography, Music, Fieldtrips.  I let my son work independently on most of these.  We check out Bill Nye from the library for Science on Monday.  Art is on Tuesday and we use pinterest to find something great.  See our Kids Crafts board here.  For PE, he does a gymnastics and tumbling class.  And, for Geography he loves the $1 app called Stack the States. We printed him up a US Map and a list of US capitals and he LOVES to play the Stack the States games and has learn quite a bit about US History and Geography from it.  My older daughter teaches my son piano and he practices on his own for 20 minutes per day.  We also attend (LDS) Church and he spends time there learning music. We take a simple fieldtrip once a week.  It’s a great way to get out of the house and do something hands on.  Everywhere we go, we tell them our situation and ask if there’s anything ‘behind the scenes’ we can see.  There always is!  For example, last week we had a free coupon for a local ceramics shop (paint your own).  We told her we were doing home school and asked if we could see the kiln.  She said sure and continued to tell us step by step how ceramics are made and fired and how everything works.  It was so great!  Because we went to her shop during school hours, we were the ONLY ones there so she could take time to explain how things work.  Sometimes we just ask facebook friends if they can do a lesson for our son on something they excel at.  They are usually happy to oblige.

I know this sounds like a lot of time and work, but it’s really not that much as long as you are organized.  My son gets his work done by lunch time (even with two 30 minute recesses included).  He can then prepare his own lunch, do his chores, and play for a while before his other siblings get home from school.  We are pretty easy-going with him and don’t have to spend time nagging him about doing his work.  He is motivated to get done so he can have the rest of the day free to play whatever he wants.

People ask me all the time, “How much time does it take to do homeschool?”  It takes about an hour a day of my time to homeschool my son.  We read for 30 minutes together,  it takes 20 minutes to get his worksheets organized and help with any questions he has, and then 10 minutes to correct his worksheets.  When we go to the library once a week it takes about an hour and fieldtrips are about 2 hours per week.  Specialties are probably about 2 hours per week (because some of them he does independently). So, on an average week, I spend about 10 hours with homeschool.  Just as a comparison, if you count the time I spent driving to/from his charter school and volunteering in the class it was about 7 hours per week.  Many Moms read 30 minutes with their children after school already (we did, but not consistently) so if you take that into account, it’s about the same amount of time spent.  Win-Win!

The cost of homeschool for us for this year was about $50 for workbooks and school supply-type materials!!!  I expect to spend about $100-$200 on field trips and other miscellaneous things (but those can be optional).  I consider this negligible since we donate school supplies to the school each year and they cost around $50 (plus we don’t have to buy backpacks or uniforms with homeschool).  We also don’t have to pay for gas driving to/from school anymore.

Are you doing homeschool?  Post a comment and let us know free resources you love!

Continue reading]]> I am writing this post, mostly just to have a place to put all of the ideas other people have shared with me and to have one place I can refer to for basic homeschool resources.

Last week (March 12th, 2014), we withdrew one of our 4 children mid-year from his first grade class at a local charter school.  There was a discipline difference between us and the teacher and our son was getting “sick” every day before school because when he went, he was made to feel like he was a “bad boy” (his words).  I am not saying he is perfect, but he is always conscious of having good behavior at home and when I helped in his school class, he was always very calm, helpful, and followed directions much more than some of the other kids who weren’t getting in trouble.  As parents, we tend to lean toward positive reinforcement instead of negative consequences.  It has been easy for us to do this because this method seems to “get though” to our kids.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the same style he had at school and it was affecting him very much.  After much thought and prayer, we decided to withdraw him from school and do homeschool.

At first, I was terrified and had so many questions:  How would I have the time, my life is so overextended as it is?  Would I be able to give him a good education at home?  What curriculum would I use?  How do I start?

But now, I see the wisdom in this decision.  My child is able to work at his own pace, on his own level, and we have much more quality time together.  It is more work for me (maybe total of 1-2 hours per day), but it’s fun time that we spend together and it has brought us closer.

