If you have small children, it’s highly likely you are constantly packing your diaper bag full of snacks! Toddlers especially like to graze/snack throughout the day  and outings typically go much smoother if you are armed with a variety of snacks. Mom’s Milk Boutique now carries three awesome eco-friendly Planet Wise products to make snacking packs for your little a breeze; reusable snack bags, sandwich bags, and window bags. The bags are made out of FDA food safe material that is PVC, BPA, phthalate, latex and lead free. In addition to being environmentally-friendly, they will save you money by replacing use of disposable plastic baggies, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Also they are far less bulky and lighter-weight than using hard containers. They are carefully designed to prevent leaks and seal in freshness with a hook and loop closure. You can easily wipe them out with a wet washcloth or simply throw them in the washing machine. And just like all of the Planet Wise products, the reusable snack bags come in adorable prints! Let’s be honest, cute prints make everything more fun…even packing up for an outing! There are several gender specific and gender neutral options available to choose from.

Get 10% OFF all Planet Wise products this week!!

This week’s giveaway is for one snack bag, one sandwich bag, and one window bag! Be sure to enter TODAY to win three FREE awesome Planet Wise reusable bags!


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Went to floss my teeth the other night and found this….

I love that my kids can make me laugh unexpectedly even when they are sound asleep!

Night weaning is the process of weaning your baby from having breast milk during the night. There are several different approaches to night weaning. Most of the tips here are for older babies (approximately one year and up), however you could possibly adapt for a younger baby. One important thing to keep in mind is that gentle night weaning is a process that takes time, patience, creativity, and flexibility. It also takes a certain readiness on baby’s behalf.

There are different reasons for wanting to night wean your baby. Obviously a primary incentive is for mom to get more quality sleep. However other factors can influence the decision as well. Sometimes family planning/fertility plays a role. For example, some woman’s monthly cycle does not return until she stops nursing through the night. “The milk-making hormones that suppress ovulation are highest between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m” (Ask Dr. Sears, Breastfeeding and Fertility). A pregnancy may encourage a mom to night wean as sleeping comfortably becomes more and more difficult. Or if a new baby is on the way, a mom might decide to night wean so she only has one night time nursling. Another situation might be if baby needs to spend the night under the care of someone other than mom (due to any number of circumstances) having baby night weaned becomes necessary.

A first step would be to examine baby’s current night time sleep and nursing patterns. This will give you an idea of where to begin and what is a reasonable expectation. For example if your baby is still waking up several times a night to nurse every day of the week, then you might want to start with the goal of reducing night time feedings rather than eliminating them altogether. If baby is only nursing one to two times a night, your baby might be more ready for night weaning.

Once you have determined what your ideal outcome is (number of feedings, length of time between feedings, or to completely eliminate feedings, etc) the next step is to talk to baby about it. I feel like this is a really important step regardless of baby’s age, developmental level, and understanding of language. Breastfeeding is a relationship you share with your baby and if you are proposing changes to that relationship, explaining that to baby is honoring and respecting the reciprocity of the relationship.  You might pick a time when baby is calm and use really simple langague. For example when my oldest was 15 months, we decided it was time to night wean (sleep deprivation peaked for me at that time and we wanted to start trying for baby #2). One day while nursing him I gently told him that mama’s milk was going to start sleeping at night because we all needed to get better sleep. Using simple, kind language I explained that I knew it might be a hard for transition for us, but that I believed it would be okay. The conversation was obviously one sided since he was so young, but definitely think it helped going into the process by providing a sense of peace/comfort to us both.

Night weaning is typically much easier if you have the help of someone else to comfort baby during the night when he/she wants milk. It is typically very difficult for mom to offer alternative comfort to a baby who really just wants mama’s milk. Often this may be a spouse or a partner, but it can be anyone the baby has a close, trusted relationship with. For example, a friend of mine who is a single mom, had her mother help with night weaning. My husband would be the one comforting baby back to sleep during the night weaning process, so we started by inserting daddy into the role of providing comfort during non-sleep times. For example if baby tumbled, daddy would be the one to comfort him. Whatever the reason, if baby was upset and daddy was present, we had daddy be the one to comfort baby. This was to help establish him in that role both for himself and for baby. We did this for maybe close to two weeks before beginning night weaning. If you have the opportunity to do something similar with whomever your support person is, it can be a helpful step in the night weaning process. It’s a conscious shift in providing alternate comfort by an alternate person.

Another important factor to consider is that baby is accustom to getting some of their nutritional and calorie needs met during night time feedings. Therefore providing a dense, high calorie, protein snack before putting baby to bed starting a week or two before night weaning might help re-adjust baby’s food intake needs.

