FuzziBunz Review
It's the review you all have been waiting for...So those of you that have been following my blog know that I recently wrote to FuzziBunz to ask for a sample cloth diaper. Well, I received in the mail not only one, but two FuzziBunz one size fits all diapers. The diapers are well made and of excellent quality.The part of cloth diapering that really intimidated me was the washing. I knew that there were multiple steps involved in washing cloth diapers, but I didn't know what they were. But FuzziBunz makes it look easy. On their website they have simple direct washing instructions.All one has to do is this:1. Remove the soiled diaper insert 2. Dump any solid waste directly into the toilet and flush! 3. Do a cold rinse of the diaper and the insert with no detergent 4. Do a hot wash with a mild detergent safe for cloth diapering (like Seventh Generation free and clear or Seven Generation Baby) 5. **Optional*** If the washer you are using does not rinse with cold water after the hot wash, then you need to do another cold rinse cycle.6. Finally, tumble dry the diaper(s) and insert(s) on a low or [...]
Brooklyn Botanic Garden – How I Love The
Every time I visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) with my son, I fall in love a little more. I love how calm the Garden is. I love how it makes me feel like I am in another world. I love how my son reacts to the trees and flowers; how he instantly calms down the moment we enter the gates of the Garden. The Garden is an excellent place to take your child. They love looking around at the different plants, flowers and trees. And if they are walking, there is plenty of room for them to run around the various winding roads and paths.They also have a discovery garden to children over 3 years of age, but you can walk with your baby through it as well.Admission to the Garden is $8.00 for adults, and free for children under 12. On Tuesdays admission is free all day. It is also free to visit the BBG on Saturdays from 10am -12pm.The Garden offers a variety of memberships. The individual and family memberships are pretty decently priced if you plan on going often. To find out more about the BBG and membership options, click here
When to Take Your Child to the E.R.
My good friend and fellow mother, Gry, forwarded me this insightful article from CNN.com about when it is appropriate to take your child to the emergency room.The article lists key symptoms that warrant medical attention. I encourage you all to take a look at it hereThe article also encourages parents to trust their instincts. If something doesn't feel right to you, take your child in.Thank you good friend and fellow mother, Gry!
Hitting a Frustration Threshold
I have always been an impatient person. I hate waiting in lines, being on hold on the phone, waiting for someone to call me back or answer my text or email. I have an extremely low frustration tolerance. This low frustration tolerance does not come in handy when having a child.Today, my son was having a bad day. Was he hungry? Nope. Everything I offered him to eat he promptly rejected. Except for Cherrios. All he wanted to eat today was Cherrios. Try as I might, forcing vegetables in front of him he pushed them out of the way.I tried to play with him, he didn't want that either. I thought maybe he was tired, so I attempted to put him down for a nap. But all he did was scream.Finally, I was completely and utterly exasperated. So I yelled at him:"What do you want?!!!"His response: he began crying hysterically.Needless to say, I wanted to bang my head against a brick wall. Or throw myself out a window. It is during these moments that I wish babies could talk. It would really make things a lot easier.People tell you:"Having a baby is hard."What they don't tell you is that sometimes, [...]
Now Hear This: New York City Citizens Help Mom With Stroller!
Today my son and I took a journey from Brooklyn to the illustrious Manhattan. Our mode of transportation: the good old fashioned New York City subway system.I strapped him into his stroller and hit the road.Thankfully, my subway station is handicapped accessible so we were able to use the elevators to travel from the street level to the subway level with my son securely fastened in his stroller.The trouble arrived when I made it to my destination stop. There was no elevator to speak of, and I was going to have to do the inevitable: carry my son in his stroller up the subway stairs. Until a nice gentleman came to my rescue and asked"You need help with that, miss?""Yes!" I replied instantaneously.And with that he transported my son up the stairs.During the course of my journey, several other strangers assisted me with my stroller. And I didn't even have to solicit their help. They willingly volunteered their services.And they say New Yorkers are rude and unhelpful!It just goes to show you. There are some decent people out there, and some of them live in New York City.
