Fugalista: Thrill of the hunt!

Yesterday was opening day for Just Between Friends Tulsa Spring Sale. I've been to four JBF events since November 2009 (two months before Libby's birth) and have always scored awesome deals. Like our gently used Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper for half-off of retail. Or her cute rolling/rocking pony for $10.00. She LOVES that thing! And I've always gone on the final day and snapped up all of the 50% deals, especially on clothing, where I have gotten full outfits for $1.00-3.00/each.

That said, I've never been on opening day with the general public. I did go the first time during the "new moms" time that is opened ahead of the general public. So, yesterday was quite the experience. It was PACKED! And frenetic. There were people pushing strollers full of items while they slung crying babies and toddlers on their hips. There were hugely pregnant women dragging laundry baskets overflowing with baby gear. The check-out line took 1.5 hours!

Armed with $100 bill and my list, I set out on my hunt. I am a major bugetzilla and frugalista. I love bargain shopping and think consignment is the way to go when you're a mom trying to keep up with a growing child! 95% of Libby's things are gently-used. Buying second-hand items are good for mama's wallet and good for mother earth too. I cannot imagine trying to fully outfit the nursery and layette and all of the things we've used in the 13 months of Libby's life if I had to pay full retail price!

I started with the toys and books. I snapped up this classic Fisher-Price Corn Popper Push Toy for $5.

And this awesome set of small, chunky board book ABC blocks for another five bucks. I had wanted to get this for her birthday, but hadn't gotten around to ordering it off of Amazon.

I got a slew of other books too. Libby's favorite things right now are books. She adores them. And we read through the ones she has over-and-over again, several hours a day. She has many of them memorized. She really likes the ones that have photos rather than illustrations and those are hard to find. So I snapped up three of those, including one with a built-in mirror that she can see herself in while she's looking at the pages. I also got two fabric, "quiet" books. One is peek-a-boo with fabric flaps that she can lift to find the characters. The other is a Taggie book, that is great for her to have in her crib.

Next up was clothing and shoes. Libby is wearing a 24 months/2T and her growth has dramatically slowed down since August. For the first half of her life she went up in size in her clothing about every 6-8 weeks! So by summer she was in a size 18 months! In December we moved her up to size 24 months/2 T. Carter's outfits tend to fit her really well and for quite a while, so I bought several cotton knit one-piece rompers and dresses with bloomers. The other thing I appreciate about Carter's is that their styling for babies and toddlers is age-appropriate. I find that many of the other affordable children's clothing lines (where brand-new outfits are $25 or less) are like scaled-down, mini-tween and teen designs. It's sad, really. Libby wears cloth diapers and is on the chunkier side, so she needs things that are roomy and stretchy. And even if she could fit in slimmer designs, I just don't get why babies and toddlers need skinny or boot-cut jeans and tops that look like mirco-versions of things that 18-year-olds wear.

Maybe it's because I am an "older" first-time mom and other moms are closer to being in their teen years than not, especially around here, but I just don't think it's cute at all to let littles dress like they're older. Even my tween niece wants to wear things that I would have worn when I was 16 or 17 years old! I feel like such a fuddy-duddy. I am not prude at all, but what's wrong with little girls looking like little girls? Even the shorts and things that are out now are super short! Like with a 2-inch inseam. And why do toddler's clothes not have fully-elasticized waists. I cannot find one pair of woven or denim bottoms that are full elasticized. So we're sticking with comfy, cotton knits. To each her own, but I think moms who let their little dress like they're older are going to be in a world of hurt once the kids are actually teens. I mean, if she's allowed to wear a bikini bathing suit at age 5 why not at 15? Daisy dukes are cute when you're 3 so why not at 13? I'm just not going to go there. If Libby is anything like her mama, she will develop early. And she won't need any help in the looking-older-than-her-age department.

*stepping off my soap-box*

To round out the spree, I got a darling pair of multi-colored sandals. Libby is really into shoes right now after she played with the corn popper push toy and looked at all her books she just had to try on the sandals! This morning, she wanted to put them on over her footed pajamas. Too cute! So it was $97.12 well-spent. Usually, I got back to JBF on the closing Saturday to get the 50% deals. But I don't think I will this time...even yesterday, her size-range was pretty picked over...probably all of the "early-bird" shoppers (those who volunteer, etc. get first dibs) and I am not interested in getting items that I feel are not really age-appropriate styling. That said, I think she'll be pretty well covered for this Spring and Summer, although I'd still like to find a swim suit. It's so nice to feel confident in her sizing...this time last year I had purchased 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing thinking it would last her through the summer and I was so wrong!

