First of all, the name “Baby-led weaning” can be misleading. You might read this title and think I’m referring to ending the breastfeeding relationship, but in fact it has to do with introducing solid foods. It’s really a form of baby-led eating. I’ve also heard it being referred to as “baby-led solids”, but that makes me think of baby poop (maybe because we’re a diaper store and I talk about pee and poop a lot with people, so it’s kind of on the brain a lot…?) Anyway, I just want to clarify that we’re not talking about weaning the baby off of breastfeeding. In fact, the moms at Baby Cafe talked about the importance of continuing to breastfeed to ensure that baby is receiving proper nutrition. What they do is breastfeed the baby before each meal, so that the baby is getting nutrients from the breastmilk, and then it doesn’t really matter what the baby chooses to eat or not. Apparently, until babies are about 12 months old, breastmilk should still be the main source of nutrition, and solid foods are more just an experiment for the baby as they learn how to chew and swallow and experience new tastes and textures.

The basic idea behind baby-led eating is that instead of pureeing food and spoon-feeding your child, you allow the child to feed themselves right from the start. And since a 6-month old can’t feed themselves with a spoon, it means that what you’re giving them for the most part will NOT be puree or mush. You don’t need to make separate “baby food” for the baby. The idea is that you can give the baby the same foods that the family is eating, you just need to alter some of it so that it’s appropriate for baby (to avoid any choking risks).

Baby-led eating gives the child full control over their own eating, and will supposedly lead to better eating habits when they’re older. You are letting them decide when they’re done, rather than forcing food on them. Let the baby try lots of different foods, and leave it up to them to decide if they like it or not. It’s also easier to eat as a family because you don’t have to spend your time spoon-feeding the baby, instead you can eat your own food. In order to avoid choking, give the baby soft foods in the beginning that can easily be “gummed”, such as overly-steamed veggies, small banana chunks, or squished peas. Apples can be served in the form of apple sauce, but instead of spoon-feeding the baby, let them use sticks of toast to dip in the apple sauce! Hummus is a great dip for baby too.

As far as nutrition goes, as long as you’re breastfeeding you can treat food more as an experiment for baby until about the age of 12 months. The moms talked about how they breastfeed the baby first before the meal, and then the solid food is given afterwards. That way the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs from the breastmilk, and it doesn’t really matter whether the solid foods they’re eating include the four food groups or not. Some things to be careful with are too much fibre (like maybe stay away from chili)…

As far as we’re aware, there is only one book on the market that is on this subject. It is called “Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater” by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. Several moms who came out today had a copy of this book, and the general consensus was that it is very repetitive and you basically only need to read the first chapter, and that all the information you need is on the website www.babyledweaning.com. If you really want a book, don’t spend full price on it. Get one from the library or share the book with a couple of friends. I like to do my reading away from the computer screen (while breastfeeding in bed or on the couch) so I have a borrowed copy of the book which I’m going to peruse.

I’m excited to try this form of eating with my son in a couple of months when he’s ready to start eating solids. If I hadn’t learned about this from talking with other moms, I would have started out with spoon-feeding baby cereals. And then how would I simultaneously get his big sister ready for school and get myself ready for work? I like this idea of just putting the food on his tray and letting him figure it out for himself! I never would have thought to let a 6-month old feed themself solid foods, but why not? They probably did it back in the day before blenders were invented.

All the moms who came out to Baby Cafe talked about how easy it is. But messy!! Be prepared to give up control and allow the baby to experiment with their food! I copied this “recipe” from www.babyledweaning.com and I like what this parent put in the directions:

 

Mashed Banana on Toast

OK, so not really a recipe as such, but she loves this – it is rather messy though, so only for fays when you are feeling really strong!

Ingredients
2 slices of toast
1 mashed banana

Directions
Spread mashed banana over toasted bread , slice into soldiers, hand to baby – stand back …

Haha!

The website www.babyledweaning.com has lots of information, read it over if you want to give some of this a try!  There are some meal ideas on there too.