Now that you have done some preparation for night weaning by talking with baby, eliciting help from a support person, and establishing the habit of a bed time snack, you might feel more prepared and at ease about approaching the night wakings. How this looks for each family is going to vary greatly. Sometimes this entails a new sleep arrangment. I personally find it’s easiest to only make one transition at a time, however some families do use night weaning as an opportunity to transition baby to his/her own sleep space.  Another important element is timing; trying to night wean a sick or teething baby will be far more difficult so be sure baby is healthy, well, and comfortable when night weaning begins.

When baby wakes up asking to nurse, have daddy (or whomever the support person is) offer baby comfort by holding, rocking, offering a sippy cup of water, talking to baby, singing to baby, etc. Here’s the hard part…baby is probably going to cry. BUT while some may disagree with me, I do feel this is a different practice than crying it out. In this process someone is still offering comfort to baby and assuring them they are loved and safe. Another important factor is knowing your baby’s cries and assessing the intensity of it and responding accordingly. My husband and I had agreed ahead of time we were comfortable with about 10 minutes of daddy trying to soothe baby and if crying continued to esculate I would nurse baby back to sleep and we would just try again next time baby woke up. It really was a delicate balance of imposing our desires on baby while still respecting his needs.

With my fist son, night weaning was relatively easy the first go-around. After the prelimanary steps we took and a few nights of daddy providing comfort he was night weaned. I think a big factor in the ease of the process was readiness on my son’s behalf as well as his adaptable nature. With my second son, the process was a little more difficult. The first attempt ended after a few days of trying. We decided he wasn’t ready and that we would try again in a month or two. About six weeks later we tried again and in just a few relatively easy nights of soothing from daddy, he was night weaned. We have yet to approach night weaning with my 3rd son as he is only 11 months old. He still needs/wants access to mama’s milk at night and I am happy to provide that for him.

Have you night weaned in a gentle way? If so what tips or suggestions do you have? Would love to hear your experience!

-Sarah

I don’t know about you, but lately my grocery bill is crazy high! I think it’s a combination of increased cost of groceries and a growing number of people to feed (now that Iz eats more solids) in my family. Additionally I have boys that can EAT! I mean they seriously pack it away! For example my three year old had THREE helping of oatmeal yesterday. A bunch of bananas lasts us a day…a bag of 4 avocados is gone in one meal…and forget if I buy a bag of chips or something because they are practically gone before we even get home from the store. So in effort to reduce our grocery bill I started being more strategic about how I grocery shop. I know there are some hard-core couponers out there that provide tips on how to get $178 worth of groceries for like $20, however I find that approach to grocery shopping typically results in large quantities of unhealthy processed foods. There typically are not coupons available for whole, fresh foods (have you ever seen a coupon for apples?) and unfortunately natural grocery stores tend not to have double coupon days. Here are the strategies I use to reduce our grocery bill while still feeding my family as many organic, healthy, whole foods as possible.

MEAL PLAN – Okay so this alone makes a huge dent in our grocery bill. After the birth of my third son, I admittedly got super lazy about meal planning. I would go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of random stuff, but then each day when I thought about what to make for dinner I realized I didn’t have anything to make an actual meal with. For example I would have most everything to make veggie fajitas except for tortillas. Often this resulted in a quick trip to the store (as quick as it gets with 3 little ones in tow) to pick up the one missing item. Only I would arrive home with $40 worth of stuff and not enough time to actually make dinner. So we’d eat cereal for dinner despite having spent time and money on attempting to make an actual meal. After a few $40 cereal dinners I decided it was important to start meal planning again. Meal planning drives your grocery list; and as long as you stick to your list and avoid random, impulsive buys it typically curbs your grocery expenditures. Another bonus to meal planning is that you buy foods you actually intend to use versus stuff that spoils in your fridge because you had no real plan of what to use it for. Now when I meal plan and make a shopping list I also do a quick pantry/fridge check to assess for staples. They get added to the list as needed. Nothing worse than chopping all the veggies to make a stiry-fry, only to discover there is no oil in the house to stir fry with. At which point you improvise and get creative, sometimes resulting in success but sometimes resulting in a huge waste of food.

BUY IN BULK – If rule #1 is “stick to the shopping list” than rule #2 is “except for when there is an exceptional sale” in which case you buy large quantities of the sale item. However this only makes sense if the bulk purchase is a staple that you use on a regular basis and would be purchasing frequently anyway. For example organic coconut milk was recently $1 a can (half of the regular price) so I bought two cases of it knowing that we use it frequently enough that this would amount to a substantial savings over time. So while that particular grocery bill was higher than average, in the end we were saving money.

