Book Review: Go Take A Bath!

• Invert the family hierarchy. The tendency of 21st-century parents is to place the child first, a partner second, and the self, third. This is exactly the reverse of a healthy family hierarchy and actually causes stress to children because they are out of place.
• Be a good role model. Children learn through observation and mimicry, so parents must make sure they are demonstrating the right lessons by living full, balanced lives complete with hobbies, vacations, and, yes, even baths.
• Balanced, happier parents create balanced, happier kids. Take responsibility for your own happiness and resolve trigger issues. Exploring childhood traumas and experiences helps parents identify their parenting strengths and challenges.
• Learn the art of letting go. Children can work out many of their stressors on their own, without parental involvement, so encourage them to independently problem-solve when possible. This lesson extends to acting as chauffeur, social director, tutor, and all the other ways parents over-extend themselves for their children. 
• Choices within Limits.  Parents should provide opportunities for children to make decisions—they might be surprised at all the good choices their children make when given the chance! The caveat is that you must be consistent, calm and follow-through with appropriate consequences when they don’t.
• Simpler is often better. Fun is a skill that must be taught, as is joyful living, appreciation for both tangible and intangible things, or unplugging from television and the internet. Parents need to create moments for families to rediscover and simplify their lives together.

Our Thoughts:

In this book you are reintroduced to parenting. We learn that parenting doesn't have to be hard. Taking care of ourselves first so that we can take care of our children is important. They actually have the ability to become more independent and better problem solvers. 

Robin gives us the tools to empower our kids, and give them confidence, while at the same time parenting with a firm and loving standard. This book is amazing and really should be given out to parents, new and established alike. You can read this book ten times and take away something different each time you read it. 

Her approach isn't easy and it isn't quick. In order to change how you've started you have to work. It will no doubt cause some rough edges in your relationships with your kids, but in the end you will reconstruct and build a better more loving one. 

The take away's at the end of each chapter are priceless information! I love them. It's an overview, that requires you to take a toll on your own life and delve deeper. I have to say it hurts, to have to look at yourself as a person and take action before you can parent. But, you kids will be better for it; having a whole parent instead of a spaced out, stressed out one. 

Buy the book here.

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Why Covered In Cloth?

Let me give you some back story as to why I started Covered In Cloth.

A couple years ago I had met up with some online friends for the weekend. They both used cloth on their babes, and actually Anne makes diapers! Once I saw how easy it was, and realized that the idea behind cloth diapering wasn't really as horrible as everyone had said. I decided to do some research, and oh man was there a lot of research to do!

Between lingo, brands, types, systems, and the list goes on and on, my head got lost and floated away. So I had to stop. LOL I started asking questions, finding blogs, you name it I was doing it. I wanted to know everything I could to make an educated decision as to why using cloth diapers was best for our family. I will tell you now, had Anne not been such a great friend and helped me so much, I probably would have given up and not done it.

Fast forward to the end of 2012, I find out I'm pregnant. I have done the research and I am going for it. When we find we're having a girl! I am so happy to have a little girl! I decide pocket diapers are the best choice for us. I have made one silly purchase, and it was the Gerber prefolds, ya know, the ones with the thick centers? Yeah, not absorbent at all! Burp rags, yeah, diapers, no chance.

My daughter has been in cloth for 5 months now! Is it more work? Sure, washing diapers is an every 2 to 3 day job. Is it worth it? Absolutely! They are so stinking cute and easy to use, that I decided to start Covered In Cloth!

So many people have no clue how cloth diapers have changed over the years, and I got several nasty comment and looks when I mentioned that we were going to do cloth! People telling me how nasty they are, well, to that I say, "No more nasty than cleaning a poopy blow out from a disposable!" You cannot tell me it's nasty, if you've ever been covered in baby spit up, had to wash poopy clothes, etc. Babies are messy, they're nasty at times, and yup, we still love them to pieces.

SO, Covered In Cloth is my way to educate people who don't know how far cloth has come. It's a loan program dedicated to helping people who want to try cloth but don't want to invest all the money and then not like it. I want a way for everyone, not just low income families, to have a way to get cloth to rent diapers.

Cloth diaper parties. Fun with cloth! Let's do it, a fun family oriented party to get cloth diapers, and so much more! Who doesn't like a party?

Meetings for breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and more! Why can't we support our parents, and start conversations that some people may not want to talk about! Parenting is hard, and even harder for a first time parent!

There ya go! Covered In Cloth covers every aspect of parenting, babies, kids, and so much more! I am so excited to bring you a one stop destination to all things parenting! Cloth diapers is just an added BONUS!

Tuesday Tid-bits

Do you ever wonder why we have "advanced" so much, and yet have forgotten how simple parenting used to be?

Really think about how things were done 100 years ago. There wasn't all these gadgets, internet, tv, etc. Kids played outside, with other kids-IN PERSON. You wanted to talk to someone you wrote a letter. Kids had pen pals in school.

So much has changed, and we have forgotten our roots. We overlook how hard our grandparents struggled with the times changing. It didn't matter whether you had things, it mattered how you treated people.

One luxury I wouldn't want to give back is how cloth has changed. I definitely would want that to stay the same.

Monday Morning Thoughts

I seriously cannot get enough of this little girl in cloth! 

Being a parent today is rough. I mean, seriously, look at everything. You have to make decisions every day based on what other think of you, your discipline, and your child's behavior. 

Let's look at this, you choose to cloth diaper but you formula feed, for whatever reason that's your choice. You get ridiculed and looked down on by people not only because of your choice to cloth diaper (Oh, how nasty!) but because you chose to give your child formula. It's a lose lose world out there. 

So, what do I say? Do what's right for your family. It may not be popular, it may not be what people consider the "norm." THEY aren't raising your child, YOU are! If you want to be the crunchiest of crunchy, then you rock that the best way you can.

What we don't need is people making it so parents give up, there's already too much of that. Be the parent you want to be and strive to be the best! Don't back down from your stance. You know what's best for your baby and your family!