Project! Homemade baby wipes

So if you know me, you know that I'm a bit crafty.  And since I am going with the cloth diapers, I thought, why not make some baby wipes to go with them....I mean it only makes sense.  I'll be doing laundry every day anyway, so why not add a few more items in the machine :)  Actually, I am making them because if you read up on it, (another thing I like doing - research!), baby wipes are not very good for your babies bottom.

So, onto the project:

First, you need to get some terry cloth towels (old or new), and some flannel (receiving blankets are awesome to use and cheap and cute too!)

Next, you have to cut a template out - I used an 8" square, because that is what will fit in the baby wipes warmer (yup, Baby D is going to be a little spoiled in that department !)

Cut out the flannel and the towel with the template....note my love note from Ryan this morning :)   Make sure you cut out an even number of squares from each material.  From one 30" x 30" flannel sheet, I got 9 squares.  I also bought a package of 8 washcloths and cut a middle square out of each of those.

 Next, pin your fabrics wrong sides together (one of flannel and one of towel).

Once you have your stack of baby wipes pinned together, you are ready to sew them together!

If you have a serger, it's a good idea to use that.  Since I do not have one, I have a similar stitch on my sewing machine, and I often use this in place of a serger - I just have to do some extra trimming.  Whatever stitch you use, make sure you have enough space covered so there is no room for little holes or for the wipes to fall apart.

Once the wipe is sewn, trim your edge (if needed) and voila!

There are many different homemade solutions you can make to soak the wipes in.  Just google search natural baby wipe solutions and you will see what suits your needs best for your baby.

Happy wiping :D

Baby Deal's Websites

Ok, so I'm addicted to these websites but they are fun to look at and if you have 20 minutes to pass, check them out.  Each website features a "deal of the day" and most shipping costs to Canada are not bad at all.  I've only ordered off of BabyHalfOff.com but I really just found these not too long ago.....

Baby Half Off

Baby Steals

Baby Heist

Eco Baby Buys

Green Baby Bargains

Mama's Retreat (based in Canada !!)

Mini Bargainz

Olivia's Place

Happy Shopping !

22 Weeks...almost

Tomorrow I am 22 weeks.  I can't believe how fast time has flew by.

I had my prenatal appointment today - I tell ya, it's nice for once, that when you GAIN wait, the doctor is happy :)  I gained 5 pounds since my last appointment and thought that maybe that was too much, but apparently it is not.

He also went through the finding in the ultrasound, and all they found was a healthy baby boy :D Everything measures out perfectly.....the tech already told us all was good, but it's nice to get the official report.

Now that all of our vegetable garden produce is ripening, we have been focusing on eating much healthier and fresh.  It's so nice, but with this beautiful weather we have today, and for the rest of the week, I cannot wait for fall and eating warm, comforting, (healthy!) dishes.

That's all I really have to say today - I feel great, nothing to complain about and my mood has been good (according to Ryan - and that's all that matters!)

Things are getting in order!

So I have completed the registry's.  We've decided to register at Bump Maternity + Baby and Babies R Us. I am really happy that I found everything at those two stores, makes life easier!  I also ordered the shower invitations off of Etsy.com (awesome place to shop!!).

Other than that, there hasn't been much going on.  The rest of the nursery has to be painted.  I was going to do an accent wall of either blue or pink wall paper, we decided to paint it white as well and decorate the walls with decals (from Etsy.com as well!).  I found the bedding for the nursery and when I went to look at decals, someone has the exact same bedding up with matching decals - so that totally made our day!

I am feeling fine, starting to feel movement outside the belly now, so it should only be a matter of time that Ryan can feel him moving too.  There seems to be lots of movement going on so it's pretty cool (and sometimes weird!) to feel.  I am loving every second of it though.

I have my next prenatal appointment on Wednesday so I can get the results from the ultrasound.  The tech said everything looks good and he is right on schedule for weight and height, so I guess the doctor is just going to confirm that :D

Above is a picture of what we are planning on doing with the nursery - I love it!

It's a Boy!

We are proud to announce that Baby D is going to be a baby boy! It was so exciting to see every little part of him - from head to toe.

The ultrasound was a good 45 minutes and the technician was very nice.  When it came to determining the sex, his little boy parts were very clear and easy to see...