ONCE A WEEK SHOPPING – Staying out of stores seems to be the easiest way to save money! If I am diligent in meal planning and letting that drive my grocery list, than weekly shopping works beautifully! I try to plan meals with the more fragile veggies first and the heartier veggies later in the week to avoid spoilage and wasting food.

OCCASSIONAL PANTRY CHALLENGE – A pantry challenge is when you let your pantry dictate your meal planning with the goal of cleaning out your pantry. You know that lone bag of 10 mixed dried beans you bought because it sounded interesting, but you didn’t actually know what to do with it? Well a pantry challenge is when you pull that out (dust it off as needed) and use it! You might need to purchase a few groceries to supplement the meals you make, but overall the goal is to be creative/resourceful with what you have while cleaning out your pantry. I try to do a pantry challenge every other month and it really does make a difference in overall spending. A pantry challenge typically reduces that week’s grocery bill by half or more.

PREP FRESH PERISHABLE FOODS IMMEDIATELY- Greens, fresh herbs, and some veggies require a little extra care to extend their fridge life. Often I was so eager to get all the groceries put away that I would throw them in the fridge with the intention of prepping them later. However several days later I would find myself trying to salvage the 3 bunches of organic kale I spent $10 on. Now I am more diligent about prepping foods immediately to avoid waste. If you are not sure the best way to store certain foods, do some research and experimentation to see what methods work best.

What are you frugal grocery tips? Would love to learn more ideas from readers!

-Sarah

Often times you know your heritage just by the kind of foods that are made in your home and passed on from one generation to another. Every year, for my Grandpa Walton’s birthday his mom would make him a Dried Apple Stack Cake. After she passed on, someone else in the family took over and eventually the task was passed on to me. Now that he has passed on and I have a family of my own, I am excited to pass on a recipe that has been in my family for generations.

Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

This multi-layer cake is a heavy and moist, but not exceptionally sweet. The layers are thin and biscuit like, and the filling is sweet, spiced apples.

Some of my family migrated west from South Carolina into Tennessee. Tradition tells us that during pioneer times, wedding cakes were quite expensive (um, now too!), so guests would bring a layer of cake and the family would provide the apple filling. You could tell how popular a bride was by how many layers her cake was. I just like making the cake to remind me of home.

8 month old Iz in a Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diapers

With Spring Break on the horizon, your family might be getting ready to take a vacation to a warm destination where you’ll be spending lots of time pool or ocean side? Or perhaps you take baby swimming on a regular basis at the local recreation center for open swim or to participate in a baby swim class? Or you might be among the lucky few who live near an ocean and visit the beach frequently? Whatever the case maybe, if you are taking your baby swimming, you might consider using a cloth swim diaper.

Cloth swim diapers carry all the same ecological and economical benefits that regular cloth diapers do! Here, let’s actually do the math:

Name brand disposable swim diapers run about .90cents a piece. A brand new Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper in a size large will cost you about $16 and on average will fit baby from 6months old to 15 months old. But remember that cloth diapers can be used with multiple kids. The Imse Vimse pictured here on 8 month old Iz, was actually used by his two older brothers when they were babies. So imagine how many uses this bathing suit has gotten, keeping in mind that we live in a hot, dry climate and have access to a pool and hot tub on a daily basis.  Let’s just pretend we’ve used it 100 times, even though the actual number of uses is probably higher. If we had been using disposable swim diapers we would have spent about $90, so using a cloth swim diaper saved us around $84 (not to mention that is 100 less diapers in the landfill). However it’s likely that the savings are even higher simply due to the convenience of always having a swim diaper available. You know how it is when you have to run to the store for something, you are likely to pick up other random stuff even if there is only one item such as ‘swim diapers’ on your list. Or you stop at a higher-priced convenient store on the way to the beach to pick up swim diapers and pay twice the amount you would at a big box store. The convenience of always having a swim diaper available is definitely an added bonus in my mind. Additionally because I have boys, the cloth swim diaper also functioned as a bathing suit so I never needed to purchase a separate bathing suit.

Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper

Now you might be wondering if a cloth swim diaper is effective in holding in messes in the water. In my five years experience we have had no issues with blowouts in the pool…thank goodness! The design of cloth swim diapers is not to absorb, but to contain. Therefore you want to be sure to have a snug, but comfortable fit. In addition to the Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper  I have a Bummis Swimmi Swim Diapers. One thing I like about the design of the Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper is the velcro closure because it allows a custom fit. I also like the interior mesh fabric as it seems very effective in containing messes. The other question you might have is in regards to how well the fabric holds up with the repeated chlorine exposure. And my answer would be it does surprisingly well! As previously mentioned we’ve used the same swim diaper with multiple children over multiple years with no issues of the fabric wearing out prematurely.