And please share your comments if you’ve had experience with baby-led weaning with your own child, because those of us who are new to this could use some tips and suggestions!

Stay tuned for our next event in the Baby Cafe series, Feb. 7, 2012 at 3pm, topic: Sleeping. Any questions or advice you have regarding how to get your baby to sleep will be covered. If you have read any good books on the topic please consider sharing them with the group. If you can’t make it to the meeting in person you will be able to read about it on this blog and add your comments.

Usually I have a pretty good system down and I know when it’s time to toss a load of diapers into the laundry and it only takes about a minute so really this should never happen. But a couple of days ago I miscalculated how many clean diapers I had remaining. I was tired and wanted to go to bed, and to wash and dry a load of diapers takes my machines almost 3.5 hrs so I definitely didn’t want to wait up. I don’t like getting up in the middle of the night to change the baby, so I needed something that would hopefully last through the night, withstand several feedings, and not end up with a wet bed in the morning since I have the baby in bed with me.

I don’t have any disposables in the house so that wasn’t an option. I thought about using  a towel…

Then I rummaged around the mess that makes up the lower shelves of the change table and this is what I came up with:

• 1 Super Brite cover (luckily I had 1 clean one left!)
• 1 microfiber pocket-diaper insert
• 1 preemie/newborn-sized prefold that I wrapped around that (so that the microfibre wouldn’t touch baby)
• 1  Sandy’s stay dry liner on top of that (it adds a bit more absorbency)

It worked! It was enough absorbency to make it through the night – no leaks

This made me think about the creative solutions I’ve heard from other moms who have used things such as towels or rags. And it got me wondering, have you ever been in a pinch and what did you use?

Click on the comments at the top of this post to add your thoughts!

How to keep your baby leak-free overnight in cloth diapers is a very common issue that we come across a lot when talking with our customers. Some people resort to using disposables overnight because they can’t find the right cloth diaper solution. So I wanted to share with you some different tips that might work for you if you’re having this problem.

You might have to experiment with a few different things until you find what works best for you. How much your baby pees at night depends on many factors such as how big they are, how long they sleep, and whether you are feeding them during the night.

If you don’t want to change the baby’s diaper in the middle of the night, you shouldn’t have to! It’s nice to not turn the lights on and become fully awake. It’s lovely if you’re co-sleeping, you can roll over to nurse the baby and then go right back to sleep without ever having to get out of bed.

Keep in mind that the general rule for cloth diapers is that you need to change the baby about every 2 hours during the day. Once a diaper is fully saturated and can’t absorb any more, it will leak. Therefore a regular cloth diaper usually doesn’t have enough absorbency to last overnight. So you need to make the diaper more absorbent by adding extra material.

Here is a list of some different things to try:

• Hemp Doublers: To add absorbency to a pocket diaper, use the regular insert plus add a hemp doubler. They are half the thickness of a microfibre insert but add lots of absorbency for overnight.

 

• Cotton Absorbent Inserts: Add an absorbent liner such as the Mother-ease Sandy’s liners. My favourite for overnight is the Mother-ease Stay Dry Insert because in addition to adding extra absorbency it will keep the baby feeling dry too. Or if you prefer, they also come in bamboo, organic cotton, and regular cotton. Just $2 for regular cotton or $3 for the other materials, this is a very economical option.

 

• Small Prefolds: I have found an excellent use for the “preemie” or newborn-sized prefolds that my son has outgrown. He is currently 13 lbs, so I use an infant-size prefold (meant for approx. 8-20 lbs) and then I add a preemie prefold (approx. 4-10 lbs). It doesn’t make it too bulky and we’ve never had a leak even though he’ll be in it for about 9 hours and I will breastfeed him 2-4 times during that time.