Purchases for Lil' Missy!

This frugalista mama loves a good bargain! And boy have I gotten a handful today! First up are these two items I bought from Zulily today:

By Best Friend by Little Adventure

Orange & Fuchsia Flower Power Flip Skirt Set - Toddler & Girls

Includes tee, pants and reversible tutu

 

 

Hardcover picture book / 25 pages

Written by Andrea Alban Gosline

Illustrated by Lisa Burnette Bossi

Publisher: Scholastic Press



Next up is a crib set I've had bookmarked since before Libby was born:

Simply Shabby Chic Candy Patchwork Crib Bedding

I know it seems odd to be purchasing a crib set now that she's one year old, but she's only been consistently sleeping in her crib for the past three weeks. Until now, the crib has basically been a safe place for her to play for a few minutes while we used the restroom or got the laundry out of the dryer. She had napped in it maybe a half dozen times or so. We bedshared from the time she was about 10 days old until just shy of one year. It worked beautifully until a few weeks ago when none of us were sleeping well. She'd toss and turn and thrash all night and we each took turns leaving the bed and rocking her for hours on end until she'd fall asleep. Then we'd try to lay her back down into the bed with us and she's awaken immediately. It was quite miserable. Finally, on Monday, January 10 I resolved myself to launch "operation sleep-in-your-crib." We basically resorted to CIO because all of the other more gentler tactics just aggrevated Libby and made her more upset. I've spent months reading all of the sleep books, from Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution to Tracy Hogg's The Baby Whisperer; Dr. Sears and Dr. Jay Gordon and Ferber and Weissbluth.

I am not going to lie, the first night was hard. On me. Libby screamed and cried for about 30 minutes and then wound down to a fussy wimper. I had told J that we'd let it go one hour and reassess this approach. It was a killer. I cried in our room (we share a wall with hers) as I listened to her cry. We've never really let her cry, other than when we've been in the car and had no opportunity to stop. So to hear her wailing for an hour was rough. Around the one hour mark she had settled down considerably but was still wimpering. We decided to give it 10 more minutes. And wonder of wonders, she fell asleep! She slept in her crib two hours before waking, at which point I brought her into bed with us. I was emotionally exhausted. We got a great night's sleep though. The next day I felt awful and totally second-guessed my decision to transition her to her own bed/room and to do it by using CIO. But when I saw her that afternoon when I came home from lunch she was a smiling, happy, well-rested baby.

The next night we did the same thing and she fussed for 30-minutes before falling asleep. She slept for five hours before waking, at which point I brought her to our bed. The third night was similar. The fourth night she was out in 15 minutes and when she woke in the night I went to her room, nursed her and she went back to sleep in her crib. Same thing again on the fifth night. Night six she was out in five minutes and stayed in her bed all night and it's basically been that way ever since.

I never imagined I'd ever use CIO, but Libby needed it. And so did we. And I feel good about waiting until she was nearly a year old and can understand what we say. We talked about her sleeping in her own bed and she now brings us her favorite blanket and says, "nigh-night" and we nurse and rock and then I put her in her crib drowsy, but awake. Sometimes she fusses for a few minutes and sometimes not. Sometimes she babbles to herself for a few minutes and then goes to sleep.

Anyway, in honor of this transition, I decided it was time to officially outfit her crib with proper bedding. She's old enough now to use the quilt and we put a set of plain bumpers I got as a hand-me-down in there this summer when she was flopping over and bumping her head all the time when she was in there. I have a collection of random, gently-used crib sheets. So I am excited to get this set. It will be there when she's ready for us to convert the bed to a toddler and then youth bed. And it matches the quilt I've got on her daybed.

And finally, I scored this awesome wooden toddler-sized table and chairs for $40.00 off Craigslist:

Kid Kraft Table and Chairs in Natural

There were some random crayon and marker sribbles on the table top and one of the chairs, but some elbow grease and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleaned it right up! Libby was SO excited to see it! She loves it!

