Trainer Reviews Recap, The Cause, and a random gift of Love

Some of my readers may have noticed my blog posts are not coming nearly as often. There are a few things going on that I can point at to blame. One is not fun. I went back to work after 10 weeks off. Two a little more fun.... I am the ultimate Soccer Mom. OK may not ultimate but I have three kids playing this year and me time will be stretched. One of the three has decided she's also going to ref. I think a data card may be in my future to keep up with all I want to share with you. Third. my next review required a lot of prepping and my informant at preschool took vacation. With that said one to more cool things.

Cole and the Crooked Flower is at 42% of there goal of $6500 to be able to self publish a book where every dime goes back to learn more about  Infantile Progressive Scoliosis. This is an amazing cause for a disease that has a cure already and not enough doctors know what to do. Take a look a the closest child to you and imagine them deformed for life when they could have been cured . One dollar helps or even one tweet or Facebook post. Every little bit helps.

I am here to tell those of you who are helping a little everyday thank you! with a random gift of love. If your an Earthy Crunchy Mama fan or a Blended Family of 5 fan all you have to do is express you want to be in this drawing. I will pull a name using random.org Sunday evening 8:59 PM PST and you can choose a trainer I have reviewed this far or a cloth diaper in Earthy Crunchy Mama's store. Or something more grown up like a $15 Starbucks gift card. I just want to say THANK YOU!!! Your help is invaluable.


Here is the trainer review Recap in my current order of favorites and a brief explanation.

Imse Vimse. Nothing water proof included however it doesn't leak easy. It's easy to pull up and down, fits trim,  allows baby to feel the wetness and it's also Preschools favorite.

Kushies training pants. Yes they are puffy. They hold so much pee you wont have to change baby's clothes. I have used these through three boys. They are economical. Preschool gives me a thumbs up. Easy to pull up and down .

KaWaii Baby Training Pant. Economical, puffy but work under clothes, absorbent, prints are a little dated and cut is confusing. No leaks yet. Preschool hasn't complained once.

Charlie Banana training pants. Trim fit. Not very absorbent. Super soft. Preschool is not a huge fan but will use them if the other choices are worse.

Blueberry trainers will catch an accident and then create a mess. I'm getting a 50/50 feeling from preschool with these. I like them at home because Declan knows he's wet. Very cute.

Mother-ease training pants. They probably make an awesome diaper. These trainers would make an awesome diaper. They are huge and super puffy, they are absorbent like no other and preschool hates them.

Little Beetle Learners to me are a waste of money. They look like a diaper with snaps on he sides, never catch an accident and are really expensive. Two thumbs down from me and preschool.

One last bit of info for you.

• Earthy Crunchy Mama has a $100 gift card giveaway around Cole and the Crooked Flower. Donations at certain amounts will get you a copy of the book.
• Special LIMITED Offer!: Magnolia Organics Has heard about or project to raise funds for Progressive Infantile Scoliosis and has VERY GENEROUSLY donated 10 organic cotton swaddle blankets (36 x 36 inches) to the first 10 Earthy Crunchy Mamas who donate $15+ to the cause!
• Marysa Jane Pencil Pouches purchased will contribute 100% earning to Cole and the Crooked Flower. Free shipping. Can be pre-ordered through PayPal sonnys.mom@gmail.com let me know what print you like. They are $8.00 Will post prints today 8/6.
• If there is something you would like reviewed and giveaway sponsoring Cole and the Crooked Flower please let me know.
• Looking for women who will review Mom cloths for me. I will supply. Just email me. Thanks!
• Barefoot Books sales go back to Cole and the Crooked flower when bought through this link.

Earthy Crunchy Mama Giveback #Giveaway #ErgoBaby

This is Cole.

Every true follower of my blog has read about Earthy Crunchy Mama by now. Yes this is my favorite Internet Store, yes I chat with her a bit on twitter year she is a person. Her name is Jennifer. Even though I met her as a customer I value her opinions and she my friend. Last night she threw a tweet out that she is trying to raise money to self publish a children's book. Not for profit but as a give back. Jennifer's son was born with Progressive Infantile Scoliosis and the book she wrote is a children's book to help explain to young kids and their families and friends about the treatment. Her family's  hope is to self-publish this book and make it available to families with children with this condition. All of the profits from selling the book will go directly to the Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Program (ISOP) to assist in the physician awareness program so more kids are correctly diagnosed under the age of 2, when the treatment is most successful. 

