CJ's diaper creams and sticks

My last blog write up was about my little guy's patchy dry skin. I had no idea what was causing it, I just kept using the yoreganics bye bye dry balm on his legs.
After a few weeks I realized that he was getting worse. Finally (duh) it dawned on me that his leg kicking was the cause of the spots. I started putting pants on him, which helped!
I also started using CJ's BUTTer on his legs and cheeks. I was only using it on his diaper area. I had no idea that I could use the diaper stick on his legs and face! I now have a new diaper stick that is only used on his face and legs. Basically, anywhere that gets dry and patchy.
After using both Yoreganics and CJ's products on my little guy, I came to a conclusion. Buy CJ's diaper stick in the large size and use it on your baby's dry skin. It seems to get results and the larger size costs just as much as the small Yoreganics Bye Bye Dry balm stick. It also comes in great scents and unscented as well. I am really addicted to CJ's products now! They are absolutely fantastic!

Dealing with my baby's dry skin!

My son has several red, dry, gross patches of skin on his legs. After trying all the different lotions in the house, I caved and ordered Yoreganics Bye Bye Dry Balm (It was a steal of the day on Babysteals.com). I paid about $11 total for the product and shipping, which is pretty steep for me. Especially if I just want to try something!
The balm arrived in the mail a few days later and I was able to apply it to my son's patchy dry skin. I wish I took a picture of his legs so I could post "before" and "after" photos. His skin looks so much better! I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed with the size of the balm stick. However, I have noticed that the balm lasts a long time (I apply it to his skin quite often).
I know that these patches of dry skin are not really hurting my son, but they don't look so great. I think it was money well spent! I plan on ordering more! I also applied it to a scratch on my son's face and it looks so much better after one day.
So, for all those moms and dads out there dealing with a dry skin issue, give this balm a try. I think I am in love with another product.

Oeko Popo Seconds

I finally opened my package of seconds after getting the kids to bed and unpacking suitcases. I went from feeling dead tired to feeling dead tired and excited!
The seconds looked fantastic. They were just as described. Six out of the thirteen needed the leg elastic stitched. Other than that, they were very pretty and well made. The inserts looked great too! I could barely tell they were second quality.
I stitched my diaper covers and hoped that my handiwork would hold up when challenged with an especially terrible #2. About a half hour after I snapped on an Oeko Popo second onto my son, he challenged my sewing technique!
The diaper held everything in, I was pleasantly surprised! He is a breast milk and formula fed baby, so things got pretty darn messy inside the diaper. No leaks though!
All in all, I would recommend ordering these seconds when they are available. If you want to feed your cloth diaper stash cheaply, this is a great way. Each diaper cost me $4.50 (for the cover and insert). That is pretty great, plus they are cute! I also have the option of using any prefolds that I have for these covers. They are very versatile.
Oeko Popo is coming out with a 2.0 version of their diaper. I would definitely pay full price to try one of them out. I also have to say that the owner refunded me the additional shipping cost I paid for when I forgot to order my inserts. I didn't even ask her to do that. How awesome is that?
(pictured below is a red cover that I stitched. My son is wearing the "whales" design)

Ruby Moon detergent and Wipe Bits

After this hellish week, I am ready for some normalcy.

Easier said than done, I received a call from my aunt this AM telling me my 93 year old grandmother fell and broke her hip yesterday. She is undergoing surgery tomorrow. I may be going back to Dallas sooner than I had planned. I also recall saying that I never want to leave the state with the kids again. I may have to suck it up!

In other news, I used my new stash of Ruby Moon cloth diaper detergent. I bought the vanilla sugar scent, which smells delicious! I also have to say that my order arrived quickly and expertly packed. I was very satisfied.

I threw all my dirty diapers into the washer and added one tablespoon of the Ruby Moon detergent. I enjoyed the scent once more before shutting the detergent tray and rushing off see what my 2yo was yelling about. After running the towel cycle, I was pleased to see that my diapers were white, clean and fresh smelling. To be honest, I did not have any doubts that Ruby Moon would work. I have heard great things about this detergent. So far, after a day and a half of wearing the diapers cleaned with Ruby Moon, no rashes on any bums.

