kim through
   the looking glass

I just got back from Little Bird’s Nest program (storytime for kids 0-3!) and after chatting with my good friend, the owner of Re•Diaper, I realized it’s high time I put up a review of the beautiful Little Beetle Organic Wool Underwear we bought for Gwen a few weeks ago.

When Gwen first began to make it through the day with taking herself to the potty when she needed to go, we decided it was high time to introduce the need to wear underwear, along with the concept that, unlike diapers, one should not urinate/defecate in them. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s funny. Ever since method came out, I’ve been a die-hard customer. I even did a review a few years ago. And you know what? I still love their products! I love their liquid soap and their bathroom cleaner and their hardwood cleaner.

But now that I don’t shop at Shopper’s Drug Mart as often, and it’s one of the only store that carries the line, I’m finding it hard to buy.

And the other day, as I was shopping at my local health food store, I noticed some bar soaps. And since we were out of handsoap, I thought about it. And dismissed the idea and started looking for a liquid soap.

And then I thought about it some more.

Was I sticking with method because they’re trendy and cool? Does buying a handsoap that comes in a plastic bottle that I have to recycle afterward make sense when I could pick up a bar soap with NO PACKAGING at all?

So I went back to the display of Soap Works bar soap and picked up two - Bee Pollen for the bathroom, and Pumice for the kitchen. And you know what? I’ve enjoyed using these soaps. They smell yummy and don’t dry out my hands. And I love that I brought home soap without having to throw anything away!

Now, I need to find to soap dishes that I really like …

For anyone who isn’t following along in the comments on my Doidy Cup post, I thought I’d let you all know that my review has been added to the pressing cuttings page at TIPS Ltd.!

I’m thinking that’s pretty cool, seeing as how I’d really like to write reviews for a living. I didn’t get paid for this one, but maybe if I keep up the reviews and keep submitting them to the companies I will eventually?

**Edited to add a link to the TIPS Open Mouth Cups Awards that I checked out during my research. Also, take a look at the comment from midwife and TIPS founder, Sharon!**

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a Midirs podcast about cup feeding and they were recommending the use of Bickiepegs’ The Doidy Cup for early supplementation, introduction of a cup, and weaning baby to a cup from a bottle. They were cautioning against the use of spouted cups, citing research that may indicate that the use (and prolonged use) of such cups may lead to poor nutritional habits. They encouraged the use of an open cup for drinking at mealtimes.

After doing a bit of poking around at the different open-mouthed cup options, I thought I’d give The Doidy Cup a try. I ordered from the online store (located in the UK) on May 20th, and the cups arrived in the mail today (only 8 days!). I was eager to try them out and see what Gwen would think of them, so I brought it out at dinner. Read the rest of this entry »

I know I mentioned it at Christmas, but my parents bought Gwen a Yookidoo Discovery Playhouse for Christmas. It’s rated for 12 months +, but I figured once she started moving, she’d probably have a blast with it! Read the rest of this entry »

My local health food store (Goodness Me) was selling gDiapers for 25% off. I decided to pick some up since Brad and I are going to be going to the Dominican Republic for my sister Becky’s wedding in April and we obviously won’t be able to bring along the cloth diapers!

I love them.

gDiapers is a true disposable diaper. They consist of an outer cotton pant, a snap-in nylon liner, and a flushable insert. The insert is chlorine- and plastic-free (yay!) and is flushable, compostable (wet ones, anyways), and tossable. Check out their video to watch an insert fully biodegrade (50 - 150 days instead of oh, 500 years for a regulaer landfill disposable diaper).

The little ‘g’ pants come in a variety of awesome colours (sized small, medium, and large) and are ridiculously cute on little bums. We’ve also found that our indian cotton prefolds fold up well and fit in the liners just fine - so I can use the cute pants with cloth, too! I love the fit so much that I’ve been reaching for them more and more … and I’m contemplating selling some of my other covers to buy a few more of these (girly colour, anyone?)!

So Brad’s brother and his girlfriend visited us for a few days from last Saturday until Wednesday afternoon. It was wonderful to have people in the house during the day!!! They have been in Vancouver for the last 8 months and are off to Rome for four and then to Dublin for another four - so this was the first and last time they’ll see Gwen for a while! Read the rest of this entry »

I truly didn’t believe that it was possible for time to move this quickly. Every day Gwen changes so much and I find myself loving and enjoying her more and more =) Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’ve pretty much spent the last three days doing laundry. Yes - three days! I’ve currently got my last load in the washer and dryer and it feels GREAT! I’ve washed all the baby clothes that we were either given or are borrowing and they’re sorted by size - newborn and 0-3 month, 3-6 month, and more than 6 months. I’ve also washed all the blankets, facecloths, towels, and bibs and well as prepped all the cloth diapering stuff. (Unbleached prefolds? Ugly when you get them, but they really fluff up perty once you prep them!!) The diapers that Brad’s Grandma made are really nice, and fluff up when you prep them, as well! Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t believe how close it’s getting now! 99% of babies born at this point survive without ANY major problems - wuhoo! June Bug’s central nervous system is developing, his/her digestive system maturation is almost complete, and the lungs are usually fully mature. He/she weighs around 5.5 lbs (!!!) and is around 20 inches long from head to toe. June Bug likely won’t gain much length anymore, but will put on around a half-pound per week until delivery. Read the rest of this entry »