Progressive Infantile Scoliosis is the rotation and curvature of the spine beginning before the age of 3 years. It affects 1 in 10,000 kids. It is a progressive disease, where the curvature & rotation of the spine worsens as the child grows.  Because it starts so young, the child has a lot of growing to do, which, without treatment can lead to severe disability such as being respirator dependent and even death.  Fortunately, there is a cure if caught before the age of 2. Serial body casting can be used to slowly straighten and derotate the child's spine.  Together with the child's rapid growth, these casts help train the child's spine to grow straight.  The problem is that most physicians do not know how to diagnose it, leading to it either being missed altogether or misdiagnosed, causing kids to miss their window for complete correction. Additionally, only a handful of orthopedic surgeons nationwide are currently offering this treatment.~Provided by Jennifer

Before Treatment

After Treatment

This is the Game plan for the giveaway.

The time frame is from today July 17 - October 17

• The Grand Prize is my ErgoBaby Carrier. (Gently Used) 
• There will be random (sur)prizes given out through out the Giveback Giveawa.y from any product review done from the months of July through October
• If Jennifer reaches her goal by October 17 a second Grand Prize winner will be drawn for a Moby Wrap your choice of color.

This Giveback Giveaway is not for profit. Any moneys earned (except purchases from Earthy Crunchy Mama)will go directly to the publishing of Cole and the Crooked Flower.
The coolest part of the Giveback giveaway is there is lots of opportunity to get a little something for your self and giveback to a great cause.

Entries are as follows. Every Entry you must comment on this page, the blog post on Blended Family of 5 or Earthy Crunchy Mama's blog. They will be recorded weekly on a Google doc so you can keep track of your entries  and the winner will be selected using random.org. If you win a random prize you will still be able to win the ErgoBaby Carrier.

•  Manditory- follow my blog with GFC (Google Friend Connect) +1 entry
• Donate to the cause + 2 entries for every $1 donated. Double enties for every reward earned on this website. eg. $10 reward = 20 entries, $25= 100 entries, $50= 200 entries, $75= 300 entries etc.
• Purchase a book from this link. every dollar spent = 2 entries

             

• Share this Giveback/Giveaway on your blog +10 entries
• Share on your FaceBook wall +2 entries
• Share on your FaceBook page +2 entries
• Tweet about this Giveback/Giveaway no more than four times a day +1 entry each tweet
• refer someone to this giveback/giveaway and have them tell us you refered them +5 entries
• follow @rthycrunchymama on twitter +1 entry
• follow @pinkradish on twitter
• like Earthy Crunchy Mama on FaceBook +1 entry
• like Blended Family of 5 on Facebook
• comment your experience with any review durring this Giveback/Giveaway timeframe +2 entries
• buy something from Earthy Crunchy Mama +1 entry per dollar spent
• buy something from Marysa Jane +1 entry per dollar spent

                                                                    

Trainer Reviews

Declan is my last baby. He's on the eve of potty training. I found in my desperate search for trainers they are hard to find. I suppose it's just good karma that  Earthy Crunchy Mama just happens to be on the eve or caring trainers in her store.

She and I have teamed up to give you the most detailed reviews possible and Earthy Crunchy Mama will be carrying the best choices. 

                                                           
I should be upfront with my readers that I am bias to her shop. She carries a lot of what I love as far as cloth diapers, Wet/Dry bags, laundry detergent and kitchen products that save me a lot of money. I love a One stop shop. Like the 7-Eleven of Eco-friendly products an old Mom like me uses. I'm not receiving payment of any sort for my reviews, She has selected some of the trainers and I have my self. Purchase of the trainers can be one of any of the following ways. She bought it, I bought it or it was provided as a sample. I have never met her on a personal level.

Declan is two and a half years old. He is very smart with communication and has been a little delayed, yet within the "normal" window with his physical skills such as walking, running etc. He from day one has an amazing bladder. He can stay dry for up to three hours during the day and some nights wakes up dry. He is also more stubborn than any other child I have ever met. He goes to preschool/daycare five days a week. There are four teachers that have been made aware of these reviews and will be providing me their feedback daily. He is taken to the potty every 30 minutes at school and has a 2 hour period for nap. The school gives stickers for going potty.

At home we are not as structured. I have potty trainer three of my five children from scratch not including Declan. One of my five kiddos was in the later stages when she and I met. I have used Gerber cotton training pants with rubber pants and hated every minute of it. That method is messy. Joey who is now 10 we adopted at four. We used Kushies with him and Sonny. I will be comparing what it was like with them and their trainers vs Kushies new line and if I would use them with Declan. I am a model trainer where I send my trainee to the potty with other kids every time.