Here’s a list of helpful things I have found so far.  I am just starting and am by no means an expert, but I hope these things are helpful to someone out there!  We are LDS (Mormon), so there are some LDS curriculums and resources in this list.  Personally, I have shied away from Christian curriculums because I feel it’s a little too one-sided.  The nice thing about homeschool is if one thing is not right for you, you have the power to change it or to choose something else!

*UPDATE:  Our first week of homeschool went to well and was so easy!  I wish I had considered it earlier in the year.  Our son is able to do all of his school work by lunchtime and works independently most of the day!

Curriculum

PARENT-MADE CURRICULUM: There are 2 types of curriculum: make your own, or buy one that is already made.  The very first step should be to read this foundational book, “The Well Trained Mind”.  It is the Bible for homeschool families!  If you want to make your own currculum or get great ideas, this book will help you immensely.

Because we took our son out from school mid-year, we couldn’t get into the program we wanted, so I made my own and next year I plan to use a pre-made curriculum.  I initially used the Sylvan Workbooks as assignments for my son for school.  I did not like them at all.  I felt like the math and language arts were confusing and didn’t use examples of things little kids would know about.  I then switched to DK Publishing’s books.  They are cheaper and I like them MUCH better.  They are much higher quality and have better questions and math problems.  If you want to make your own curriculum, I would suggest the workbooks from DK.  You can also find free printable worksheets online if needed.  However, I find worksheets from books generally offer a more consistent approach.

If you are dedicated to making your own curriculum work, this free site will help you immensely.  By the way, I am not saying one way or the other is better, there are pros and cons to each (making your own and using a pre-made curriculum)

Children learn so much by watching you.  I let my son tag along with all of the things I do and I teach him about everything possible.  We have time to do a learning field trip once a week, read together every day, play games, and go to the library once a week.  At this point, my other kids are BEGGING me to take them our of school too because they see how much fun he is having while learning.

ALREADY-MADE CURRICULUM: Here are a few already-made curriculums that I felt were fantastic.  We seriously considered all of these, but made the decision to go with Harmony Education (only for Utah and Idaho) for the 2015-2016 school year.

1. Great Books Academy – Free Guide – Uses great literature as the foundation to your child’s education.  They will read a grade-level book, write a paper (or sentences if they are younger) about what they read, learn history and geography from the parent while they are reading the book, etc.  They also have suggestions for other subjects here. This should cover all aspects of learning for them and makes learning cohesive, fun, at at their own pace.  We very much considered this curriculum, but felt like we needed something where our kids could work a little more independently.  It appears there is no cost for Great Books Academy unless you are wanting college credit.
2. The Family Schoolhouse – Price $500 – We are Mormon (LDS), and seriously considered this program.  The concept is like a one-room-schoolhouse and is designed to teach all of your children the same thing (from the text book provided) and then have the children work independently on their own level.  I love the concept of it, but our kids are pretty far apart in age that it didn’t really make perfect sense for us.  One in Junior High, 2 in Elementary School 3 grades apart, and then a baby.  I felt like the gap was too large for it to work really well.  The nice thing is, you can use these curriculum over and over because your kids will grow up and be able to do the harder assignments the next time they get to it.  They put out a new set of curriculum about every year as well.  As with Great Books, I also felt like I could adapt learning to their different ages on my own if needed.
3. Harmony Education – Free – Harmony Ed is only in Utah and Idaho.  It offers so many choices and flexibility and can help you work with your child at his/her own pace and let’s you choose which curriculum you would prefer for each child (they provide the curriculum free of charge).  This is the program we chose to go with.  They also are affiliated with a local charter school and children can go meet up with other kids at their own age for science or other fun classes.  This helps a lot with socialization.  They also provide each family with $300 to buy educational supplies as well as reimbursement for local music and foreign language lessons.
4. K-12 – Free (Funded by the school district) – This program is for you if you want EXACTLY the same work as your child would have in public school, but you want him/her to do it at home under your supervision.  This is an online school run by the school district.  The more I looked into it, the more I knew I would be frustrated with this program because your child is expected to attend 180 days of the year.  If they are on a learning vacation, they still need to make up missed homework.  And, it is very rigorous and you will need to be a big part of your child’s day to stay on top of all of the assignments.  It takes a lot of flexibility out of home school, but many people need that structure.  I have a friend who loves K-12, but I have heard a lot of complaints as well.

