DIY Crib Teether

Genevieve was a late teether (her first 2 teeth came through on her first birthday).  She immediately took to scraping these new found teeth on her crib.  I wanted to make a teether that matched her bedding since I had extra fabric left over.

Here's the finished product: 

Supplies Needed:
1-2 yards of decorative fabric
1 yard of quilted batting
Ribbon
Coordinating thread
Fray check (optional)

Equipment:
Iron
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Pinking Shears (optional)
Lighter (optional)

This is a pretty easy beginner sewing project.

I recommend washing and drying the fabric according to the manufacturer directions before sewing.  After washing and drying, make sure to iron your fabric.

The first step is to measure your crib to determine what sizes to cut your fabric.  You'll need to measure how long the teethers need to be as well as the width.  My length for the long piece was 51" and the short pieces were 27 1/2" long.  The width was 6."

Cut the fabric.  I cut the long piece at 53" by 8" and then the short pieces as 29 1/2" by 8."  Cut the same size for the quilted batting and the decorative fabric.  The quilted fabric was long "long" enough for the length of my long piece.  I just stitched two pieces together to make one piece that was long enough.  I didn't want to buy an extra yard of fabric just to have enough for a cohesive piece.  The batting isn't visible, so it didn't concern me.

Cut fabric

Next, I went to the crib and measured where I wanted the ribbons.  I guess you don't have to be too exact on this, but I wanted the ribbons to be lined up perfectly with the crib slats.  Cut ribbon into 10" strips.  For the long piece, I used 16 strips and the short pieces took 10 pieces, so 36 strips total.  

Once you have the measurements for the ribbon placement, place your fabric and quilted batting right side together.  Now comes the most "tricky" part of this project which really isn't too tricky once you start.  You'll need to place and pin the ribbon at the intervals that correspond to the crib slats you measured.  See the photo below for pinning instructions.  The ribbon will need to be placed on both sides so that you can tie the ribbons together over the crib.

Once you have the ribbon pinned where you want, it's time to sew!  Make sure the ribbon ends aren't hanging out of the opposite side.  You'll want them kind of smooshed in the middle.  Sew the fabric right side to right side, leaving about 2-3 inches unsewn so that you can turn the fabric right side out.  Use a straight stitch and 1/4"-1/2" seam allowance.

Now turn the fabric right side out.  It's time to topstitch.  I like to iron the spot that I didn't sew so that it is folded under.  This way it looks seamless.  Now you just need to sew all the way around to do the topstitching.  Just use a regular straight stitch.

You're almost done!  Now you just need to seal the end of the ribbon so it doesn't unravel.  You have a couple of options.  You can use pinking shears to trim the edges of the ribbon.  If you do this, I highly recommend using something like fray check to keep the ends clean.  You can also simply heat seal the ends with a lighter.  Just be careful not to start any fires!

That's it!  You now have an awesome custom crib teether that will protect your crib.

Big News

I know it's been like 10 months since my last post.  Oops!  Lots has been going on and I will do my best to get around to updating.  The biggest news we have is that I am 20 weeks pregnant with #2 and it's a boy!

We're not sure if we're going to do a nursery right away because 1) we may be moving and 2) he will probably be in our room for a bit anyway. 

However, that doesn't stop me from planning/decorating a nursery.  Here's what I have so far:

My sewing skills are much better now than they were when I was pregnant with G.  Hopefully I can execute everything that is swirling around in my head.  : )

The scoop on poop. Don't be scared of washing cloth diapers!

I think the most common response to cloth diapering (CDing) is eww, that's gross, how do you wash them?  It's really not that complicated.  I mean, it's not like we're in the front yard with a bucket and a washboard.  We have washing machines!

Here is my wash routine.  I have tried lots of different routines and have finally found one that seems to work well. 

First, some background info.  I have very hard water, an HE top loader (TL), and I wash every 3 days.

1) Put diapers and diaper pail in the washer.
2) Do a quick cold wash with no detergent.  (This rinses the poo and pee from the diapers and makes washing more effective.)
3) Super hot wash with detergent and 1/2 cap of Calgon, cold rinse.
4) Extra cold rinse.
5) Hang to dry.  (Sometimes I throw them in the dryer, but I really try to line dry 95% of the time.)

Once a month, I will do an RLR treatment, but I will do a different post on stripping.

