Fluffy Mail Monday

Who says Mondays are bad?


Butterfly and I had a really good day today. We set off in the morning to meet the lovely Tia-Louise and her adorable bunch of kidlings! Butterfly stuck pretty close to me to begin with but chose to crawl around a bit at the end, so she must have felt at ease! She also liked Aria-Rose (who wanted me to "put her dowwwwwn" so she could play Mumma hen!), Butterfly stroked her face and hair while she was playing next to her. Nawwwww!

On the way home I popped in to see Jenny (of Vintage is Beautiful) to pick up a prize we had won a while back... and buy Butterfly a dolly that was named after her!! It is so cute, and Butterfly loves her already, check out the big cuddles!!! Poor Jenny, I turned up unannounced because I couldn't get through to her mobile... normally I wouldn't do that to someone but I was driving past her house! She was forgiving, and humoured me even though she was sick... thankyou JENNY!! She needent have apologised for her attire... if anyone knocked on my door at 10am they would probably find me in a singlet and a pair of granny undies!! My poor poor post lady, she's seen it all...

Here she is... Miss Jossie doll!

When I got home there was a message in the letterbox that my fluffy mail had arrived!! Woo!! It was my Bumcheeks order from their recent sale. I had ordered 5 pocket nappies, but because my order was unavoidably delayed, Hollie threw in a FREE organic bamboo nappy for me to try!! For some reason I thought they would all be white, but no, get a load of this gorgeous colour!!


I'll let you know how it is, it is currently drying after its prewash (yeah, I know I should do more prewashes but I'm too impatient!).

I left Butterfly with her Dad while I went to the post office and to pick up a few things from the shops. I feel so strange without her though. Sometimes I feel like I need a short break, but going shopping without her is lonely! I am so used to getting around with my best girl strapped to my chest that shopping without her is just not the same. With a baby, everyone smiles at you, shopkeepers engage you in conversation, and you always have someone to talk to. Without her, no one makes eye contact with me and the shopkeepers aren't interested in having a chat. Sometimes I smile at people, and it takes me a few seconds after they've ignored me for me to remember I don't have Butterfly with me... its just sad! We have a very cold society sometimes.

Oh, and because I have borderline OCD, I have to visually check that her carseat is empty every time I leave the car in case she is there. Even though I know she is at home. Once I even called my husband to make sure he had her... and the first time I left without her, seeing the empty seat wasn't enough, I had to open her door and physically touch it!! I'm not the only one this paranoid right?? RIGHT?

Anyway I skipped half the things I wanted to do to get home. When I stopped in the driveway my girl and my man came to greet me... and she was SO excited! She kicked her legs and smiled... and then SIGNED "Mumma" for the first time!!!! I was so proud of her, and it was too relevant to the situation to be a fluke. She has done it before when I've shown her how, but never on her own steam. Brings tears to my eyes. I love you bubba!!

stop... pause... REWIND

At a catch up between some like minded Mums, a friend of mine came out with a corker. When she had told a friend she was breasfeeding, her friend was baffled as to why she wasn't using formula... "Don't you embrace progress?" she asked...

Say WHAT???

Our society has come to a point, I feel, where we have meddled in things that ought not to be meddled in! Just because we have formula, doesn't mean we should all use it. Of course it is necessary for those who can't breastfeed, and can make life "easier" (although thats debateable), and allows women to return to the workforce. But shit, my body makes it for FREE, so I am not interested...

Anyway this isn't a "benefits of breastfeeding" blog, I think we all know em!

As a parent, I find myself going back to the past more and more. We have all these wonderful technological advances that are supposed to make life easier. However newer isn't always BETTER.

Think nappies...

YAY!! Disposables were invented! No more washing, folding, ironing terry squares... just chuck em in the bin and move on!

STOP!!!! That is HORRIBLE for the environment, would feel like crap against a smooth little bottom, and is made from Gosh knows what toxic junk.

REWIND... MCN rocks! Easy to use and damn cute!

Think toys...

YAY!! Look at these wonderful new colourful plastic toys, so easy to clean!

STOP!!!!! They are made from awful chemicals that leach out and have harmful effects on your littlie

REWIND... how cool are wooden toys! Butterfly loves blocks, and wooden trains and cars are so fun and retro! Or just give her a cardboard box full of tupperware...

Think food...

YAY!! Microwaves and food processors make feeding infants so much EASIER!

STOP!!! Allowing your child to eat solid foods (SOLID, not pureed) is much more beneficial than cramming them full of mush

REWIND.... introducing baby led weaning! Nothing new to most cultures... just let your baby help themselves from your plate when they are ready.

Think cleaning

YAY!! Look at these awesome products in pretty bottles, just spritz them on and they kill 99.9% of germs!

STOP!!! Those products are a) bad for the environment b) toxic to us and c) it is harmful to kill ALL the germs in your house!

REWIND... where is my bicarb and vinegar again??

Think medicine

YAY!! Antibiotics are invented and save lives! Let's use them to cure EVERY illness!

STOP!!!! Overuse of antibiotics is leading to drug resistant SUPER BUGS!

REWIND... hop in bed, have a cup of tea and see how you go for a few days before demanding antibiotics for a VIRUS (antibiotics interfere with the life cycle of bacteria and are powerless against viruses!!)

Think sleeping...