I am out of time to work today, but I will continue this post next week here.

Continue reading]]> I know we all have our favorite things when it comes to baby toys and just all-around great products that makes out lives easier.  Here are my top 5!

These are my son’s favorite 2 toys

What baby doesn’t like to look at himself in the mirror? My little guy LOVES this toy. He plays with it every day and always enjoys it. He plays with it so much, he gets his cute little slobbery fingerprints all over it!  It’s always the first toy he goes for when he plays.

Our little guy always goes for this rattle made from safe plastics.  I like it because it doesn’t have an annoying rattle sound, it’s pretty quiet (except for when it’s banged on the hardwood floors over and over and over and….).  He also likes the other high quality cornstarch toys Green Sprouts sells.

My feeding favs

So, I think THIS is the most genius invention ever.  You can put soft food into it and simply hand it to the baby and they can suck on it as much as they want and they won’t choke on the food inside.  This little device makes our family dinner SOOOO much easier.  My son gets so excited when we hand him his Kidsme Food Feeder all full of yummy bananas.  It washes up very well in the dishwasher as well.  We have 2, so one can be in the dishwasher while he is using the other one.  It has a cap so you can travel with it in the diaper bag if you wish.  I think it is also really great for teething babies.

I also like this mash and serve bowl for convenience in feeding my baby homemade food.  He eats avocados and bananas often and this little device makes it very easy for me to mash them and then feed them right to him (without getting another bowl dirty).  It washes up nicely in the dishwasher as well.

When Mobility is an Issue

My son scoots and rolls around all over the house.  When I need a few minutes to get something done on the computer, or to prepare a meal, I put him in his exersaucer.   This helps keep him safe and in a place where I can watch him and where he can also have a lot of fun.  I can’t say enough great things about this as it keeps him upright (better for spitty babies and for digestion) and it’s lots of fun for him to jump in and play with.

Well, there you have it, my favorite baby items!  What are your favorites?

Continue reading]]> We all know the simple basics that a baby needs when they are first born:  A place to sleep (we chose a crib, but you could also have your baby sleep in a bassinet or a pack & play or even co-sleep with you), diapers, wipes, changing table food, and clothes.  We chose to get our crib used, we purchased natural diapers because our other children had chlorine allergies.  If you are interested in using cloth diapers (see our post here).  At our baby shower we were given many of our baby clothes as gifts and purchased the rest used. If you are a minimalist like me, here are my ideas of the ONLY other things you will need for your newborn up to 6 months.  These are my own personal opinions on baby products and I have not been paid, given free products, or rewarded in any way to list the items below.  These are all things our family really uses.

Number 5

Fold Up Baby Bathtub and Bathing Essentials

I like having a fold up tub because it fits nicely under the kitchen sink for storage.  We actually have this one only in a different color and it has lasted 12 years and through all 4 of our kids.  At about 6 months, our babies graduate to the regular tub when they can sit up on their own.

I use this soap and this lotion.  Do not ever use scented bath products on babies (even ones that say they are made for babies)… ever!  They are so bad for the skin and can cause lifelong problems for your child. I used mildly scented products on my first baby and she has lifelong excema.

When your baby gets out of the bath, he will be freezing and will get chilled very easily.  To help him stay warm, a very thick towel or a You can place a heating pad under his hooded towel if you wish.  If you have any history of skin problems in your family, I would suggest organic cotton towels and washcloths for your baby.  We use organic baby wipes to wash him in the bath and after he eats solid foods (at about 6 months).

We bathe our babies once to twice per week.  For some reason, bathing them more often plays into their dry skin.  So, we limit baths to when they really need it.

