Sweet Moments Make the best Memories

 So I don't think I share enough about my daughter! HAHA Yeah, right! Anyway, here she is sitting up like a big girl and being a hammy ham for me. I love my babies, and am so blessed to be a mom, but let me tell ya, it's hard work sometimes too!
This face, you see it right? Adorable, and sweet? This face isn't so sweet when I'm trying to eat my dinner of an evening. She cries and whines, and thinks that because I'm eating she needs to be attached to my hip trying to grab my food, fork, drink, etc. I have a newsflash for her, that's not how that works!
At night, she doesn't sleep. I don't mean she only sleeps for like 5 hours and wakes up to nurse and goes back to sleep. I mean, maybe 2 hour stretches. Most of the time it's only an hour. I do a mix of co-sleeping and putting her in the crib and neither work very well! I remind myself, this too shall pass, but man!
I'm sure so many moms can relate to my lament. I love every minute of it though, honestly. I love those late night nursing sessions, I love being there to comfort her when she cries. I wish though, that she wouldn't be so needy! Then I remember, she's a baby, she's supposed to be needy! Then she gives me a face like these and, it makes all of those troubled times worth it.
Those times when she plays my boobs like drums, or kneads them like a kitten does to its mother, or even bites  my nipple, I love her! I love those moments, and all too soon she'll be too big for those simple gestures of love and acceptance and need.
She won't need me for milk, or to help her go to sleep. She won't need me alone to sustain her life. She'll be too enthralled with other things and won't want to come and sit on my lap for quiet time. In the blink of an eye she'll be potty trained and in school and have friends and will need me and my advice even less.
So, for now, I'll enjoy those bothersome things and remember that before I know it she won't be the baby I birthed back in 2013, she'll be a big girl and ready to take on the world. And I will cry, I'm sure, as I did with my now 8 year old. When she weans herself from nursing, I will cry. When she no longer needs her cloth diapers and goes to the potty like a big girl, I will cry. Not because I don't want her to grow up, but because they just don't stay little for that long.

Review: Melzy Baby -- Blowout Blocker and Soaker Stopper

About Melzy Baby:

Melzy Baby LLC sells the first and only diaper extensions to catch those disastrous diaper leaks!  Melzy Baby was started by a mother of three boys who was tired of dealing with those messy up-the-back diaper blowouts.  She wanted the freedom to leave the house and not have to worry about cleaning up a stinky blowout mess that would ruin baby’s clothing, car seat covers, etc.  After a lot of creating and experimenting she came up with the Blowout Blocker!  Her goal was to save parents from the stress and mess that a diaper blowout creates.

As her boys grew she discovered another diaper leak issue that caused her much worry, loss of sleep and extra laundry.  When her boys started leaking out the front and sides of their diapers at night she flipped the Blowout Blocker around to the front of her child to catch those night time leaks.  With some minor adjustments the Soaker Stopper was created!  No more waking up in the middle of the night to a crying wet baby!

When I first saw these I seriously that, "WHAT?" But upon seeing how many leaks and blow outs my baby had in disposables I figured why not! I also cloth diaper, so this was a great opportunity to try them out of all the CD Mommies out there!

Firstly, these truly are great for disposables! Let's be honest, when baby has a blow out it's not pleasant cleaning it up without making a HUGE mess of baby, you, and possibly the floor or changing mat. This really does cut down on that! I cannot express enough how when wearing a disposable the Blowout Blocker has saved our clothes AND time. 

Secondly, the Soaker Stopper is another great idea. However, little miss doesn't really soak out the top of her diapers, cloth or disposable, so this one didn't give me the best information to go on. I cannot honestly give an opinion based on my daughter. Now, with that being said, I tried it on a friends baby who does leak out the top front of diapers, and it does work! Boys especially! 

When my baby is in cloth, we don't have blowouts so, again, this isn't relevant for cloth, but I can imagine there are some babies out there who even in cloth, would benefit from this product. Every baby is different. 

I would definitely suggest this to a mom or dad! These are super affordable and will save you so much headache and TIME!

Find Melzy Baby and connect:

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Review: Buttler Bottoms Diapers

Do you want to try Buttler Bottoms diapers? They have graciously given me the code: TRYITNOW for 10% off your first purchase with them!!! Now, that is pretty amazing!!!

Not posted: Slate solid pocket. It happens
to be in the wash. 

