The BabyKicks Chronicles

It has been a blistering few months finishing up my book projects, so forgive my slackness in eBay seconds listings!

I’ve just posted a few listings for small, medium and large joey-bunz seconds at 65% off MSRP.

http://stores.ebay.com/BabyKicks

More to come!

A few weeks ago, I went over to BabyKicks to learn some more about the diapers I have been using the past few months. Stephan was nice enough to walk me through all of the features of the new diaper and teach me some tricks for snapping, adjusting and more.

This short video shows off the snaps and sizing of the diaper and also shows a technique for diapering small newborns. I am not the best videographer in the universe (though I do have many other talents) so forgive my first attempt at filming and editing!

I have a few more videos to post over the next few days- so stay tuned!

To learn more about the One-Size (fitted) Hemp Pocket from BabyKicks, check out the BabyKicks store.

Some cloth diapers, like Fuzzi Bunz (and other pocket diapers) and All-In-Ones, don’t need a cover for day to day use because they have a waterproof or semi-waterproof outer shell.

Since the BabyKicks One-Size diaper is made entirely out of cloth (hemp and cotton with a touch of polyester for stretch), it does best when used with a cover. You only need a cover or two (one on the baby, one on the line). There are a few different types of covers. Here is a sampling:

WOOL COVERS

Wool Covers, like the Swaddlebees Merino, are great for night use when you might need some backup absorption. They also allow more airflow than the waterproof type of cover and I like them better for daily use. Unless the cover gets soiled or smelly, you can use them many times before they need laundering.

WATERPROOF COVERS

Waterproof covers, like the Bummis Super Brite, are typically "wipe clean" and are best for preventing those catastrophic blowouts and when you need true wetness prevention.

Covers are fun because they come in all kinds of neat colors. Most covers can be used with any type of diaper such as prefolds, pocket diapers or  I often use a cover to prevent leaks and messes with disposables on airplanes or when the baby is wearing special clothes

You can pick up some Bummis covers from BabyKicks when placing your order in the BabyKicks store, or from one of our partners, or also retailers like Amazon.

(cross posted from www.civil3drocks.com)

I went through a phase a few years ago where I read everything Maria Montessori ever wrote and tried to incorporate as much exploratory learning and play in our everyday activities. One of the things that I didn’t do enough of was color games. Mostly, I couldn’t think of what kinds of containers I could use that would be easy for little hands to hold, easy to measure and unbreakable. Well, now that my mind is locked on these stupid plastic bottles, I can’t stop thinking of ideas of how to use them.

Every night after dinner, I try really hard to take an hour away from whatever work I have on the go (and there is always work to be done) and do some sort of non-TV, hands-on activity with Panorama. Tonight, we did two games. Primary color mixing and color grading.

For the first one, I added a blob of red, yellow and blue tempera paint to three bottles, then filled with water. I gave her a spoon and she mixed them together. Here is a youtube video of the process.

I was pleasantly surprised by how fun she thought this game was (she played for about another 30 minutes after this video making colors such as "avocado"). Also note how much LESS whiney-four-year-old she becomes as she starts seeing that I am NOT trying to torture her, and how it is OK to make a mess. She hates mess in general.

For the second game, I made a concentrated batch of purple and a concentrated batch of white. Then I had her mix 1 oz, 3oz, and 5oz of purple with enough white to fill to 6 oz. Then, she lined them up by which one was darker. She liked this game a lot, too.

I can see this becoming extremely popular. We’ll take it outside next time on the little tikes picnic table and try some more variations on the theme- such as making 10 different concentrations instead of 3, etc.

I saw this workbook ( My Book of Number Games (1-70) ) at Target and there was something very simple and appealing about its cover- almost Eric Carle-like- that attracted my attention.

When I flipped through, I found the inside to be equally interesting. The book contains 38 connect the dot exercises that get slightly more difficult as you progress. The first few go from 1 through 10, then it slowly works up so that the child is tracing from 1 through 70. On the reverse of each connect the dots exercise, there is a color by number that gives the child practice identifying the newly introduced numbers. For example the one on the reverse of Panorama’s seal had her distinguishing between several numbers in the twenties.

Panorama liked this book from the first time we tried it, but she did get pretty frustrated the first few times she attempted the connect the dots. I had to show her how to stop and look for the next number before beginning to draw the line, and we practiced drawing straight lines with mock-up dot exercises I made for her on regular paper. It didn’t take long for her to get the hang of it, and I have been very impressed about how well she "reads" numbers greater than 10. She’s up to the thirties now.

I would recommend making copies if you can of some of the earlier exercises instead of working right for the book. Panorama is the type of kid that thinks a whole page is "ruined" if she makes one line loopy (especially when we first begn this book), and it was nice to be able to let her try the same puzzle again.

Since this workbook has been so popular, I’ve picked up a few others. They all have that same simple, sane and practical tone with no in-your-face cartoon craziness or 100 pages of stickers. Just low key, fun, yet challenging exercises.

This weekend I discovered that 4oz Avent bottles (with the lids on) make great paint containers. The lids keep the mess a little bit under control, and you can pop the travel tops in to keep the paint fresh for your next art project (or at least for a few days.)

More BPA Reuse Ideas on Civil 3D Rocks, baby toolkit, and tons of BPA information at Z Recommends.

Cross posted from www.civil3drocks.com.

I was staring at my bottles again yesterday and I came up with something PERFECT. Bottles invariable have imperial volume markings, and usually metric as well. They are the ideal baby beaker for chemistry experiments! Add a lid for shaking up your mixtures, and those avent sippy lids (without the control value) are useful for pouring and sprinkling.

