Babywearing: Making a Wrap

Have any of you ever tried babywearing? I personally enjoy it because it creates a special bond with my baby and calms her down. When I started babywearing I had a 1 1/2 year old with separation anxiety, I was pleasantly surprised that after a few week of wearing her on my back we no longer had that problem!

In this photo I am wearing Beth (my 5 week old) in the cradle cross carry hold with a wrap I made myself. Very easy to do by the way.

To make your own wrap you will need a few supplies:
5 yards of fabric (I would recommend something breathable like cotton gauze)
Sewing machine that does a zig zag stitch
Coordinating thread

First, fold the 5 yards in half making the 44in wide fabric 22in
Next, cut the fabric creating two 22 in x 5 yard pieces
Then, zig zag stitch all the way around both pieces to stop fraying (I used the tightest zig zag stitch I had to get the best look)
Last, use one wrap and give one to a friend to try!

There are many ways to wrap a baby/toddler. Here is my favorite website for learning how to wrap: http://wearyourbaby.com/

Last summer wearing my toddler in the back cross carry hold.

Have a great day!

~Kym

Verse for Today: Psalm 27:14

How I Fold Prefolds

I have been needing to do this post for a long time. So here it finally is! I do my prefold folding two different ways with a snappi; one for my way 2 year old and one way for my 3 week old. I find that the different folds work better on the bigger/smaller bottoms. Now, you do not have to fold a prefold with a snappi, but I do because I find it contains mess a whole lot better and it keeps the prefold in place inside the diaper cover. I started by not using a snappi and just laying the folded prefold in the diaper cover before I put it on my babys bum, but I found out very quickly that the snappi was a great help in keeping the prefold on my older daughter while she went about doing her normal toddler stuff. :-)
Because both of my beautiful daughters are currently napping...

I am going to use Lucy to show you how I fold prefolds. Lucy is the equivalent of a 15-20 lb baby, or so I would guess.


For the first fold I will show you how I do what I call the "twisty fold". This is what I use on my smaller baby girl
I start by folding the back edge of the prefold down (If you have a boy you might want to put the fold in the front to help catch more liquid :-) )


I then place child on the prefold centering their bottom on the thicker part and making sure the back edge is at the waist.


I then grab the front of the prefold and twist




After that I place both front edges at the hips I bring the back edges forward 

And then secure in place with a snappi!



The other fold I use I would consider the regular diaper fold. This is one I have seen used for a long time and is very easy to master. :-D
I start the same way I do the other fold. Fold back edge down, place baby on prefold. Then I fold in the right front corner to the left edge of the thick middle section.


And repeat with the left front corner.


I then bring the prefold up between babys legs


After that I spread back out the top edge of the prefold being sure to keep it from unfolding in the middle between babys legs.


And bring the back edges forward and secure with the snappi

That is how I fold the prefolds! Once I did these folds for a week I mastered them to the point where they were fast and easy, but it is a bit awkward at first figuring them out. 

After the prefold is folded onto the baby, it is time for the cover. To be sure you get no leaks check for prefold coming out from the edges of the cover

And tuck them under the cover

Well there ya have it, all of what I do for using a prefold and a cover. I need to run now, but if you have any questions please ask!

~ Kym

Todays verse: Colossians 4:5-6

Weekly Wipe Recipe

Here is the weekly wipe recipe!



Anti-Fungal Too
Similar to the other anti-fungal recipe, but less vinegar and water.


1 tablespoon calendula oil
A few drops lavender oil
A few drops tea tree oil
1/4 cup 100% aloe vera gel
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon white vinegar




I got an order in the mail of Alva Baby diapers! So far I am loving them (this is my first day using them), I will put up pictures as soon as I get time. :-)


Have a great Friday!!


~ Kym




Todays Bible Verse: Galatians 6:2

Weekly Wipe Recipe

Here is the wipe recipe for this week. Enjoy!

Magic Baby

Baby Magic products are usually easy to find in local stores.
1/2 cup Baby Magic oil
1/2 cup Baby Magic wash
2 cups water

Welcoming...