Each review I will try to do after using each trainer a few times. I will try to update you on Declan's attitude those days since my experience has told me the child's attitude is 80% of their success.

If you are following along with our training with your own child please keep in mind I keep potty training very light as to cause minimal stress and give lots of hugs and kisses for every try failed or passed and never scold the child ever. This includes when they stick their finger in their poops and paint the bathroom wall, put a whole roll of toilet paper in the fish tank or cover themselves with disposable sanitary napkins. Any bad feelings in the bathroom may restart your potty training and frustrate the heck out of you. I know from experience.

One last thing if you hear of a trainer and I haven't tried it let me know please. This is my last stop in my cloth diapering journey and I want it to be fun.

Planet Wise Review

I have to tell you even if you don't have kids these bags are fabulous. I have five and would love to try the food wrapping reusable items.

I originally got this bag for the pool. I drop the swimsuits in here to keep my pool bag dry. The swim suits are usually not rung out because I swim with kids. The water has never once leaked out of the bag. I wash the bag every time we go swimming. It has not faded or shrunk, the zipper still works awesome. I'd have to say we go to the pool at least five times a week since it's doctor recommended for my back issues.

 Then Earthy Crunchy Mama sent we some Planet Wise flannel wipes so I needed a bag and got this one. This is when I realized how cool these bags really were. I can put damp cloth wipes in this pouch. When I'm out and about and need a wipe, there it is. I don't need to waste our bottled water or dip the cloth wipe in the melted ice from my soda.

Then I got to thinking how cool would it be to have a bag like this that could hold my diapers and wipes in one pocket and my wet soiled diapers and wipes in another pocket. I didn't really shop for one until I really thought it would be really nice to have while potty training instead of my old over used wet bag I used with Sonny. I just happened to think of it when Planet Wise was on sale. I got two bags this time. One to go back and forth to preschool and one to hang in my bathroom to store dry trainers and the soiled trainers.

Hanging Wet/Dry Bag

Wet/Dry bag for preschool

The Wet Pocket

The Dry Pocket





All in the same time frame my vacation from menstruation of many years returned. All of a sudden I

felt like a teen again staring at an isle full of products I was no longer familiar with. All I knew was that I hated dry weave. After both boys were born I got the most painful rash. This is when I jumped on Twitter an threw the question out their if anyone uses cloth pads for their period. A bunch of women said yes. I got links to patterns and was advised FuzziBunz had a good one. My thoughts flashed back to the day I go my first FuzziBunz cloth diaper for Sonny over four years ago. I remembered just how soft they are and I was going to try them. My friend on twitter also happened to be a Eco friendly store owner with a large assortment of FuzziBunz Mom Cloth and was having a sale on Planet Wise, Sandbox Lane. Planet Wise makes a tiny little Wet/Dry bag perfect for ladies who use cloth sanitary pads. I purchased some pads and the bag. I haven't use either yet but there is always next month.

Enter this Giveback/Giveaway for a chance to win one of these Planet Wise bags in one of our random drawings. Ends 10/17/11

Blended Family of 5: Earthy Cruchy Mama Giveback #Giveaway #ErgoBaby

Thank you Max, but I didn't need help tweeting

I had my first son over three years ago. During the nine months of pregnancy, I left my job, got married, did a semester of a masters in social work, and then decided to take the next year off from school for just me and the babe. I had my plate cleared and was ready to be a stay-at-home mom!


I’ll summarize what I learned from the first round - staying at home had the following major advantages:

1. Lots of one-on-one time with the kiddo.
2. Never have to hand off my adorable helpless child to a stranger at a daycare
3. All you have to do to get an amazing milk supply is breastfeed 21 hours a day.

Major disadvantages:

1. Lots of one-on-one time with the kiddo.
2. Never have get to hand off my adorable helpless child to a stranger at a daycare.
3. All you have to do to get an amazing milk supply is breastfeed 21 hours a day!!

I kid. Sort of. The truth was that while round one was amazing / wonderful / I-would-do-it-all-the-same-I-promise, I was going a little crazy without some more personal challenges and adult interaction. Babies are cool, but they don’t offer too much in the way of intellectual conversation.

Leading up to round two, I got sort of earthy crunchy - you may have heard of us ;) After a couple of years of part time grad school, I found my true calling in cloth diapers, breastfeeding, and baby carriers. Who knew.