Why I Love Steve Burns
The short answer to this question is because my son loves him. For those of you that don't know, Steve Burns is the former host of the children's television show "Blue's Clues." The show no longer airs new episodes, but reruns are on Noggin every morning from 7am - 8am. Blue's Clues is an educational show that is meant to teach young children (mainly pre-schoolers) a variety of things ranging from counting to where the planets are in outer space.Even though cognitively, my son doesn't get a lot of what is going on on the show, he really enjoys the songs associated with Blue's Clues as well as the fact that it is highly interactive.The host, Steve Burns, known to the audience simply as "Steve" is very charismatic. The premise of the show is that he is looking for three separate clues in order to figure out a puzzle. Along for the ride is his dog, Blue. Hence the name "Blue's Clues."The show aired from 1996 - 2006. But Steve left the show at some point and was replaced by a character named "Joe" who in my opinion is no Steve.When my son sees Steve ask a question or sing [...]
An Uninformative Visit to the E.R.
My son has been vomiting and had diarrhea for a week now. Naturally, I've been in constant communication with his pediatrician, who I'm sure now officially thinks I'm the most neurotic Jewish mother ever. Anyhow, his symptoms have essentially remained the same. Until last night, when he actually coughed so much that he woke himself up at 4am to vomit. Needless to say I was concerned. His sickness has been going on for over a week now, and if we count the previous colds that he has had its actually been a total of three weeks. So I put another call into the pediatrician's on call line. She told me to bring my son to the Emergency Room. So my parents, myself and my son hit the road and headed to the hospital. We were seen almost immediately by a resident doctor. He asked me what was happening with my son and I relayed the list of symptoms. I also brought a sample of the diarrhea, which my pediatrician suggested that I do. The resident looked at the sample and snidely told me "Ma'am that's not diarrhea. Diarrhea is pure water" I was speechless. I didn't want to get into [...]
Adiri Bottles Shipped
Well folks, I just received an email from Adiri saying that my sample bottle has shipped. Hooray! I am eagerly awaiting it in the mail so that my son can try it.We will see how much it actually mimics the breast.I must say, I have had particularly good luck requesting sample products from vendors so far. I am excited to see what other companies are willing to offer sample products for my review.Keep checking back here at oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com for product reviews! Adiri Natural Nurserwww.adiri.com
FuzziBunz Delivered!
I returned home today with my son in hand to find a surprise package waiting in my mailbox.It was from FuzziBunz!I eagerly opened the package to find not only one, but two one size fits all cloth diapers. I was quite pleased. Upon first inspection, the diapers look very well-made and sturdy. We will see how they hold up to my son's waste products.Check back here at oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com to see my review of the FuzziBunz One Size diapers!
Adiri Bottles For Breastfed Babies
To my dismay, my son stopped taking a bottle at 5 months old. He now exclusively breastfeeds. I used to be able to nurse him and also give him breast milk in a bottle. But no longer.I was discussing my bottle issue with the mother of a 13 month old. She told me about these bottles made by Adiri which simulate the breast. Apparently breastfed babies really like them.So I emailed Adiri to ask them for a sample bottle to try. I said the following:To Whom it May Concern: I am the mother of a 11 month old, and I am heavily considering buying the Adiri bottles. I am still nursing and having difficulty giving my baby a bottle. He won't take one. I currently have blog where I am beginning to review baby products. http://oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com/ Would it be possible for your company to send me a sample Adiri bottle to try? Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Sarah Fader-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I went back to business as usual, and before I knew it, I had a reply from a Adiri! It went like this:Dear Sarah, Thank you so much for your interest in Adiri. We would be happy to send you a [...]
Help Me! I Have a Baby
Okay, I admit it. Having a baby does come with perks sometimes. Like today for instance. I left the house with my son. It was bad weather, so we decided to drive to the library instead of walking there. My mom was kind enough to let me borrow her car.But as soon as I reached the car, I encountered a problem. I was blocked into my parking spot by two other cars. Yes, folks, I had become the victim of New York City's alternate side of the street parking. What was I to do?Well, I noticed there was a man hanging out on the stoop across from where my mom's car was parked."Excuse me sir?" I called out to him "Do you know whose car this is?"I motioned to one of the cars that was blocking my mom's car into the spot."No I don't, miss, but I can ask my friend who lives on the block." He said.His friend stuck his head out of the window and informed him who the car belonged to. Eventually, it was established that there was one man who was responsible for moving multiple cars on the block. It was a community effort.Anyhow, seeing that [...]