Here are a few chemistry games I came up with that Panorama and I have tried:

1. Temperature Check: Fill bottles with warm, cool, and ice water. Check temperatures with concrete thermometer (if you aren’t like us with 100 concrete thermometers laying around like expired pens, your hardware store should have something that will do the trick, or any safe thermometer will do.) Add salt to an ice water bottle to check its effect.

2. Different Viscosity: Combine dish soap with water in various concentrations. Use the metric volumes to add 60mL, 140mL, 200mL,etc of dish soap to several bottles. Add water to fill to 260mL. Mix. Drop a penny into each one and note how long it takes for it to sink to the bottom.

I will be raking my kids’ science books this weekend for more ideas.

In High School, back in 199old, it was fashionable amongst the suburban junior intelligentsia to become vegan or at least vegetarian. We definitively swore that we would NEVER touch animal products again. We would live the pure life, and if that meant swearing off the comforts of our cushy minivan carpool lifestyle, then so be it!

We embraced Tofu! We begged for rides to Whole Foods (Fresh Fields back in the day)! We avoided the cafeteria and sought refuge in a classroom so we could discuss the fine poetry in our 9th grade literature anthologies and eat sprouts on sprouted bread with organic, egg free sprout mayonnaise and sprout juice.

[Read more →]

(cross posted from www.civil3drocks.com)

While I try to be sensitive to chemicals and such in my house by using natural cleaners and buying organic food when it makes sense, I haven’t been panicked about the whole BPA in Baby Bottles thing yet. Until a few weeks ago when Canada took action. When babies are small, I don’t use too many bottles at my house, but lately he’s been drinking four or more 6 oz bottles per day, and he starts daycare next month.

I’ve read up. I’ve done my thinking, and I’ve decided to clean house and buy a small quantity of BPA free bottles BPA-free Bottles, Sippy Cups and Otherwise.

For all of you geeky parents out there, there is a fun photo pool on Flickr for reuse ideas for all of these BPA bottles. It’s been mentioned on a few of my favorite geek parent sites including Baby Toolkit and GeekDad. These bottles tend to stack up nicely, are almost unbreakable, take a sharpie well, and are otherwise a great container for all kinds of little things (as long as they don’t wind up in your belly.)

Here are my ideas:

I always try to grab a few crayons for restaurant use, but the ziplock baggy and Rubbermaid containers tend to get crushed. These bottles are the perfect size for a handful.

Most of you who know me know that I travel with a stash of staedtlers, HB, rubberbands, paperclips, staples, binder clips, USB devices, mouse adapters, earbuds, you get the idea.

Other ideas: Change for the vending machine; odd buttons; spare keys; matches; camping odds and ends that usually wind up wet; a mini-first aid kit with band-aids; ointment, etc.; dry dog treats for the park; metal bits in your carry on luggage that you want to keep together and throw in the bin; crushable liquid containers for your carry-on; and so much more.

Here are a few things I have discovered in my cloth diapering adventures of the past few months that have made things easier:

1. Get a diaper pail that is about the same size as your washer, and have enough diapers to fill it.

I have had fancy vault-like diaper pails for my disposables that are designed to challenge the brain and store the stink for days at a time. I had a puny little pedal can that I was using for the cloth diapers until I realized that was insane. I went out and bought a sturdy kitchen trash can with a tight sealing lid. I sprinkle some baking soda in it every once in awhile, but I fill the pail in about two days, and really, it doesn’t have much of a smell because the solids have all been flushed.

If you are saving up for a totally hemp collection of diapers (don’t forget to check out the BabyKicks auctions on eBay for deals on prefold seconds this week), consider that running loads that aren’t full is a waste of energy and water, AND doing laundry all the time makes you less excited about cloth diapering.

Load up at The Pin Sales Forum, search eBay for seconds or maybe even gently used diapers,  shop around at some of the BabyKicks partner sites, and if necessary, pick up a pack of the cheapy cotton kind at Walmart to get you through.

When making an investment in a quality cloth diaper supply, consider that the BabyKicks fitted diaper is a true one-size diaper that snaps and changes size as your baby grows. While a pack of cheap prefolds will fill in the blanks (and serve as furniture buffing cloths in the future!) buying pack after pack will likely cost you more than investing in some one sized diapers now and using them for more than one baby.

2. Use "select-a-size" paper towels or cloth diaper liners when you are expecting a messy diaper.

When a baby is exclusively breastfed, you can just toss it in the pail as-is, or if it is really messy just quickly swish the diaper in the toilet first. Once baby starts getting some food and/or formula, you will have to deal with most of the solids before they get to the washer.

I have a few rolls of Kushies liners (you can get them cheap at Walmart.com), but I read in the forums on the Pin that you can use Bounty Select-A-Size Paper Towels. Just pull off the small size, stick in the diaper, and throw in the TRASH (or if you have some sort of high tech composting arrangement you could do that, too but don’t flush paper towels).

While not necessary, the liner/paper towel will minimize that dreaded hand-in-the-toilet experience that is often a cloth diapering "implementation roadblock" (as we say in the software business).

3. Keep your diaper pail right next to the toilet.

Since you will likely be flushing something from time to time, washing your hands and all that, make it easy on yourself. If you can make your main changing station in the bathroom- all the better. I don’t have room in mine, but I think it would be awesome to actually keep the changing table in there, too.

4. Keep changing supplies near where you spend most of your time.

My office is on the other end of the house from the nursery. Running back and forth to change his diaper while I am trying to work (be it disposable or cloth) was annoying. If I keep a changing pad, some wipes, my snappi, a cover, etc. nearby, I am much more likely to use it then going all the way to the nursery for a disposable.