 

• Wool Soaker: Put a wool soaker over the diaper at bedtime. A wool soaker is a natural alternative to a plastic diaper cover, it is waterproof, and adds extra absorbency. Read more about how wool makes an ideal diaper cover at www.diaperpin.com

Start out with one of the above, and if your baby still leaks through, then just add more, or combine different items. For example, some parents will add a hemp doubler to a pocket diaper plus put a wool cover overtop. To keep things from getting too bulky, keep in mind that the hemp doublers are the trimmest of all the solutions that I mentioned above.

If you have come up with a leak-proof system that I haven’t mentioned, please share it with us by clicking on the comments link under the title and sharing your thoughts!

Check it out:

http://www.theleakyboob.com

and join their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheLeakyBoob

I’m always thrilled to get media attention that helps to spread the word about cloth diapering and all things baby! This article in the Jan. 2012 edition of Biz X Magazine features 10 different baby businesses from the Windsor area, listed in alphabetical order.

It is a nice write-up that includes Sweetheart Diapers & More and our friends from other baby businesses such as Laurel Hicks from Mindful Mamas Yoga (I have taken her prenatal yoga classes and her mom & baby yoga classes – they are fantastic) and the ladies at Bride & Baby (who are very talented at making unique cakes!)

The article is called “Baby businesses flourish in Windsor and Essex county area” and it is found on pages 18-22.

You can read it now by clicking HERE

Thank you to Biz X Magazine for including us in this feature.

I just came across two news articles today about breastfeeding flash mobs:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/27/the-nurse-in-why-breast-feeding-moms-are-mad-at-target/

http://www.thedailyactivist.com/civil-rights-breastfeeding-flash-mob/

I’m glad that these flash mobs and breastfeeding sit-ins create media exposure about breastfeeding. Hopefully these events will lead to greater acceptance in our society towards breastfeeding. But I’m continually surprised every time I hear about an incident that causes people to stage a sit-in in the first place!

We are mammals.
Mammal babies drink mother’s milk.

I realize we’re the only mammals that sexualize breasts, but people need to get over it. I think the sound of a screaming baby is more bothersome than seeing a flash of skin from part of woman’s breast, and wouldn’t most shoppers prefer not having to hear a hungry baby cry? When a woman is breastfeeding, you usually don’t see her nipple or areola because it is in the baby’s mouth and blocked from view by the baby’s face. The parts that you do see are the same parts that are exposed when a woman wears a revealing top or a bikini. And I don’t think women get asked to leave department stores for wearing low cut blouses do they?

I am an advocate for breastfeeding and I encourage and support it. At my store, my staff and I breastfeed our babies while we’re at work! I wish I could invite those people who complain to come to my store and let them see what goes on here – they would be so shocked!
We have a nice comfy breastfeeding chair for customers in the middle of the store, not hidden away in the back room. (If a breastfeeding mother would prefer to sit in privacy in the back room, that is her choice as well.)
We want to demonstrate that breastfeeding is a part of normal daily life and that we are a business that encourages and supports breastfeeding moms to feel comfortable!

Because breastfeeding is a normal part of being a mother and a baby, I really don’t understand what the big deal is. I think it’s fantastic that women are uniting and staging “nurse-ins” to bring awareness to the issue! But I hope when my daughter becomes a mother in 20-30 years that by then our society will have progressed to a point where we won’t have to do these types of events anymore because they will no longer be necessary.

In the meantime we will have to continue to educate our society about what is natural for mammal mothers and mammal babies to do! The issue shouldn’t even be about what makes people comfortable or uncomfortable. Who cares if it makes people uncomfortable. It is much more basic as that. It is what we as mammals are created to do and it’s natural. End of story.

If you want to help us make breastfeeding completely normal and accepted, stay tuned for breastfeeding events that we hold throughout the year at Sweetheart Diapers & More!