First Beeday Party

Libby's nickname has been "busy bee" since she was about 10 weeks old. So naturally, for her first birthday party, we went with a bumble bee theme. I had searched online and found super cute ideas here, here and here. I wasn't wanting to do a black+white+yellow color scheme so then looked at doing a garden bugs theme to open up the color palette. I almost went with this paper suite. But then I found this. And wanted to use it, but was outside the window for ordering. So I got to work with Photoshop and MSPublisher and came up with this:

The main colors for the party were yellow and red with turquoise and chocolate brown. And lots of polka dots! (Side note: I was stoked to see that Kelle Hampton was also using a similar color palette for Nella's first birthday party this Saturday as well. I donated to Nella's ONEder Fund in honor of Libby's first birthday). I ordered a customized tee and asked the seller, Lil Shabebe, to change the colors to our scheme. She did it and it turned out SO cute! The sweater is actually white hearts on red, from Old Navy. My husband's and my sweaters are also from Old Navy. I made a little corsage to pin on my sweater with polka dotted ribbons from Michaels and a fabric bee brad from Martha Stewart's scrapbooking line.

I already had the yellow and white polka dotted hair bow from Lbby's 6 month photoshoot and the red satin shoes were the same ones she wore at Christmastime.

I bought the yellow leggings (Circo) and polka dotted legwarmers (Baby Legs), both on sale, from Target. The pettiskirt was a last minute purchase from Party City's costume aisle. I had ordered an embroidered bib, matching hat and tutu from an Etsy seller. She shipped overnight on Thursday via FedEx but due to weather the package was held and won't be here until tomorrow. Mild panic set in when I realized this (not to mention extreme disappointment since I ordered it the first week of January and she assured me it would be here in plenty of time for the party. It was also WAY more money than I usually spend, especially on a one or two time outfit, so yeah, I was VERY upset by this).

I dashed off to Michael's Crafts to pick up supplies to create a custom hat. I got the glittered card stock, ribbon, and marabou there and topped it off with another of Martha Stewart's fabric covered brads and curling ribbon. I hit the party store and got the pettiskirt and bib (which wasn't in the color scheme, but at this point I had to let it go. They had a similar one in blue+yellow+red but it said "First Birthday Boy." Arg.) In retrospect, I probably should have just gone the DIY route from the start and saved myself $50+ from the customized set on Etsy. Ah, live and learn. And now, I have this set coming on Monday....after the party...guess I'll use it for Libby's smash cake photo shoot in a couple of weeks. That is, if she smashes the cake.

Yesterday, she just picked the sprinkles off the frosting. I made banana cake based on this recipe from Lisa at Surviving Oz. I altered the recipe by substituting whole wheat flour and adding a little cinnamon (about 1/4 tspn.). Otherwise, I made the cake exactly as outlined and it baked up 25 cupcakes (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to fill each polka dotted paper cup, which I got from Michaels).  I made cream cheese frosting using 16 oz. of cream cheese and 8 oz. of banana yogurt (Stony Farms YoBaby, which is thick like Greek yogurt) and about 1/4 tspn. vanilla. After whipping it for a while it seemed a little thin so I added in about 1/2 c. of powdered sugar. That helped stabilize it. I piped in onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkled the tops with red+aqua+yellow+brown jimmies.  I picked up two cupcake cases from the bakery grocery store so I could easily transport them to the party venue. When I arrived and set them out on the Wilton cupcake stand I had purchased from Michaels, I topped each one with cupcake picks that I made with the party circles I'd designed, printed onto two inch white, round stickers which were left over from my wedding DIY from 2007. To make them,  I simply sandwiched short lolly pop/candy sticks between the sticker and a round circle of scrapbooking paper left over from the party hats my mom and I made.

 The party hats were made using scrapbook paper from Target's Dollar Spot, curling ribbon bought from the party store, pom poms and elastic thread from Michaels, hot glue and stickers I had left over from the cupcake topper project. I downloaded a template here and we made the hats, assembly-line-style. The paper was a little flimsy so we reinforced the insides of the hats with some white poster board I picked up from Target. I just cut the template a little smaller than the hats and popped the reinforcement inside with some glue. I am glad I did, because the hats were WAY more sturdy under the grip of the littles who attended the party.

