Murphy's Laws for Moms

Changes happen all the time.  I loved the change when my darling daughter went from crying all the time to smiling, giggling, and sleeping 12, long, joyous hours at night.  These are the good changes that every mother looks forward to.  I loved the excitement of teaching my baby how to say "ma ma" (even though the "D" word came first), watching her little fingers learn how to grasp objects, and eventually learning to eat solid foods and drink water.  Oh, how some changes can be wonderful! But, even the wonderful changes have their downfalls.  The excitement of introducing solid food to babies inevitably brings with it the change of the not-so-smelly (especially if breastfed) poops to the ever-poignant aroma of digested peaches, apples, chicken, green beans, carrots, mangoes, rice cereal...you get the picture (dare I need to show you one?!).  And, when you add cloth diapers to this ever-expanding picture, things really do get a bit sticky. Here's where Bummi...

I have to admit, the idea of starting my daughter off on solid foods both excited me and made me nervous.  There are so many theories about how to get your child started on his or her first foods, which foods to avoid, how to start them off, whether or not to make your own food or buy baby food, and so on and so on.  How was I ever going to manage everything and make all of the right decisions so that my daughter would continue to thrive? Thankfully, I quickly learned that, no matter what theory I used to approach solid foods, my daughter was going to do or want the opposite.  Trying to introduce solid foods became so difficult and time-consuming for me that I finally just gave in and found the one method that my daughter would eat, with the one food she would eat:  chicken with brown rice on a gigantic wooden spoon. Now, most manuals and baby food books say not to introduce meats as a first food.  This wasn't the first food that I tried to introduce.  We s...

Shakespeare was a smart man...that might be an understatement, but needless to say he knew a bit about life.  And, this is something that I - as a mother - strive to have.  The problem comes when I look at all of the other mothers around me and realize that they're doing such a better job at being a mother.  I try to do the things that they do, but I fail.  So, I'm going to take a little Shakespearean advice and be true to my own self. I teach a lot of fitness classes and, during these, continually remind my clients that no two people have the same body.  Therefore, no two people's bodies will function exactly the same.  We have to recognize the movements and strengths within our own bodies and then realize the limitations that we have so that we don't injure ourselves.  This thought is also true with life and being a mother.  No two mothers are the same.  And, each of us has our own strengths and limitations.  Realizing and incorporatin...

When my husband and I first started using cloth diapers, we decided that we were only going to use them around the house.  It sounded way too difficult to travel with cloth diapers and, after all, that would still save us a lot of money.  Eight months later...I love cloth diapers so much that I almost exclusively use them.  The only time we don't use them is at night.  So, during the week I only use seven - maybe eight - sposies...that's approximately $2 per week spent on sposies (or 23 weeks to use one package of diapers...you'll change sizes before you run out!). There are many misconceptions to using cloth diapers while out and about (for your day-to-day errands - we'll discuss long-term travel in a future blog).  Some people think that it's too much of a mess (or smell).  Others think that it's too difficult to change CDs on the run.  Even more think it's easier to use sposies.  Well, let's take a look at these situations: 1. MYTH: It's too mu...

So, you've decided that prefolds and diaper covers is just too much work for you and/or you don't want to deal with the mess of touching a dirty diaper.  But, the AIOs are just too expensive.  Well, a nice alternative may be Happy Heinys one-size pocket diapers.  The benefits of using any pocket diaper is that they are similar to an AIO, but you can easily add more or less absorbency with the inserts.  Personally, I always use at least two inserts (one longer than the other) in order to protect against leaks.  These are also great to use with babysitters or other people who may not be familiar with the intricacies of cloth diapering.  Laundering is easy because you do not need to take the inserts out.  You simply toss the entire diaper into the wash and the inserts come out during the cycle. Happy Heinys makes a durable pocket diaper that grows with Baby.  The snaps allow for growth from about 8 pounds to over 20.  The Velcro fasteners allow ...

Telling people that you use cloth diapers will inevitably involve receiving the occasional glance that screams, "You're CRAZY!"  But, when you tell someone that you also use cloth wipes, they will know that you are.  However, let's think about this handy little accessory that so many people don't consider...and more should. Whether or not you're worried about saving the environment or saving your money, cloth wipes make sense.  When you use anywhere from one wipe to the entire package just to clean Baby's bottom, you're just tossing waste and money into the garbage...not to mention putting unneeded chemicals onto Baby's bottom.  Cloth wipes are an amazing tool that most people don't even think about.  Not only are they reusable, but they cost next to nothing to either make or buy.  They are also much more efficient at cleaning that precious little bottom since they act more like a washcloth (which you can also use as wipes) than a regular wip...

Let's face it, life after a baby completely changes the way we (moms) act, think, and look at life...and romance.  Gone are the days when I hope my husband comes home with flowers and sweeps me off my feet like is so commonly seen in romance movies.  No, the very notion of romance has completely evolved into something else in my new, crazy life as a mother. I'm not saying that romance is gone.  Quite the opposite...romance is still very present and needed in my life.  However, it's different.  A friend of mine once showed me the book Porn for New Moms .  I didn't completely understand it at the time (I hadn't yet had children), but it made me laugh.  The very thought of a man coming home and offering to take the baby so that mom can get a bath or go out with girlfriends seemed ridiculous.  Now, I completely understand the concept! As a mom, we want romance.  But, what really is romance?  I think that it's feeling appreciated for the pers...