I also created my tush spray using the Ruby Moon Wipe Bits. I boiled two cups of water in a sauce pan and added two squares of soap. After letting the concoction cool I was able to pour it into two spray bottles (one for the baby bag and one for the changing table). The spray smells great and is gentle on my little guy's bottom. I quickly realized after creating my wipe spray that the bag of wipe bits will last quite a while.  I had been using boiled water with a few drops of baby soap and a few drops of baby oil. I could easily continue to use that, however, this is just more fun. All in all, I am very pleased with the products from Ruby Moon and would like to try a few others. I will have to order the clementine scent next time!

Glad to be home

Well, after planning a trip to Texas and Oklahoma with my family, nothing could have prepared me for the terribleness of it. Charlotte came down with roseola and then the other baby did too. We had to take him to the emergency room because his fever was over 100 degrees. When I say "we", I mean my husband took him. I was in bed at my aunt's house because I was diagnosed with Strep throat and had a 102 degree fever.
Ugh. What a terrible trip. I didn't get to do anything I wanted to in Dallas. I felt god awful and the kids were sick. I had a few mini meltdowns too. The flight home was pretty yucky as well, what  a nightmare. I am cannot believe that we paid money for that terrible trip.
So glad to be back home. Also, I am never packing up the kids and traveling again...ever. Okay, maybe that is a bit irrational, but that is how I feel right now. My throat still kills me even though I have been on antibiotics for four days now. When is this going to end? It is definitely hard taking care of grouchy babies and feeling terrible myself.
I guess this is all part of parenthood. Thank goodness I have my husband along for the ride. I certainly do not give the guy enough credit.
On another note, I received my Oeko Popo seconds and they look great! I also received my Ruby Moon detergent and wipe bits. I will post pics of the seconds and talk about the pros and cons of them. I will also review the "wipe bits" and detergent from Ruby Moon.
GLAD TO BE HOME!

My Sweet Pea

My two year old makes me laugh every day. I am not even exaggerating. She is such a sweet little girl and she says hilarious things. Sometimes she waves her fist at the dog and yells "shup pup!". I have since stopped telling the dog to "shut up", I don't want her to tell other people to "shup pup!".

Today, after her nap, she was trying to tell me something. I was changing her diaper and she was pointing to her leg saying something that started with an "f". It sounded something like "flekshls". Needless to say, I had no idea what she was saying. Until I looked a little closer. She was pointing at the freckles on her leg and trying to say "freckle". I finally understood. I laughed so hard because she was so frustrated. I said "Oh, you are pointing at your freckles!". She replied with a big smile and said "Yeah!". She pointed at her freckles and I pointed at the freckles on my arm. I will never forget that. I feel so privileged knowing this little girl and being able to stay home with her. I cannot wait to see what her little brother says. He is just as sweet as she is. I love both of my sweet peas.

Soap Nuts-My Experience with Yoreganics Soap Nuts

I am a frequent shopper at babysteals.com, where I purchased a bag of Yoreganics Soap Nuts. The term "soap nut" is actually referring to soap berries. The idea of being able to use soap berries for my cloth diaper laundry seemed so cool and intriguing. I had to try them for myself!
I placed my order and received my little package of soap nuts about a week and a half later. I tore open the box and looked at these berries that are supposed to clean my dirty diapers.
They looked...well, they looked strange. I opened the bag and they were also sticky. The berries also smelled tangy, if that is the correct word. I wondered to myself if I was a sucker to buy into this nutty idea, pun intended.
The directions said for me to simply put 5 soap berries into one of the bags and tie the bag. I put the laundry into the washer, ran my rinse and spin cycle (like I usually do with my cloth diapers) and then threw in my small bag of soap berries. I usually use Rockin' Green detergent for my cloth diapers, so I was hopeful that this little experiment would work. An hour and a half later, after running my cloth diapers on my "towels" cycle, I ran to see if my diapers and diaper inserts were still stinky  and soiled or clean and white.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, soap nuts WORK. My diapers were clean and fresh smelling. I worried that they would get that "tangy" smell I mentioned earlier. No such smell could be found when I was sniffing and inspecting the laundry. I have two soaps now for my cloth diaper laundry, both Rockin' Green detergent and my Yoreganics soap nuts. It is the little things in life, like cloth diapering and trying different methods to clean them that make life interesting.