We held the party from 1-2:30 p.m. at a local Kindermusik studio. This was the best idea ever! For a small fee they let us use the space, provided the tables/chairs/paper plates/cups/etc. did the set-up and clean-up AND spent 45 minutes doing musical activities with the kiddies and their parents. It was the perfect amount of time for toddlers and littles. The studio owner, Beth, and her assistant kept everything well paced and moving along. We did the activities and then ate cake and opened presents. I had found cute wooden musical toys like clackers, hand drums and tambourines on sale at Michaels. So I wrapped them in red paper and curling ribbons that matched the hats and put a personalized sticker on each one.

The kiddies unwrapped their favors as Libby unwrapped her gifts. We got an awesome Plan Toys drum, a LeapFrog Counting Candles Birthday Cake toy (the candles turn off when you blow on them!), a darling red tutu and a beautifully illustrated and bound book of Disney Treasury of Children's Classics. We also got a Kindermusik CD, shaker egg, kazoo and treats from the Beth, the studio owner.

I ordered the polka dotted balloons from Sally at Polka Dot Market. Sally was AWESOME and actually sent a duplicate order when she feared the first one wouldn't make it me on time. Both packages arrived and I contacted her about the second one. She told me to keep it and use it for the party. YAY for excellent customer service! I'll be shopping her site again and again. The bees I ordered from Party City's website because they had no bee Mylar balloons in the store. These were actually from their Valentine's Day line and they matched the color scheme perfectly! I took all the balloons to Party City in the morning and they inflated, ribboned and bagged them for me to pick up on the way to the music studio.

I was thrilled that even with snow earlier this week (I had a snow day from work, which was helpful for last minute party projects) everyone showed up right on time. We had three families join us for the party. I am SO grateful...these three families are new friends to us (the only people we're friends with outside of work, actually) and it's because of them I even planned a real party for Libby. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Libby's first birthday is bittersweet...it means my baby is now a toddler. I've looked back at her infant photos today and am amazed at how much she's grown and changed in this past year. In many ways, she's still the same as the day we brought her home though, especially when I rock her at night and she nurses. We've ALL grown so much in this past year. It's amazing. This last week she's taken her first unassisted steps and cut another tooth (7 total now and more on the way)! She's talking up a storm (it's SO cute to hear her say "bumble bumble," "bah-oon," and "happy happy")! It won't be long before she's running around and a "big kid!" It's true what they say, it goes SO fast. And now we've checked another milestone off the list...baby's first birthday party!

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Adding this post to Tip Junkie's

 Handmade Project and Parties round-up!
This is Number 176 there.

New Stuff

I have totally been slacking on updating the blog.  Work has been insanely busy and we had about a week of Libby not wanting to sleep.  I think due to teething (again) and developmental strides.  Thankfully, the last few nights she's settled back into a routine of going down for the night without a problem.  I swear, I thought we might kill the blow dryer and break the rocking chair last week!

Libby's high chair arrived last week and it was a snap to put together.  It's a Keekaroo Height Right Chair.  We got it with the tray and cushion set:

The only thing "wrong" with it is that the warning label and logo were upside down on the parts.  Perhaps that's why I got such a deal on it from Overstock.com.  We paid less than $200 for it...similarly designed Svans and Tripp Trapps go for much more than that, so I am glad we found this deal.  We definitely needed to get something that she won't outgrow since she is tending to be WAY off the charts in height and weight for her age.  We just moved her into size 18-24 month clothing this week and she'll only be 6 months old come Sunday.

She loves sitting in her chair and started joining us for meal times.  She's tasted a few things but has yet to really eat any food.  That's okay with us and definitely part of baby-led solids anyway.  Thankfully she's still nursing like a champ and my milk supply is as strong as ever (despite taking a hit last month due to stress).

We also got rid of her adorably cute but oh so impractical Bebe Lace Green rug.  I love the design of it but it's impossible to keep clean even though we are shoe-free household and I vacuum it religiously. It seems to just attract dust like a magnet!  After three months of use it was looking really shabby and not in a chic way. It wasn't cheap either and I am frustrated that a rug specifically designed and sold for children's rooms is so difficult.  So, it's off to the cleaners to see if they can do anything for it and in its place are these awesome foam tiled squares.  We got them in pink and white (one set of each color) for $49 from GetRung.com.  They shipped quickly and were so easy to lay out and snap together.  I put them in a checkerboard pattern (trying to echo the patchwork quilt on the daybed) and although they're not as "shabby chic" as my adorable yet filthy area rug, they are super cute and better still, super functional.  Libby loved them immediately...she felt the texture of them for a good 20 minutes.  And when she topples over she doesn't cry because they absorb the fall (unlike said chi-chi area rug, even with a pad)!