Both the Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper and the Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper are great swim diaper options…and I almost forgot to mention that they both come in super-duper adorable prints including gender-specific and gender-neutral options.

Do you use a cloth swim diaper with your baby? Any extra thoughts to share? Would love to hear from you!

-Sarah

This week’s giveaway is for a Hygeia Manual Breastpump. Even if you are (or plan to be) an ‘exclusively-breastfeeding-straight-from-the-tap’ mama, it is helpful to have breastpump available. A manual pump such as the Hygeia Manual Breastpump is a great low-cost option for mothers who would be using a pump minimally. Some situations where you would benefit from having a manual breastpump include:

-to help relieve engorgement when you have a newborn who is still learning how to latch properly

-if you wanted to use the curative powers of breastmilk for topical purposes (diaper rash, pink eye, etc)

-if you are rarely away from baby, but a special circumstance requires you to be (ie- wedding, funeral, etc) you might want to express some milk for your own comfort

-if there were ever a special circumstance where you needed to ‘pump and dump’ such as a medical procedure that required medication that you didn’t want to pass to baby

- if you wanted to mix a small amount of breastmilk into baby’s first introduction to solid foods

A manual pump is a perfect low-cost option for these types scenarios that might occasionally arise during the course of your breastfeeding relationship. If you will need to pump on a fairly regular basis, you’ll definitely want to invest in a more powerful pump such as an electric single or double breast pump. However a manual breastpump such as the Hygeia Manual Breastpump is a good fit for the infrequently pumping mama. It’s easy to use and completely portable. It has a vacuum regulator with strength control and automatic release at the end of the stroke.

Enter this week’s giveaway today to win a FREE Hygeia Manual Breastpump!!

 


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Go away kids, so mom can enjoy her tea!

Attachment Parenting International provides 8 principles they belief optimally support the development of healthy parent-child attachment. Over the last several Fridays I have reviewed each of the principles and given suggestions for practical application. They are as follows:

1. Prepare for Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting

2. Feed with Love and Respect

3. Respond with Sensitivity

4. Use Nurturing Touch

5. Ensure Safe Sleep, Physically and Emotionally

6. Provide Consistent and Loving Care

7. Practice Positive Discipline

The 8th and final principle is “Strive for Balance in Your Personal and Family Life“. I actually believe this one to be the most challenging of them all! The demands of raising a family often seem all-encompassing and striking a balance where everyone’s needs are met is a struggle. There are the individual needs of each family member as well as the needs of the relationships that exist between each family member to consider. Young children’s needs are often simple (ie- hungry, tired, need attention, etc) yet are riddled with immediacy and occur at a rather high frequency. As adults we are more capable of putting our own complex needs aside to care for our children. However it’s important to find or create the opportunity to revisit them at a later time. Otherwise they build and grow so heavy throwing off the balance within the family.

Shortly after the birth of my second son we went through a difficult phase in our family where things felt completely imbalanced. It took a great deal of consciousness about the situation, open communication with my husband, and creative brainstorming to find resolve. Of course we are not perfectly balanced and I doubt we ever will be, but we are in a good place that feels manageable.

Previously I was on a fast track to feeling ‘burnt out’ as a mother. API defines ‘burn-out’ as a physical, emotional, and mental response to high levels of stress where parents may feel relentlessly fatigued, strained, and physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. They may also feel overworked, under-appreciated, angry, resentful, powerless, hopeless, drained, frustrated, detached, anti-social, unsatisfied, resentful, like a failure, indifferent, and lacking motivation (API, 2008). As I felt any or all of these emotions day after day, I knew something had to change.  I waived a white flag and cried uncle to my husband letting him know I needed more balance in our family. As a mother it is easy to nurture everyone else but yourself…but rule #1 is the nurturer must be nurtured so she can continue to nurture! If she is continually depleted of her resources she will have nothing left to give. I did not want to become empty and hallow with nothing to give. Rather I desired a more sustainable rhythm of reciprocal giving and receiving.

We made two relatively small changes that ultimately had a big impact on our family. First I started to exercise more, namely running and practicing yoga. Running was something I missed incredibly and yoga was something I was curious in exploring deeper. Finding the time, space, and energy for these activities was relatively easy once we determined it was a priority. Secondly, I actively worked to develop a social network and support system. Late into my second son’s pregnancy we had moved to a new state where I didn’t know anyone. After he was born, the adjustment to two children was difficult and lonely. Realizing my need and desire to connect with other women, I started attending local La Leche League meetings and Birth Circle meetings on a regular basis. From there I developed friendships and a much needed support system. My heart and soul began to feel full again and the burnt-out feelings subsided.