While I was pregnant, there was a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do when Max was born. I had to decide if I wanted to make a go at starting a business now or waiting until I was settled with the kids, maybe even waiting until they were in school. My husband encouraged me to go for it, and now I’m in business -- part of the WAHM club.

“So,” you may ask, “is this WAHM thing the perfect solution?!” Well, of course you should know, there is no perfect solution; nothing in life is that simple, especially when there’s kids. Max is a year old now, and still nursing. Thinking back over the past year of nursing while working from home, two words come to mind: lucky and claustrophobia.
I have been so lucky to be able to work, while still having the breastfeeding benefits of being a stay at home mom. The greatest benefit for me has been the ability of nurse on demand and actually have the baby on the breast. Having the baby on the breast often allows the baby to get the deepest and fattiest milk, creating great demand and a great supply. Though many women pump and work out of the house, I think it would have been much more difficult to for me to have exclusively breast fed.

The other side of working from home while breastfeeding can only be described as claustrophobic, at least for me. While, I am so happy to be able to nurse my baby, there are times, I just want to work and not have a baby attached to my boob. Unfortunately, my little one doesn’t always understand that.

In the beginning, it wasn’t too bad, I could stick him in a baby carrier or use my My Breast Friend nursing pillow and write reviews, make invoices and do customer support at my computer. However, there was always a baby between me and what I needed to get done, which could be awkward, and often left me typing one handed and very slowly. Then very quickly, nursing and working wasn’t an option any more. The baby would constantly reach for my papers or computer, often erasing my hard work, or Tweeting for me. When he gets demanding about wanting to nurse, I want to rush through it, to get back to my time working, which is something I do so I can have something just for me, not mom or kid related.
I want to be able to focus on something without having a baby hanging off of me. I am often envious of parents who work out of the home and can focus only on their work. But despite it’s challenges, being able to work at home has been a wonderful experience. I know it has made me closer to my boys, and has absolutely facilitated a wonderful nursing experience.

My best advice for those in the same situation: don’t become a milk bar, but also, don’t rush the breastfeeding for work. My first time around I nursed on demand, all the time. This time, especially through baby-led weaning, I’ve been able to get the nursing down to 5 or 6 solid sessions a day by the time he’s one. When I do sit down to breastfeed with my little one, the times I feel most claustrophobic is when I spend the whole time thinking about how much I need to get back to work. It’s not always possible, but when you can, try to relax a little and use it as a break. Catch up on your TiVo, because getting frustrated isn’t going to make it go any faster, and you’ll miss out on enjoying the bonding time.

--
Jenn Leggett
Chief Executive Mama
Earthy Crunchy Mama
800-685-0662
earthycrunchymama.com

Earthy Chruchy Mama

Kudos are to be given where kudos are deserved. Earthy Crunchy Mama is once again one of my favorite Flip places to shop. Last week I placed my second order. More Flip disposable inserts and covers. I'm a pay check to pay check kind of Mama. I have five kids. I have dreams there for I watch my pennies and dimes.

My five favorite things about Earthy Crunchy Mama:

1: She is a person. I first met her when she posted on Twitter needing advice for her New born cloth diaper program. I like people. Real people.

2: She's green. I have been teased since I first registered to vote 17 years ago as part of the Green Party. Called a hippy. Well I love my Earth. I want it to be as beautiful for my Great Grand children as it is now for my children.This woman's whole job is to sell products real every day people can use to make sure my kids and thier kids will have a beautiful planet.

3: She carries compostable disposable diapering products for a busy Mama like me. I have five kids. I work full time. I garden, I go on extension field trips of what my kids are learning in school and I cloth diaper. I need to know I can live with out destroying everything I love. I buy Flip Disposable inserts knowing I can throw them in my compost bin and life will renew.

4: Her shipping and handling is under priced. Makes me feel like I'm getting the best deal n earth. $5.95 under $75 bucks and free over. How cool is that? I shipped two bummis whisper wraps and I know it was more than $5.95. She shipped my 4 packages of inserts and four covers for free. I also got a little something Green, That's right  Rock in Green Cloth diaper detergent. Awfully nice of her I'd say.

5: She gives good  Great customer service. I waited a full week waiting on my second order. I e-mailed her on a holiday and got a quick reply, advice and a $5.00 gift code. All above and beyond what was needed. I will shop with her, refer her and let you know her shop is worth it.

Take a click over to http://www.earthycrunchymama.com/ and know you'll be a happy customer like me. Oh yeah she does baby, Mama and kitchen goodies. Fun, Fun for everyone.


~M