We are also preparing to take our first plane ride with Miss Libby and have decided to lug our Graco32 and Snap 'n' Go along for the trip.  I wasn't comfortable renting a car seat and bringing our own seems to be the best solution.  That said, she HATES being in it on the Snap 'n' Go because she'd rather sit up when she's strolling (we usually take her for walks in a second-hand Schwinn Jog Stroller that I got for $30), but we're bringing it anyway to navigate the airports on our travel days.  We also got a J.L. Childress Ultimate Carseat Travel Bag to protect the car seat since they can get pretty beat up even when they are gate checked. 

And I finally got an Ergo!  We went with the Ergo Sport in black since it's supposedly a better fit for larger/taller parents and cooler fabric for the baby.  I tried it the other day and the jury is still out on whether or not I like it.  Libby seems sort of squished in it, at least when she is in front.  I have yet to try a back carry with it.  I have 30 days to return it and well, I am just not sure about it.  I think I prefer wraps.  I really, really want a Storchenwiege (Anna) or Vatanai (Koira) but they are pricey, especially because I want to get the longest size.  So, maybe in the Fall I will have the funds to get a woven wrap.  Libby seems to like being wrapped as well and I love that there are so many versatile carries that can be done with a wrap.  Wovens are supposed to be very supportive which is essential since she's over 20 lbs. now.  I wish there were a babywearing group or MeetUp here in Tulsa so I could meet other parents who wear their babies and also see/try out different wraps and carriers.  I might just have to start one up...I see moms from time to time out and about with their little ones in ring slings or mei teis, so I know I am not the only one in town!

Insert eye-roll here

So in the brief four months we’ve been parents, apparently we’ve made a slew of choices that are less-than-conventional. I guess. I mean, in the online parenting forums I frequent, they seem quite “normal” but I guess in every-day-life they may not be. Hmm. I suspect there’s been a lot of eye-rolling from the every-day people in our lives.

First off was the decision to cloth diaper. People came out of the woodwork to tell us we were nuts. That surely, we’d regret it and find ourselves bleary-eyed in a big-box-brand-name-store at 3 a.m. desperately purchasing disposable diapers within a week of bringing our baby home. “You’ll see…” I heard time and again. Well…here were are…four-plus months later and loving the decision we've made to cloth diaper. It’s super convenient and totally budget-friendly. Not to mention that we’re always just one laundry load away from a new supply of diapers for our little one. It is also better for her health and for the health of our planet.

Second was the fact that my exclusively breast-fed baby refuses to take a pacifier or a bottle. I am fine with her not wanting a paci…but others have an issue with it. She’s keen to suck her thumb instead (although has not fully worked that out just yet) and somehow that’s a bad thing. I dunno. If it helps her to self-soothe, I am all for it. It’s right there, whenever she needs or wants it. And for the record, I sucked my thumb and didn’t go off to college still doing it. Sure, I needed orthodontics, but it wasn’t because of the thumb-sucking. It was due to genetics.

And although we introduced the bottle at the “right time” of four weeks and she initially took it, eventually she decided she wanted nothing to do with it. At first I thought it was because I produce excess lipase and discovered that my stored, pumped breast milk had an “off” taste. But even once we worked that out (via scalding all pumped milk as recommended by Kelly Mom and LLLI) she still refused to take the bottle. And we tried them all. Including this fancy-schmancy one that actually looks and supposedly feels a lot like a breast. So, with the impending date of my return to full-time work looming, we got creative and tried feeding her expressed breast milk from a cup. Well, really the top of one of the many bottles she’d refused. And you know what? It worked! So since she was eight weeks old she gets her “cup milk” from daddy or grandma while I am at work. People still don’t believe she can drink from a cup. Others ask why we don’t just make her drink from a bottle. (As if I could make her?! They suggest, “if you don’t offer her anything by the bottle, eventually she’ll HAVE to take it!”). Why on earth would I do that when she’s already drinking from a cup? People need to learn to drink from a cup. They don’t need to know how to use a bottle. So, she’s just ahead of the game.

