Bye bye bottles!

I can't believe that I'm at this point of motherhood again. It seems like just yesterday that I was waddling around and stressing about how I was possibly going to manage a newborn wanting to nurse every 2 hours, diaper changes, and tend to a 2 year old. Now a bit over a year later, I'm packing up bottles. 

I hate bottles.   Dont get me wrong, they're a great tool, and there is no way we could have managed without them for when I was at work. I just prefer the simplicity of nursing - there are no pump parts to put together, no bottle parts piling up in the sink to wash and sterile, no liners to buy, and no need to pack bottles to send to grandmas.

As happy as I am to be done with the pumping, washing, preparing cycle, its a bittersweet realization that my baby boy is growing into a big boy.  It's amazing to watch the joy on his face when he learns something new. There's something to be said about a second child.  When Mae was a baby, I can remember being so excited to see what she'd learn next, that I was always looking to the future.  Now with Kez, I'm slowing down a bit and enjoying each step more because I know that it'll be over when I blink.

What baby item were you excited to be done with? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Elephant diaper cover

This was my first attempt at a diaper cover with PUL and fold-over elastic.  It looks cute but doesn't really fit as great as I had hoped.  If I ever get around to it, I'm going to attempt to draft a bettern pattern than I used for this, but for now, his bum is covered with plain white covers.

Laundry Detergent Recipe

I'm always looking for a better way to do things.  I hate buying laundry detergent; it just seems like its throwing money down the drain.   My aunt posted something on Facebook about how much she loves her laundry detergent; so I thought I'd give it a try!  Here's the recipe, taken from the Duggar family website:

4  Cups - hot tap water1  Fels-Naptha soap bar1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda½ Cup Borax 

1. Grate bar of soap and add to pan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. 
3. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
4. The next day, stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
5. Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)


I guess there is a powder version of this too, I'll have to try that out once I get thorough my 10 gallons of detergent!

New Fitted Diaper

I've had a free pattern printed out for a Little Comet Tails Tighty Whitey Hipster for at least a year now.  I never got to try one for Moose since she potty trained at 21 months.  Today, I finally whipped up a Medium (Monkey is 6 months and ~16 lbs)  and I love it!! (It took some time trying to figure out how to resize the pattern, but I was able to use my copier to do it.)  Monkey is a tummy sleeper, so I thought thought that a side snapping diaper might be beneficial since its less bulky in front. I used an old t-shirt that a co-worker gave me and moved the forklift emblem to the hip.  The best part of this project is that aside from the thread, snaps, and elastic, it was totally upcycled and free! I'm going to start making more asap!!