I am new to cloth diapers, 5 1/2 months new! I absolutely love them, and was thrilled when Buttler Bottoms agreed to allow me a review! I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on them, but I will tell you that I love my pockets, and these diapers are a welcome addition to our stash!

Top Center: Teal with Brown Fleur de Lis I cannot express how much I love this diaper! Fleur de Lis' are my favorite, so this diaper was a no brainer! One sized, PUL outside, suede inner to pull wetness away, and comes with one microfiber insert.

Bottom Left: Minky 80's Sticker Book Born in the 80's I felt it was only right to have a part of my past represented in my daughters diapers! Minky simply means that this pocket, which has all of the features listed with the Fleur de Lis diaper, has a soft outside with the PUL facing the inside of the diaper. Also comes with one microfiber insert.

Bottom Right: Color Snaps Blue and Yellow Circles This diaper is pretty awesome! I have a couple of extra pictures to show you on this one, as it differs a bit more from the others.

Double gussets so that it holds wetness and dirty better.

 This diaper has a snap to hold insert in place, which is a wonderful bonus! It also has all the features mentioned with the two previous diapers, with just a couple extras.

Openings at both ends of diaper so that stuffing
inserts is easier!

Not Pictured: Solid Slate  A great solid color to go with every outfit! All of the great qualities of the other pockets!

Buttler Bottoms is based in Mississippi and are super great to deal with! Customer service is top notch, and their diapers are incredibly affordable and ship very quickly! You won't be disappointed when buying from Buttler Bottoms!!!

A special Thanks to the people at Buttler Bottoms, for making my daughter and I super happy to get some new fluff in the mail! I hope you all will give them a try and love them as much as I do!

Find them:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buttlerbottoms

Website: http://www.buttlerbottoms.com/index.php?route=common/home

How do you wash YOUR diapers?

Washing diapers, the controversial topic, if ever there was one!

I honestly think it's whatever works best for you. . . Don't skin me alive just yet! There are some tricks and tips though, and it really is trial and error. Luckily, I have a routine that works for us, and I love it! So, do you wanna know? It's OK, I know you are DYING.

How many diapers should you add?

I have approximately 20-24 diapers with inserts, they all go in the wash at the same time (this is usually every other day to every 3 days).

You want to have enough water in the washing machine to cover all diapers. You also want to have enough diapers so that when it agitates your diapers rub against each other enough to come clean. This is important, you want it to look like soup (loose enough that they agitate and move around freely) NOT like chili (crammed in there tight enough they can't move around all loosey goosey). Remember, the diapers and inserts have to be able to get water in between them and hit against each other or they won't come clean!

How do you start to wash them?

I do a hot pre-wash and rinse first. This helps to break up the poo (which if you breast feed is water soluble and washes off pretty easily), and I don't rinse them off prior to throwing them in the washer. Once that's done (the pre-wash and rinse) I run a regular washing cycle with warm water and the detergent filled to the most soiled setting and dump it in.

Now, your wash cycle is done. What do you do now?

Depending on how long it's been I will use 1/4 cup of bleach, OR 1 cup of white vinegar (helps with hard water and stink issues) and repeat the rinse and spin 2x's. This is to make sure number one that your diapers don't stink and number two so that you can make sure to get all the detergent and bleach out of the diapers.

If you don't want to add bleach to the end of the process, you can add it during the actual washing cycle.

They're done washing, how do you dry them?

During the warmer days I put them outside on a clothes rack we bought at Dollar General and let them dry that way! The sun is a great disinfectant, and it helps whiten the inside of the diapers and the inserts. This is a great time to spray some lemon juice on them too, as an added bonus to disinfect them. Make sure your diapers are wet though so that the sun and lemon juice can do a most optimal job.

If it's cold outside and you a) either don't want to go outside or b) you're afraid your diapers may freeze, you can put them in the dryer. Yup, that's right, I said the dryer. I tumble on low/delicate and sometimes, I dry them on the regular setting.

Whew! That wasn't as hard as you thought?

Remember, this isn't a perfect science. This process depends on your washing machine (I have a top loader) I know it's different for an HE. I use my regular detergent, some people say NEVER do this. My diapers are just fine, they are more resilient that they're given credit for. I promise you won't mess them up horribly and you can always strip them (several hot washes with no detergents) and bring them back if the way you wash them doesn't work.

Don't worry too much, they're diapers. LOL They catch poop and pee, and even though they're super cute, you won't ruin them while you're learning what works best for you!