Here's a video of J cup feeding Libby when she was 10 weeks old:






Speaking of being ahead, that leads me to our latest “unconventional” choice to use infant pottying in our household. Also known as Elimination Communication or Diaper-free Babies, it basically is learning to read your babies cues to know when they need to potty. And once you notice them, you begin to potty them over the toilet or sink or receptacle of your choosing rather than let them go in their diaper. Sounds pretty down-to-earth to me. After all, people need to use the potty anyway, right? So, very casually, we’ve begun to observe when Libby needs to pee or poop. It’s become fairly easy to pinpoint, especially her pooping schedule, which is just once a day now and usually in the early evenings after feeding. Pee has been a little trickier to catch, but again, she usually lets us know immediately when she’s wet and we’ve been able to figure out her signals just before then, namely squirming and vocalization. So we’ve been able to get her to tinkle on the potty (our household toilet is now outfitted with a kiddie potty seat that I picked up for $3) by offering her “pottytunities” before and after her naps, after feeding, before baths, etc. We cue her with “pssss” and sure enough, she pees in the potty. It’s so cute!

She loves it because she’s not in a wet diaper. And we love it because it means less diaper changes (and laundry) for us. Especially the poopie ones. I’ve only changed one poopie diaper in the past 5 days (and that’s because she surprised me with a early-afternoon poop). We have no intention of having her be diaper-free (she’s still in her cloth diapers) save for the 15-20 minutes of “naked time” she has each day. Nor are we pushing her to “potty train” anytime soon. It’s more about teaching her that she has options when it comes to her personal hygiene. Knowing her, once she really figures out that she doesn’t have to be in a wet or dirty diaper I suspect she will be wanting to use the potty more often than not. She smiles every time we sit her there. And she loves that it’s faster and cleaner than getting a diaper change.

That said, we’ve already gotten the side-eye about it. And of course the lecture that it’s “too soon.” Yes, if we were potty training her, it would be WAY too soon. But what we’re doing is potty learning and offering her options, which is perfectly fine. In many cultures they don’t even use diapers on infants because they practice this method of infant pottying. And it’s not like she’s being scolded if she goes in her diaper (which is an old-school tactic used by parents in potty training). Oh well…I guess to many people teaching your baby to use the toilet is weird. To us, it’s pretty much a no-brainer. It’s a skill she’ll use for life so why not start now? I did have to laugh though when we were asked, “well how does she get to the bathroom?” Um, the same way she gets everywhere else right now. We carry her. Duh.

Finally, I am sure that more eyes will roll in a couple of months when we begin introducing solids to our daughter. We’ve already been asked more than once why she’s not already eating rice cereal. We’ve had to let people know that we’re going with the AAP’s recommendation to wait until she’s six months old before introducing solids. (Oh and I’ve also been asked why I plan to breastfeed beyond six months since she’ll be eating solids by then and will most likely have teeth. I cannot believe how clueless people are about breastfeeding. You should have seen the reaction when I said I have no intentions of weaning at twelve months, let alone six. Oy vay.)

We plan to let Libby self-feed solids (also known as BLW or Baby-led Weaning) when she shows signs of readiness. Most likely that’ll be later this summer. I am sure people will ask why on earth she’s not being spoon-fed jarred baby food or even purees we make ourselves. I am sure they’ll question the risk of her choking. I am already scheduled to take an Infant CPR class later this month so at least I can let them know that if on the remote chance she did choke, we’d know what to do. But I am sure they’ll still roll their eyes. Oh well, I guess that’s okay. It certainly won’t be the first time.

What it means to be sorta crunchy

The older I get the more I am realizing that I am more crunchy than not.  I mean, compared to many of my fellow San Francisicans I guess I might be slightly crispy, but here, in Tulsa, I am definitely considered more granola.  Here's a fun little quiz to see where you might score on the spectrum.  I scored 108.  That puts me in the "Mmm!  Love that whole grain crunch!" category.

Here's what makes me a sorta-crunchy mama:

1) Exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months and then introducing solids around 6 months using "baby-led weaning."  Will plan to breastfeed at least until 12 months and probably beyond.
2) Bed-sharing for now and will transition to co-sleeping soon (she'll stay in our room, but not in our bed)
3) We're using cloth diapers and wipes and wash them at home.  I use the clothesline to sun them about once a week.
4) We practice babywearing.
5) Following the principles of Attachment Parenting.
6) Refused certain vaccines at Libby's birth.
7) Attempted a natural birth using the Bradley Birth Method and used a doula.
8) Libby's clothing and nursery is 99% recycled items bought via consignment, Craigslist and eBay.