Elizabeth Florence, born on my birthday, 8 lbs 7 oz and 20in long :-) (a surprising three days early as I did not expect to see her until after her due date). After days of wondering if I was starting labor my labor finally kicked in on Wednesday afternoon and I had my sweet Beth in my arms a short 8 hours later. I had a totally natural birth (at a birthing center) with no medication in a birthing tub and would recommend the experience to anyone interested. We have been home now for 5 days and are starting to learn about life with two kids. :-D I feel like I still have a lot to learn. :-P 

Cloth diapering is going rather well! Both of my kids right now are in prefolds with Thirsties Duo wrap covers and they fit well and clean easily, so we will probably just use those for a few weeks until I get my energy back. The one thing I realized this week was folding a prefold for an infant and folding a prefold for a toddler are very different. I am going to do a post just on folding prefolds and how I do it sometime in the next couple of weeks to give an idea of what I mean. :-)

Well this is enough of my rambling, I just wanted to make sure that people know I am still alive and doing well. :-) Have a blessed day!
This is a picture of my sweet Beth at 5 days old. :-)

~ Kym

Todays Verse: 2 Thessalonians 3:3

New babies and cloth diapers

Sorry about my posts becoming less frequent. I currently am getting ready for my new baby who is due to arrive any day! Because of this I thought I would do a short post about what I am getting to cloth diaper her and what my thoughts are on cloth diapering from the start.

I currently am planning on doing part time cloth diapering with my newborn simply for my sanity sake. :-)  The plan is for the first few weeks to cloth diaper during the day and to use the paper diapers I have been given at night so that if and when I am crazy tired I wont be fumbling with cloth. My idea is since I am  having my two year old and the newborn at home with me all the time I wont be too tired to keep my two year old busy and happy, my newborn peaceful, and me calm. The cloth diapering I will be doing will consist of several types of diapers to better decide what works for me and my newborn. I will start by using prefolds and the Thirsties Duo Wrap in size one, the reason I have chosen this particular diaper cover is because of the size. Thirsties Duo Wrap supposedly fits babies from about 6lbs to about 18lbs and I want a cover that will work longer than just a few weeks. I am also working on ordering ALVA Baby diapers in the 4.0 style or it is also called the Color Snap, the reason I chose this particular style of ALVA Baby is because it is a pocket diaper with double gussets and with an extra small snap setting. I do not know about the quality because I have never used ALVA Baby before, but I will do a review on them once I get them and understand more about the diapers. :-) Pocket diapers are something I have not really looked into doing full time before simply because of how expensive they are and the fact that the ones I have I (personally) find hard to clean by dunking in the toilet. But, I found the ALVA pocket diapers made in Hong Kong for about $7 a diaper and I recently bought a diaper sprayer attachment for my toilet so pocket diapers should not be as difficult for me now. So to start my pocket diaper stash I am going to get some of those. :-)

Well I think this about wraps up my thoughts and what I am going to try to use with my newborn. I do hope to keep up the blog in the next few weeks, but it might not be exactly all I hope to post because of the new baby. :-D You all be blessed until the next post!

~ Kym

Todays Bible verse: Psalm 139:13-14

Weekly Wipe Recipe!

Here is another wipe recipe! I am just loving some of these ones I am putting up here, they are so nice to use! As with all of these, remember that not every one is going to work perfectly for your baby or for your diapers, so test them on a couple of days worth of wipes before using one for too long. :-) 

Anti-Fungal

(Omit vinegar if baby has a raw rash.)

1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon calendula oil
A few drops lavender oil
A few drops tea tree oil
1/4 cup 100% aloe vera gel
1 cup water

Just mix up your wipe solution and enjoy the smell! :-)

One trick I have recently been really happy with is putting the solution in a squirt bottle and then spraying my wipes with it when I am putting a couple of days worth into the wipe warmer. Not only is this easy, but it cuts down on the time it takes to "soak" the wipes before I put them into the wipe warmer!

As always if you have any questions please ask! I am more than happy to answer. :-) Have a fun Thursday!

~ Kym

Today Bible verse: 1 Corinthians 15:58