Trying to Remember
Ever since I gave birth to my son, my memory fails me constantly. I joke often that I actually "gave birth to my brain".It's sad actually. I have blocked out entire chunks of my life. Including specific incidents and conversations that I've had with people.When I tell someone that I don't remember something, its embarrassing. In fact, I used to have a flawless memory. I could recount to you a detailed conversation that I had with someone. That is not the case today.I spoke with my friend and fellow mom about this today. She told me that she has also suffered a horrible memory loss after giving birth. So its not just me. The trouble is, when I tell someone that I don't remember something that happened, good or bad, and they don't believe me, and there's nothing that I can do to convince them that I'm not lying.Believe me, I would like my memory back. It would save me some embarrassing moments. So to all those people that I have offended because I don't remember something that I said or did, I am officially sorry.That's all I can do.
Perpetual Sickness
When my son was young, I kept hearing about how wonderful nursing was. Among its many benefits, it was known for building up a baby's immune system. Needless to say, I am very pro-nursing. In fact, my son is nearly a year and I'm still at it.But its not just nursing that builds up a child's immune system. It is also getting sick.My son seems to be very good at this getting sick thing.As a mom, I try to be very active. I take my son out of the house everyday. We go for walks, we go to the library, we socialize with other kids. We are out a lot.Needless to say, he is exposed to germs everyday. But lately, he just keeps getting cold after cold. And it is truly frustrating.I am all for building up my son's immune system, but lets face it, being sick bites the big one. In fact, there was a point where all three of our household members were sick.My son, my boyfriend and myself were all passing germs back and forth like a game of catch. I've heard from other parents that once my son gets into a daycare/school situation its even worse. [...]
Cloth Diaper Update Part Deux
So far I have received several emails from various cloth diaper companies saying that they would not send me samples. Today, however, I received an email from FuzziBunz stating that they would send me a sample diaper to try!The email was quite simple. It went like this:Sure, what is your address? Tereson Dupuy -- <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.fuzzibunz.com/" target="_blank"><span>www.fuzzibunz.com</span></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.thegreendiaperqueenblog.com/" target="_blank"><span></span></a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/updates.php?id=102625485321&sent=1&e=0#/pages/Fuzzi-Bunz-cloth-diapers/102625485321" target="_blank"><span><br /></span></a></span></span></p><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/updates.php?id=102625485321&sent=1&e=0#/pages/Fuzzi-Bunz-cloth-diapers/102625485321" target="_blank"><span>Become a FuzziBunz Fan</span></a></span></span><br /><br />I am excited that a company responded to my plea for a sample cloth diaper.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tiqphXByf6U/SepT4bLMj0I/AAAAAAAAAFM/NiNsjaWUPzQ/s1600-h/fuzzibunz.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 219px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tiqphXByf6U/SepT4bLMj0I/AAAAAAAAAFM/NiNsjaWUPzQ/s320/fuzzibunz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326161738151530306" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Keep checking back here to see my review of FuzziBunz cloth diapers.<div>
When Diapers Fail
It was Passover time. My best friend came over with some kosher for passover egg noodles to make for me, my niece, and herself. She cooked them in curry with a little broccoli. The thought didn't even occur to me that my son would be remotely interested in the final product. But he was!When he saw this curry noodle casserole, he looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. So we let him have some. Within seconds, he was shoveling handfuls of it into his mouth.Honestly, I was thrilled. I had been trying to get him to recognize that broccoli was food, and not a toy for months. Maybe all he needs is a little curry? I thought to myself.Boy was I wrong.That evening, my boyfriend and I went to sleep, as usual. We awakened 5:45am to a screaming baby."Why is he up so early?" I asked my boyfriend in my foggy sleepy state.My boyfriend went to change our son's diaper, his daily morning duty. But then I heard him exclaim"Oh no! This is bad!"I shot up out of bed to see what was going on.I kid you not, my son was covered from head to toe in poop. Literally, [...]