But for really granola, tree hugging folks I would probably be considered more conventional than not...we buy organic when we can, but we don't eat organic foods exclusively.  We're not vegan or even vegetarian although we do try to eat as healthfully as possible, avoiding processed foods and choosing whole grains like quinoa.  That doesn't mean we don't enjoy pizza delivery from time to time or breakfast at our local greasy spoon complete with bacon.  We recycle.  We bring our own, reusable bags with us when we shop.  We try to stick to eco-friendly cleaning supplies and personal products.  But we also leave our electronics plugged in 24/7 and use modern conveniences like a dishwasher and microwave oven.

So we're "in between" and I think that's okay.  The only weird thing is that I am too hippy-dippy for most conventional-types and too-conventional for the more hippy-dippy folks.  I know that I am not alone, but sometimes I feel that it has to be "all or nothing" to feel like I fit in somewhere.  Especially when it comes to parenting choices. 

In general, it seems that if you choose something that is in opposition of another's parenting choice, then it can become a bone of contention.  For example, if I cloth diaper, then I must think parents who use disposables are wrong.  If I chose to breastfeed than I am judging the mom who chooses to use formula.  If we want to bed-share then we must think parents who put their baby in a crib are neglecting them.  None of this could be further from the truth!  I know there may be some folks who feel this way, but not me.  The beauty of parenthood is that there is no one right way to do it.  Only the way that is best for me and my family.  And if that's different than what other parents chose for them and their family, then so be it.  I just wish more people could be okay with that.  But I guess as long as there are people who are insecure in their own choices, there will be those who pass judgement on others.  As long as people have to feel right there will be squabbles over things like this.  Nothing is black and white though.  Especially not parenting.

Nursery Progress

Since we were snowed in for Christmas we decided it would be the perfect time to finish getting our nursery together.

Remember the inspiration board?

Here's how it's all come together:

View of the nursery from the doorway


Simply Shabby Chic (from Target) Pillow and Banners...to decorate the crib.
When the baby sleeps in there we'll take the pillow out though.


Still need to add more decorative accessories to this shelf.
The dress in the middle and two to the right of it were mine when I was a baby.
The other two were awesome consignment sale finds!


Lamp that was in my room when I was a toddler.
I made a new lampshade for it to coordinate with the colors in the nursery.
The lamp was a vintage shop find by my mom when I was just 2 years old,
so it's got to be at least 45-50 years old by now.


These are shelves from IKEA that we've had for at least 10 years!
The baskets had red and yellow striped liners so I made new ones to match the lamp shade.
The Care Bears are new except for the dark blue one which was mine when I was a child...vintage! You can tell he's different because he has real hair and the others don't.


Swivel/Rocker/Recliner we scored for $50 on Craigslist.
The day bed is 25 years old and real enameled
iron with brass finials, also found on Craigslist.
We still need to get a proper quilt for it
(found one I like from Target's Simply Shabby Chic line)
and add the pop up trundle and a dust ruffle.


Bigger view of the room. Not pictured...J's "study" corner which is to the right of the daybed.


Our cloth diaper stash! 36 unbleached Indian cotton prefolds. The other box has the covers and wipes, etc. We also scored a second-hand wipes warmer for $6...I figured it's worth a shot!


Our multi-functional crib with lots of storage.
Still awaiting the arrival of the properly sized changing pad for the top of the drawers.
Best of all it will convert to a single youth bed with a nightstand
when the baby is ready to transition out of the crib.


Wall letters that I made with supplies from the local craft store.
I decoupaged scrapbook paper onto the balsa wood letters and
then attached them to twine with mini clothes-line clips
(hot glued in the back for extra security).
I still plan to add some bird decals to the clothesline.


All of Joseph's work has paid off! We have a gorgeous, sturdy crib for Libby!
He put it together all by himself, by hand!


Me and my bump at 35 weeks pregnant!

I still need to add some wall decals and artwork to the walls, dress the day bed with pillows and linens, etc. But all in all, it's ready for our little girl!