From what the tech said, without saying too much, everything looks good and the size of him is right on tract with my due date.  My due date has changed to December 17th, however, that was the original due date that was given to me.

We had our parents and some close friends over tonight to celebrate and reveal what the gender of the baby was and everything went well and as planned.  They were generous enough to bring some gifts as well, totally unexpected but very appreciated :)



Here are a few pictures of tonights events.

Grandma & Nonna reveal the baby's sex

Party People!

Me & my mom

Me and Ryan

Rocking Horse gift from my parents

Some cute pj's from Italy from my mom

Gift from Ryan's parents

Blanket, Rattle and Sleepers from Ronda & Nathan

Cloth Diapers & Vacation!!!

So we (I) officially decided to go with cloth diapers - they are pretty cool, nothing like they used to be, no straight cloths and baby pins.  Now they come with snaps, waterproof outer shell and elastic all around the legs!!  I know, there will be lots of wash, but if it's better for the environment and my baby's bum, then I'm okay with it!

My mother in law (Linda) and I went to BUMP MATERNITY+ BABY on Wyandotte Street and talked to the owner (I think).  She was very knowledgeable about the diapers.  The brand I'm going with is GroVia and has awesome reviews.  The drawback is to buy a set it's quite expensive, but I'm going to register for it, and people can put a bit towards the set.  Whatever isn't bought, I can buy the rest for 10% off.  And there's tons of super cute prints and colors!  She said it will last for the next baby (s) as well !  If you want to see what it's all about, you can go on their website HERE.

They also carry a line called DIMPLESKINS.  It's all natural and no preservatives, parabens and zinc free - which works perfectly with cloth diapers, so there's no barrier and less mess (always a bonus!)  I first saw this brand in Vancouver, when my brother was living there, and said I wanted to get the line to use for my baby when we had one.  So of course, when I went online to the store that sold it, they no longer had the line, or any baby stuff for that matter.  So I was going to order online directly from the manufacturer, but to my surprise, Bump carried it!

Now that you have all the knowledge you need about cloth diapers and bum cream....onto something really exciting lol.



For my birthday/babymoon, Ryan and I are going to Vegas!  We are staying at Hard Rock Hotel.  It looks awesome and the pool looks wonderful!  We have been a few times, so we are just going to go for rest and relaxation :)  oh and eating and shopping haha!  It will be a good time and nice to get away, and the bonus is that it's super cheap to go away that time of year!  The only drawback is that it's off the strip, but not that far of a walk, so worst case is we take a cab (hehe probably all the time!!)

Well my next post will be revealing the sex of our Baby D!  Let's all cross our fingers that he/she cooperates because I want to start buying gender specific clothing, and not gender neutral!!!

Second Prenatal Appointment

So I had my second appointment yesterday.  All seems to be well.  He just did an overall check and asked questions about how things were going etc...  he did the sonogram and the heartbeat was still in the 160's and said that was good and location of the uterus is good too.

I got myself a doula since I am planning to go totally natural.  Before you go thinking I'm trying to be a "hero", I am not doing it because of that.  Physically and mentally I feel that I can do this, and with a coach for myself and Ryan, I am confident that I can go through with it.  There is a lot of benefits to going natural (and with epidural the benefit is definitely no pain!!!), including a 50% less chance of cesarean sections and tearing.....so that is my decision.  In the end, if it fails, then the epidural is always there for me to take.  My thoughts are that I don't judge women who get an epidural, and therefore I expect that people would not judge me for going natural :)

I am slowly working on the registry. I registered at Babies 'r' Us and sears.  What's nice is that I can do it all online.  There are a few things that I want to go to the stores to look at - particularly the furniture, monitor, breast pump, stroller and playard.  I still have time to do that, and I may wait until I find out the sex so I can "accidentally" pick up a few things :D

Speaking of gender, we have our ultrasound in two weeks - July 29th.  We are soooo excited to find out what little Baby D is!

He/She is still very active. I felt a lot of fetal movements today - wasn't really feeling too many for a few days but they are back and I'm not complaining!!  

Our master bedroom is almost complete.  Should be done just in time for when we find out the sex so I can pick the wallpaper out for the nursery.  Then we can work on the nursery :)  There isn't too much to do in there - basically just the wallpaper, trim and some shelving in the closet.

And on that note, it's time for me to go to bed - tiredness seems to take over after 8pm :)