Number 4

Bottles & Feeding Essentials

The Dr. Brown’s bottles are by far the best bottles to keep harmful plastics away from your baby and to ensure they don’t get air when they eat. It’s always nice to have a couple bottles around even if you are nursing.  They are handy to have around if you pump your breast milk or if you are away and your spouse needs to feed your baby.  I have had issues with breastfeeding.  Even though I desperately wanted to breastfeed, it never worked out, so I bottle fed exclusively.  Here’s the formula we use.  Three bottles should be enough if you breast feed exclusively.  If you bottle feed exclusively, plan on your baby eating about 8 times per day when he or she is first born.  He will use the 4 oz bottles for a couple months and then move on to 8 oz. bottles.  We have three 4 oz bottles and about nine 8 oz bottles and we run the dishwasher every other day now, but when he was first born, we ran it every day.  If you prefer glass, they also make glass bottles in the 4 oz and 8 oz size.

We use these organic cotton burp cloths. They are pricey and my husband hates them (they are not the most absorbent) and I love them (because they are soft and small and easy to carry around).  If you need something more absorbent, we also use the tri-fold baby diapers as well for spit up messes.

If you plan to use a pacifier, we have really liked these ones that fold up when they get dropped.   These ones are fun too and are supposed to help baby be able to grab and find his paci earlier.

At about 4 months, you may want to start your baby on solids.  You will need a chair, a bib, and a set of spoons (safe plastic) and bowls.  The links are the ones we use and find to be very effective.  We have never used a highchair because our kitchen is small.  We have never missed it and the baby feels a part of things when he is on our level.  Best of all, we can easily transport his feeding booster seat when we go to family’s house, etc.

Number 3

Soak Proof Pads

We have these everywhere for the first year of life because there are so many messes and it’s a lot easier to wash the pad than it is to wash sheets, bedding, changing table covers etc. They are nice to have your baby sit on when he is on your lap if he is prone to blow-outs.

Number 2

Blankets and Sleeping

At first your baby will want to be swaddled.  Aden & Anais are my very favorite blankets to use.  They are lightweight, easy to pack around, soft for the baby, and they make it easy to swaddle your baby and stay put because they are so large!  They get even better after they are washed.  I use these during the day.  At night, when I don’t want to have to worry about the blanket coming undone, I use a swaddler or a wearable blanket when they get older. Wearable blankets can be purchased at Walmart for under $10 and they have sleeves which I really like.  I use the swaddler for the first couple months, and then the wearable blanket until about 6 months, then the baby graduates to a “normal” blanket (but not a quilt).

This next item is an important foundational item for sleep training and it should be used from the very first day that your baby sleeps at night.  It’s a white noise sound maker.   I use the “rain” sound for my kids and they have all slept through the night at 6 weeks or sooner.  My current baby (who is 6 months now), slept through the night at 5 weeks and it only took 1 day to train him.  My other kids took a couple weeks.  I plan to do a post on how to get your newborn to sleep through the night.

Number 1

Baby Travel

This is the carseat I have and this is the stroller I borrowed from my sister in law. The carseat snaps right into the stroller shell which is really handy. I feel like a travel system is pretty important to help you feel like you can get around town easily and still have a life even if you have a new baby.  We chose the Graco Snugride Classic carrier because it was rated highly on Consumer Reports.  We also use this carseat cover to keep our baby warm and free from over stimulation.  It could also double as a blanket in a pinch or as a nursing cover.

As you may have noticed, all of my baby clothes have the mittens on them.  Newborns constantly scratch themselves (and you), hit themselves in the face, hit you in the face, and get their fingers confused for food.  These mitten cuff jammies and onesies are really nice to have them wear for the first couple of months.

IF YOU PURCHASE ALL OF THE ITEMS MENTIONED YOU WOULD SPEND ABOUT: $550 (not counting formula)

IF YOU ADD A USED CRIB, USED CHANGING TABLE, & CLOTHES YOU WOULD SPEND AN ADDITIONAL: $500 (approx. not counting diapers).

Not too shabby!  Especially since many of the items recommended are organic.

Here are a couple “how to take care of a newborn” videos I have done this year.  If this is your first baby, you might want to take a looksie.