People are also quite concerned about what to do about poop.  When they are little and are EBF or EFF, no rinsing is required.  Once you introduce solids, you will need to rinse the poo off before putting in the washing machine.  I just use a Bumgenius Diaper Sprayer and spray the poo into the toilet.  Some people use flushable liners.  I am not a fan of the liners b/c G only goes every 2-3 days.  I don't want to waste a bunch of liners waiting on a poo.  After I spray the diaper in the toilet, I will spray it with some diluted BacOut to help prevent stains and smells.

The sun is a miracle worker for organic stains.  Seriously, just put the clean, wet diapers in the sun and it will get rid of the stains.  If you have a particularly nasty stain, put some lemon juice on the clean, wet diaper and put it in the sun.  There will be a slight lemon juice stain, but just rewash the diaper before using and the lemon juice mark will be gone.

And now here is photo proof of the power of the sun.  These are clean, wet diapers.

The diaper on the left is an organic Dream-Eze AIO and the one on the right is an old style Grovia insert.  Both of them stain very easily b/c they are organic.

Close up of the Dream-Eze.

Close up of the Grovia insert.

This is how I dry the diapers.  The collapsible racks are great b/c I can hang everything up in the comfort of my air conditioned house.  They are also easy to grab in case it starts raining.

This was 4 hours later.  Stains are gone!

Close up of the Dream-Eze.

Close up of the Grovia insert.

You can stick anything with an organic stain in the sun.  I have used it for tomato sauce and it worked like a charm.  If you don't have access to the outdoors, you can stick the stained item in a window or even on the dashboard of your car!  Super easy!  The sun also has anti-microbial properties and helps to keep the stinkies away.

Jealousy

As some of you may know, I was planning a med-free birth center birth for Genevieve.  However, that plan didn't work out and I ended up with a c-section.  This is something I am still struggling to come to terms with.

I guess I could be considered a birth junkie-I like reading birth stories and enjoy talking to women about birth.  However, I must admit that I am jealous when I hear what I consider to be a beautiful birth story.  Basically anything that ends in a healthy baby without a c-section is what I consider to be beautiful.  Even more beautiful are the successful birth center births.

I still go to the birth center where I labored for a weekly breastfeeding support group.  The group is held in the same room where I studied hypnobirthing and dreamed and prepared for my labor.  Part of me still has a really hard time going back there.  I know, it probably sounds crazy.  When I am in that room, I think back to my mindset when we were preparing for her arrival.  I was anticipating this beautiful birth and her birth wasn't what I consider beautiful.  Am I glad that the c-section was available, of course.  I don't know how to explain it.

I also follow an online natural birth board.  Since G's birth though, I can only read a couple of posts before I get too upset and can't read anymore.  I also feel like I have to over explain why I needed a c-section.  I remember before G was born that I would critique every birth story that ended in a c-section...Why didn't they have her change positions, why didn't they do this, why didn't they do that.  I know that c-sections are done at an alarmingly high rate in our country right now.  I hate that I am part of that statistic.

You know what else I hate...I will never be able to have a birth center VBAC in my state.  It is illegal.  I can have a HBAC (home birth after cesarean) or a hospital VBAC.  I am not comfortable with doing a HBAC, so the hospital it will be.  It just sucks.

Then I have this scar to deal with.  The stretchmarks I can handle.  The giant scar, well that is a little bit more difficult to get used to.  It is a constant reminder of my failure as a woman to be able to birth my child.  I feel like I did everything right during pregnancy.  I ate well, I exercised, I did my Kegels, squats, I only gained 28 lbs, etc.  I try to tell myself that by doing everything right, I helped G grow to be strong so that she was able to be born without infection or any other issue. 

I feel like my labor was a tease.  It seemed like she was going to be born at the birth center-they even had the birth supplies on the bed.  But it was just a tease and she wasn't born there.

Then I hear stories from women who didn't take care of themselves and didn't prepare for labor-these are the women that seem to have the easiest labor and delivery.  Oh, the best stories are the ones that go along the lines of "I really wanted an epidural, but there was no time (or whatever), so I HAD to have a med-free birth."  Ugh-talk about rubbing salt in a wound.

My new found love of prefolds

Okay, I'll admit that I did not like prefolds in the beginning.  They were bulky and I just really didn't care for them.  Well, I have found the prefold love in the last few weeks. 

I love them for a few reasons:
1) They are cheap.  You can get a dozen high quality prefolds from www.greenmountaindiapers.com for less than $35.  That's a steal!