If you are heading down the path of being burnt-out from parenting, take action! Perhaps a few small changes can make a big difference. Try to prioritize your needs into your daily activities; even something as simple as waking up 10 minutes earlier to start the day with deep breathing/meditation can help infuse more balance into your family. Once you become closer to feeling balanced (as opposed to experiencing the extreme imbalance that goes along with burn-out), you will be more attune to acute changes in balance and respond accordingly. Thus you can ideally minimize the shifts that occur on either side of the fulcrum by being proactive. API gives some great practical tips for maintaining balance on their website. Be sure to check them out if you haven’t already.  :)

Have you experienced extreme imbalance in your family? What helped you achieve more balance? Would love to hear from you!

-Sarah

Congratulations! You are thinking about getting pregnant! The period in a couple’s life when they are hoping to expand their family is certainly an exciting time. While it may be a little ways away for your family, there are things you can do in advance to optimally prepare your body for carrying new life and it’s never to early to start!

Make Healthy Food Choices: Nutrition is probably the number one most important thing you can do to prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy. The awesome part of this is that it is something you can completely control; what you put into your body is 100% yours to decide! Of course eating well is important for everyone no matter what phase of life, but it is especially important for women during their childbearing years. If you want to make changes to your current diet, my suggestion would be to ease into it. Drastic dietary changes are often only temporarily sustainable efforts. Perhaps start by simply adding more whole foods into your diet? One idea might be to start your morning with a green smoothie? It’s a really easy way to get in a ton of nutrients. Another factor that influences healthy food choices and the relationship we have with food, is the common belief/misconception that healthy foods don’t taste good. If you believe that then you are less likely to select a healthy food and go straight for the junk foods which you know tastes good, right? Who woudn’t choose something yummy over something bland and tasteless? Eating is supposed to be a pleasurable experience! However I assure you eating healthy can be delicious, succulent, invigorating, and pure decadence! If what is healthy to you is boring, perhaps experiment more with foods and flavors? You might also try imposing more mindfulness into meals as described in this post. Another mental shift in eating is to focus on how foods make you feel after consuming them; really looking inward and examining how your body responds to foods. You might discover that healthy foods help you feel more vibrant and energetic as well as provide clarity of mind.  By attributing those positive qualities to the foods we use to fuel our bodies, we change our relationship with food. No longer does a donut look appealing…it starts to look like something that is going to make you feel heavy, sluggish, and unfulfilled. By changing the way you eat before getting pregnant, you are filling your body with optimum nutrients needed to grow and nourish a healthy baby. And you are setting yourself up for continued healthy food choices during pregnancy and postpartum. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding are a lot of work for your body and properly fueling your body can positively impact all three!

Increase water consumption: While this goes hand in hand with healthy eating, it is definitely worthy enough of separate mention. Water is quite healing and restorative to our bodies. Through large consumption of water we can help remove toxins from our body. One great way to start your day is to drink a large glass of water upon awakening. You have likely went 8 hours or so through the night without consuming any water so your body would graciously welcome a large glass of water each morning. Try to figure out a way throughout the day to have water readily available and accessible to you. Often this means carrying a water bottle with you. Investing in a quality water bottle that is easy to fill, clean, and drink from is definitely worthwhile as it is likely to directly impact how  much water you consume. By increasing water consumption during the pre-conception period, you are setting the stage to do so during your pregnancy. Staying properly hydrated during pregnancy can actually prevent some pretty serious medical issues. Something as simple as drinking water can change the course of your pregnancy, so bottoms up!

Be Active/Exercise: Again when you consider how much work carrying and birthing a baby is on your body, having a healthy strong body becomes even more important. If the idea of exercise means going to the gym and hating every minute of it, then of course you won’t be motivated to do it. However if you open yourself to the idea that there are hundreds of different ways to be active, you might find a type of exercise you actually enjoy such as hiking, biking, roller-blading, skiing, running, dancing, power-walking, yoga, volleyball, softball, tennis, swimming, surfing, etc. If exercise is infused into a recreational hobby, it becomes less of a ‘chore’ and something you are actually passionate about and willingly/happily devote time to. In addition to the direct health benefits of exercise, by engaging in physical activities we become more attune with our bodies which obviously carries great advantages during pregnancy and childbirth.

What are some ways you prepared for pregnancy? Would love to hear your ideas!

-Sarah