Round 2 | Baby Rabies

This Cloth Diaper Is A Game Changer

Posted by Jill on February 22, 2012 13 Comments

And I’m giving 4 of them away! (Stay tuned for that at the end of the post.)

This is the all new ones&twos all in one cloth diaper in action.

Adorable, fun colors, great fit, great customizable absorbency, GREAT price.

There’s really not anything not to love about this diaper.

Here’s why it’s a game changer:

All-in-one diapers are the closest cloth diapers come to going on and coming off like disposable diapers. When people email me to say they have a caretaker or parent who is hesitant to use cloth diapers because of the “extra hassle” or “all the time” it takes to put them on and take them off, I recommend all-in-ones. (Though, really, the “extra” work is pretty minimal with all cloth diapering options. It just takes time to get familiar with them.)

However, there have been a couple down sides to the all-in-one route. First, most of them are pretty expensive, more expensive than pocket diapers. Also, they tend to not be as absorbent as pocket diapers.

The ones&twos (okay, let’s break for a moment to acknowledge how cleverly cute that name is)… anyway, you can adjust the absorbency of the ones&twos diaper without losing the convenience of an all-in-one.

So you just lay the soakers on top of the diaper, if needed. No need to stuff or unstuff them.

Now, I will say that I tried Leyna in the diaper without any soaker a couple times, and we had leaks after just a couple hours. I always lay the one included soaker on top of the diaper before putting it on her now, and we haven’t had any issues. For us, though, this would not be a nighttime option, just because I have other diapers that I stuff with hemp doublers that are so trusty I don’t feel the need to experiment or replace them.

Newborns may get by with no soakers

For daytime, though, for daycares and babysitters, or even for new parents who want to dip a toe into the sea of cloth diapers without feeling overwhelmed, I feel like these are a FABULOUS option.

The cost? Around $17. The Green Nursery has them for $16.95. Most other popular all-in-one diapers start around $20-$25. When you’re building a stash, that’s a substantial savings.

So, while I don’t think ones&twos would replace any of my beloved diapers in my stash, they are certainly an awesome addition, and I will confidently recommend them to anyone interested in an “easy” cloth diaper option from now on.

Bet you want to win one now, dontcha?

Not only will one of you win ONE ones&twos from the manufacturer, one of you will win a THREE PACK of ones&twos from TheGreenNursery.com.

Just follow the directions in the fancy Rafflecopter box below. Don’t be scared! I know it’s a change, but hopefully this thing helps me run giveaways a little more efficiently. It should be easier on us all.

This contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents, though the winner of The Green Nursery 3 pack must be from the U.S. I was not paid for this review, but I did receive the diaper at no cost.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Cloth Diapers, Reviews, Round 2 |Tagged With: all in one diaper, best entry cloth diaper, Cloth Diapers, giveaway, ones&twos, review |13 Comments

What I Want From 31

Posted by Jill on February 21, 2012 18 Comments

I turned 31 yesterday.

Wow. That’s very strange to type.

I’m THIRTY plus ONE. Really? Because I swear I just turned 22, and I feel like I’m 26… except when I look in the mirror and see the gray hairs and bags under my eyes and the lines on my face from exhaustion. But other than that, yeah, totally don’t feel like I should be 31.

I’ll deal, though. 31 and I can actually become great friends, I think, so long as we get a few things straight.

For one, I would like for 31 to be a year I don’t assume I’m dying of cancer every time I get a cough, sniffle, bruise or cellulite. Because 30 was a little bitch like that. F-ing 30 and all it’s anxiety and irrational thoughts that came with it. F you, 30. Good riddance.

As 30′s parting gift to me, it gave me a week of worry over a giant bruise that appeared on my knee after I discovered a small, sorta itchy, kinda sting-y bump on it the night before. It’s very unsettling to find bruises in places you don’t recall getting beat with a baseball bat. Especially bruises like this:

Note: If you are prone to freaking out about things like this, don’t post a picture on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook. 1% of people will tell you it’s okay, you’ll be fine, you’re leg won’t fall off. 99% of people will tell you you’re going to have to get your leg amputated, you’ll have nerve damage, you should get your white cell levels tested, and that a spider might have laid eggs under your skin and in a few short hours your knee will erupt and give birth to thousands of tiny spiders.