YAY!! Cots are invented! Put that kid in its own room, got to get more sleep that way, right?

STOP!!!! Cosleeping benefits parents and babies! Helps establish breastfeeding! In countries where it is the norm, SIDS is so rare they don't even have a name for it. More benefits here

REWIND... sleep here next to Mumma, darling, I will hold you and feed you through the night. If you are sick I can keep an eye on you. I can hear you breathing next to me, I don't have to go into your bedroom at night worried about your safety.

Think prams...

YAY!! Prams make life SO much easier! Just strap your baby in and push them around to your hearts content

STOP!!!! Baby wearing has too many benefits for me to name... click here!

REWIND... I heart my YAMO, Butterfly never grizzles at the shops anymore, and she laughs like a maniac when I jolt her around like I am a horsey! Clip clop clip clop

Think Childbirth

YAY!! We can labour in hospital with medical equipment to assist or help if things go wrong, and they have DRUGS!!

STOP!!!! STOP STOP STOP!!!!!!! Birthing in hospital often leads to unnecessary intervention, induction, assisted deliveries, hasty caesareans! In countries where homebirth is the norm, the infant mortality rate is going down, but in the USA where C section rates are on the rise, infant mortality is going UP!!! There is something wrong with that picture...

REWIND... birth at HOME! In your own space, at your own pace. A midwife can attend with oxygen and drugs in case you haemorrhage. She will have equipment to monitor the baby. Your baby will be born unmedicated, and you will be too. Better bonding and breastfeeding! As nature intended. Oh shit, now you've got me started. OK I will refrain from my essay ;)

I could go on and on. Baby bath products (BOOOOO!). Video games instead of imagination (BOOOOOOO!!). Processed foods. Artificial colours. Preservatives (BOOOO!! BOOOOOO!!!BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!). The closer we get to nature the better off we will all be. Sometimes I feel like selling up, buying a few hectares in the bush and moving there with all of my hippy friends! We can grow our own food, sew our own clothes and breastfeed our toddlers to our hearts content! Who is with me?

Doozy of a TWOSIE!

Scene... Butterfly and I have walked into the doctors surgery and sat down. A new mother sneaks over pointing at Butterfly's yellow itti bitti d'lish nappy. "Here we go" I think... "This mother is going to ask where I got that ADORABLE nappy"... I start mentally preparing my spiel: "Oh, its an itti bitti nappy, they are the BEST! Really easy to clean, its no sweat, just tip the wetbag into the wash every second day and turn it on!!"

Anyway the woman comes up to me and says "Excuse me, but your baby needs a nappy change, it is leaking EVERYWHERE!" I look down. Yep. EVERYWHERE. Up her legs. On the floor. On my jeans. On my T-shirt.

I just froze. I wasn't really prepared for a nappy change, I mean I have the equipment but I don't even know if there is a change mat in the toilet. Eventually I go and seek out the toilet, and get even more covered in excrement cleaning my squirmy, crying bubba. SIGH.

That is the second time I have had a poo explosion in a week! On Tuesday I rocked up to a first birthday party, and was greeted by a nasty squelch when I picked Butterfly up out of the car. I felt so rude, I couldn't really say happy birthday, I had to find somewhere to change her STAT! She almost needed a shower, luckily I had bought her a change of clothes. That time I put it down to the fact I had squeezed her bum into a medium nappy when she is a large. Turns out it wasn't the case!

OK, I know I am not doing any favours for the cloth nappy movement with this story. But really, this is the first time it has happened to us, and Butterfly is 9 months old. Well, first and second! Butterfly is teething and it is causing really runny, stingy twosies that she seems to want to sneak out in the car when I am oblivious... we practice elimination communication so I am used to her doing her poos on the toilet! Going back to wiping poo that has been well and truly smooshed into every nook and cranny... bleuch!

I LOVE MCNs!! I really do! I used disposables for 4 months, before I discovered the wonder of cloth! I used to sprout the whole, "Cloth isn't even that good for the environment coz you have to wash them blah blah blah...", that is such a convenient line of thought when you are using 10 sposies a day!

I ordered an itti bitti trial pack after my friend and Sausage Mama sparked my interest... as soon as they came I was planning to buy more, more, MORE!! I think I had ordered another 13 by the end of the week (woops... I was still getting maternity pay LOL). Right now I think I would have about 40ish (I haven't counted) but thats because I had a full set of mediums and now a full set of larges.

I love cloth because...
They are so cute... SO CUTE! They are part of Butterfly's outfit, it is fun to mix and match them with her t-shirts!
They are so easy to clean, tip the wetbag in the wash, and press go! No soaking, no bleaching, nuttin.
They are much better for her bum, my hip pocket and the environment!

The two companies I personally swear by are
itti bitti
bonnibuns

Other fans highly recommend these brands
Cushie Tushie
Genesa Forge
Bizy Bee
CGR
Noonee Wilga
Baby Beehinds
Peepods
Wild Child
Beetlebums
Cherubs kiss
Crickets Hemp Diapers (can't find the link...)
Fuzzibuns
Woddlebots
Monk n Bear
Junglebums
humbugs
Goochi by Scarlett Jayne
Greenkids

Phew! You can thank me later for looking up all those links! I'm stuffed!

Happy shopping! Go on... just buy ONE... (hears cloth users laughing in the background... no one can stop at one!)