The Diaper Bag:

First of all, make sure that your diaper bag is large enough. Cloth diapers are bulkier than disposable diapers and many diaper bags on the market are targeted towards disposable diapers. That’s why I started selling the Mrs. Smith Tempo diaper bags at Sweetheart Diapers & More.This is what it looks like:

Mrs. Smith Diaper Bag "Tempo"

This is the bag that I use, and I have it in blue. I can actually fit everything I need inside it. You can also adjust the straps so it can either be a messenger bag or a back pack. The thing I like about this bag the most is the DRAWER. I think it is so cool! The drawer divides the bag into a bottom and a top so that things don’t get lost in the bottom of your bag – brilliant!

If you prefer something more hip, Ju Ju Be diaper bags are gorgeous. We sell the Ju Ju Be “Be All” diaper bag, which is worth every cent in quality material and workmanship.

Ju Ju Be "Be All" Diaper Bag

The two main differences between cloth diapering and disposable diapering when you’re out are:

1. You will bring the soiled cloth diaper back home with you instead of throwing it in the garbage
2. You need to re-pack your diaper bag frequently because you’re using the same diapers over and over again

Therefore, one of the most important things you need is a waterproof tote bag for the soiled diapers. Plastic bags aren’t a good solution because you will constantly be throwing out plastic bags. What you want to use is a “wet bag”.

Wet Bags are specifically designed for toting cloth diapers – they are waterproof and machine washable so you can use them over and over again.

Bummis Fabulous Wet Bag

Here is the complete check list of what I pack inside my diaper bag:

The Packing Checklist:

• 1-2 outfit changes for baby
• Wipes: I keep GAIA biodegradable bamboo wipes in my diaper bag. I use cloth wipes at home, but prefer the disposable ones for when I’m out because they are more convenient for toting. The GAIA wipes are not as good as cloth wipes but they are much better than traditional disposable wipes for the environment and for baby’s skin, making them a decent compromise for using a disposable products. You can read more about them here.
• Change pad: I love the FuzziBunz change pad. Most diaper bags come with a change pad, but they aren’t usually very nice. The FuzziBunz change pad has soft fleece on one side and PUL on the other side so nothing leaks through if it gets wet, like when baby decides to pee everywhere during a diaper change!
• Waterproof tote bag: I use a Fabulous Wet Bag size medium which is the perfect size for several diapers. This is the most popular style and size of wet bag that we sell at Sweetheart Diapers & More. It completely keeps out odours because it closes with a zipper, and is fully waterproof so even sopping wet diapers won’t leak through. And you can toss it into the laundry with your cloth diapers.
• several cloth diapers: the amount depends on how long I plan to be out, plus 2 extras for just in case
• 2 or 3 prefolds: besides the diapers for putting on the baby, I like to have a couple extra prefolds for wiping a poopy bum or catching pee during the change
• Plastic bag: This is because sometimes there is no garbage handy when you’re changing the baby and then I can just use the plastic bag as a garbage.

If you have any questions about cloth diapering, contact us at Sweetheart Diapers & More: 519-800-3963 / info@sweetheartdiapers.com

Do you have any tips you’d like to share with us for cloth diapering on the go? Please add a comment!

We have a different guest host who leads the discussion for each Baby Cafe. The host might be an expert in the topic, or it can be someone who just wants to bring the cookies! We also serve tea and hot chocolate while the babies play together in the middle of the circle.

It is a lot of fun and a great way to meet other moms who have similar values. So far we’ve had Baby Cafe’s on: how to breastfeed baby in a sling, elimination communication, and babywearing.

At the last Baby Cafe which was about babywearing, our local babywearing specialist Diane Pepin of Mother’s Helper hosted and showed us tips and tricks on how to use our slings and wraps. In this photo she was showing us how to put a baby on your back, using my then 7-week-old son Cole to demonstrate!

7-week-old Cole on Diane's back

Awww, isn't he cute?

The next Baby Cafe, which is  this upcoming Friday, December 23 from 11:00am-12:00pm, is going to be about Baby Food. Our very own Tina is going to host, and we will talk about how and when to introduce new foods and how to make baby food yourself. Tina made her own baby cereal from scratch for her baby and she’s going to teach us how, I can’t wait!