Google will, of course, do nothing but confirm the suspicions of the 99%.

So, on my birthday, I woke bright and early to head to the doctor to ease my fears that this was a cancerous bruise, or possibly brought on by a brown recluse bite that was going to turn into an open, seeping wound of flesh rot.

The verdict was it’s likely a spider bite of some sort, though the doctor couldn’t say what kind, and that… I’M FINE. Totally fine. Just really not fit to be wearing any skirts at Blissdom this week.

So, 31, let’s not be so alarmist, okay?

Also, I would like 31 to be the year I don’t sit in front of my computer, refreshing Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and WordPress all at the same time, while accomplishing nothing and simultaneously freaking about all I should be accomplishing at that very moment. I want 31 to be the year I attack every day and have a PLAN.

I want 31 to not feel like I’m drinking water from a fire hose and putting our fires with spoons.

I’m not asking for the perfect body or for wealth from 31 (though I wouldn’t mind a book deal), I simply want 31 to be a year I feel in control. Just a little bit. That’s a reasonable request, don’t you think?

Filed Under: Round 2, Stuff, Terrifying Threes |Tagged With: anxiety, postpartum anxiety, spider bite |18 Comments

In Their Natural Habitat

Posted by Jill on February 18, 2012 7 Comments

Watch as the young male builds shelter to protect him from wild dogs, crazy cats and unleashed little sisters…

Now observe the tiny female as she steadies herself on her feet and explores her surroundings by shoving every bright piece of plastic into her mouth. She then scatters her stockpile of toys to take daily inventory, pretending not to hear the calls of the older male sibling baiting her to his shelter, where he would likely trap her and leave her for the dogs…

My house, my kids, National Geographic style.

Kendall is 3 years 9 months and Leyna is nearly 14 months old

Filed Under: Round 2, Snappin', Terrifying Threes |Tagged With: daily life, lifestyle photography, National geographic, pictures |7 Comments

Little Life Sucker

Posted by Jill on February 17, 2012 58 Comments

Oh hey, guess what? It’s another post where I whine about not sleeping!

I know. My blog is so original and profound.

My life is a little like Groundhog Day, so that’s probably why my blog feels like it. I just keep going on and on and on about how I’m not sleeping because, well, I’m not. Ever, except in 3 hour intervals at night and random cat naps during the day.

I know so many are wanting to be all, “SEE! Sleep training/abuse doesn’t work!” but to be honest, just a couple days after I posted about sleep training (and blew up the internet), we all came down with a cold that lasted… a month? Since I’m not a total monster of a mother, I didn’t leave my baby to cry while I knew she wasn’t feeling well. Then we just never got back on track.

Because the thing about sleep training (the way I do it, the way that’s NOT just leaving them to “cry it out” all night in their room alone) is that it is a hell of a lot more work than just waking every few hours to pop a boob in your baby’s mouth. We just haven’t had the energy to jump back on, but I know we need to.

Hell, even my moderately crunchy midwife agrees that my health and sanity at this point needs to take priority, and we need to figure some things out (but I already knew that, it’s just hard to make myself a priority when I’m so tired… if that makes sense).

On top of all of that, Leyna dropped her morning nap. That may seem all, “Awesome! Now you can do things in the morning and she will sleep extra long in the afternoon,” but really it’s like, “Boo! I can’t take a nap in the morning and I’ll be a zombie until she passes out after lunch, at which point I’ll have to decide to either shower or take a 15 minute nap before picking my 3 year old up at school.” Morning playdates just aren’t going to happen if I have to hold my eyelids open with toothpicks.

Oh, I want to blog about more than this. I want to craft and organize and take pictures and live a funny life again, but this little life sucker is not allowing it. It’s ridiculously hard to tell this face no.

And she knows it.

To anyone who thinks about chiming in to remind me that “this is just a phase… a small window of time… it will pass before I know it… they are only this little once,” I say this with as much love and respect as possible, but please kindly F off.

Leyna is 13 months old and I am one cranky, tired bitch