2) They are very low maintenance.  With some diapers (mainly those with microfiber), you have to be very careful about your wash routine or you can end up with the "stinkies."  Prefolds are 100% cotton, so they are pretty resilient.

3) They dry fast.  I line dry my diapers 99% of the time and the prefolds are usually dry within a couple of hours.

4) They are easy to use.  I typically just trifold a yellow edge prefold and use it with a Flips cover or a Thirsties Duo cover.  To trifold, you lay the diaper flat, and then fold in the two sides.  All of the fluff is now in the middle.  Then you just place it in a cover.  Easy peasy!  I will say that the trifold method isn't the greatest for holding in poops, but the cover will hold the poop in, so no worries there.

I have actually sold off part of my CD stash because I use prefolds so much.

Bed-sharing: Why it works for us.

First off, I feel that every woman and family should be able to do what works for them without being judged by others (as long as it isn't a form of abuse).  I feel the same way about birth and most things in life.

That being said, bed-sharing works for my family.  Before I was a mom, I said that I would not say that I would never do something.  I had the philosophy that I would just go with the flow and do what works for my baby, my husband, and me. 

I had secretly always wanted to bedshare.  However, when we got home from the hospital, Genevieve slept better in her pack n play next to our bed.  I was disappointed mainly because it was a few weeks before I could actually sit up or get out of bed.  It would have been so much easier to have her in bed next to me, especially in the beginning when she was up every hour and a half to eat.

Starting at around 6 weeks, her sleeping at night became very difficult.  She would wake up 5 minutes after being put down.  We finally decided to bring her in bed with us.  All 3 of us slept so much better!  She would typically give me a 6-7 hour stretch each night of sleep.  That is amazing for a breastfed baby!  Since she was in bed with me, I could tell she was about to wake up before she actually did.  This allowed me to easily feed her and both of us would fall right back to sleep.

Another reason this was fantastic is that my husband was working overnight shifts as a sleep lab technician.  Needless to say, I was exhausted.  When he was home during the day, he was sleeping and I needed to keep G quiet.  I was on my own for nighttime.  Bedsharing saved my sanity and allowed me to sleep.

I am sure some people think I am spoiling her and that this is a habit I will have to break.  I disagree.  Studies show that just like breastfeeding, babies will wean themselves when they are ready.

I want her to know that sleeping is a safe thing and isn't scary.  Perhaps this desire stems from my experience as a child.  I was absolutely terrified of the night and going to sleep.  I used to sleep with a lamp on until my Grandmother told me that if someone were to break in to our house, they would head straight to my room since that is where the light was.  Yeah, then I started laying there in the dark terrified of being robbed, or worse.  It was not fun.  I still suffer from awful nightmares every single night.  They are quite horrific and I tend to remember them all.  Most of my nightmares scare the living daylights out of my husband when I share them with him.

I digress...another reason I am okay with bedsharing is that it just feels natural.  G sleeps right up against me with her head in my armpit.  She sleeps on her back and doesn't thrash around or move.  I also don't move when she is next to me.  She spent 9 months in the womb where she listened to my heart 24/7.  I think it is comforting for her to be with me still.

If you bedshare, there are some safety things you should be aware of:
1) Never ever bedshare if either you or your husband have been drinking, doing drugs, or take medication that affects your sleep.  It is dangerous.
2) Keep covers and sheets to a minimum.  Covers should not go above your waist.
3) Keep pillows away from the baby.
4) If possible, put your bed against a wall.  This isn't possible for us.

Catching up: Belly pics

Okay, I know, I am a bad blogger. Being a mommy is quite time consuming!  I know I never posted all of my belly pics, so here is a pregnancy recap via photos.

18 Weeks:

19 weeks:

20 Weeks

21 Weeks:

22 Weeks:

23 Weeks:

24 Weeks:

25 Weeks:

25 Weeks 5 Days:

27 Weeks:

28 Weeks:

29 Weeks:

31 Weeks:

33 Weeks 4 Days:

35 Weeks 6 Days:

36 Weeks 6 Days:

39 Weeks:

40 Weeks 3 Days:

41 Weeks:

Labor started at 41 weeks 3 days and she was born at 41 weeks 5 days. 

Just for fun, here is 2 weeks post-partum.  It was amazing how quickly my stomach shrank back to normal.  I was at my pre-pregnancy weight by 4 weeks post-partum and was back in my pre-pg clothes by 5 weeks post-partum.