Baby Cafe’s are very much about the wisdom of the group. We can learn so much when we all just share our experiences and ideas.

A new element to Baby Cafe which will start this week is sales on products related to the topic. So this Friday, everyone who comes to Baby Cafe will get sale discounts on Baby Cubes and Made From Corn baby dishes!

Baby Cubes - Do you want to get these on sale?

Made From Corn Infant Bowl and Spoon - Come to Baby Cafe on Fr. Dec. 23 to get these on sale!

If you have an idea for a topic we should cover in a Baby Cafe and/or if you’d like to be a host, let me know! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. You can leave a comment on this page or send an email to info@sweetheartdiapers.com.

It is always free to attend Baby Cafe, babies are always welcome, and it is a breastfeeding-friendly environment. You can RSVP on our Facebook event page or call the store 519-800-3963.

These are 100% organic cotton lounge sets, which includes a longsleeve onesie or shirt and long pants.

They come in sizes 3-6 months, 6-12 months, and 12-18 months. Sizes 3-6 and 6-12 are onesies, and size 12-18 months is a longsleeve shirt.

Check out the adorable Christmas print, perfect for a boy or a girl:

Naughty or Nice Christmas Print $35 for the set

Naughty or Nice close-up

Cupcake print for your little sweetheart:

Cupcake $39.00 for the set

The Trouble print is gender-neutral, because causing trouble has nothing to do with whether you’re a boy or a girl!

Trouble $39 for the set

And finally, Sweetpea. It doesn’t get more organic than that!

Sweetpea $39 for the set

WHY ORGANIC?

Anything with the word “organic” in it has become very popular, but do you know why choosing organic cotton is so important? Non-organically grown cotton is extremely detrimental to the environment. I found some great information and statistics at this website: www.aboutorganiccotton.org

Conventionally grown cotton:

• accounts for half of the world’s textile sales
• uses roughly a third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to produce enough cotton for a single t-shirt
• consumes approximately 25% of the insecticides and more than 10% of the pesticides used in the world
• typically treats seeds with fungicides or insecticides
• uses genetically modified seeds for approximately 70% of US-grown cotton
• requires intensive irrigation
• applies synthetic fertilizers
• applies herbicides to soil to inhibit weed growth and to kill weeds that do grow
• is harvested by defoliating with toxic chemicals

Whereas Organically Grown Cotton:

• uses untreated seeds
• never uses genetically modified seeds
• builds strong soil through crop rotation
• uses less water because the soil retains more water thanks to increased organic matter
• weeds are removed physically, not through chemical destruction
• weeds are controlled through cultivation and hand hoeing
• uses beneficial insects, biological and cultural practices to control pests
• is harvested by relying on the seasonal freeze or water management for defoliaton

So if you want to buy a cute new outfit as a gift for a little baby or toddler, look for 100% organic cotton clothing so that you are contributing to a healthier planet for them when they grow up! It makes the gift that much more special, and shows that you care

We are excited to carry this high quality line of clothing by Parade that “is an adorable melody of modern, earth inspired colours, curious characters and everlasting images. Simple yet playful, our products embody the sweetness and merriment of babies and toddlers alike.” And they are designed in Vancouver, Canada!

I studied music and earned a piano performance degree at university, so it was pretty much guaranteed that I would be self-employed. When I got pregnant the first time my husband and I thought it would be ideal that I could continue to teach piano lessons out of the house. I think this works for some people, however in reality this didn’t prove to be ideal for us.

I started working when our daughter was 6 weeks old. I worked for about 3 hrs every night, teaching in the living room between 6pm-9pm. I didn’t know that it is very common for infants to be most fussy in the evenings, and I didn’t know that many newborns tend to prefer their mothers over their fathers, nor that our child would have COLIC! All I can say is, my poor husband! The baby would cry the whole time, and I could hear it while I was trying to work. It was very hard on myself, my husband, and the baby. And when you are charging someone an hourly rate for a service, you can’t just leave the room for 10-15 min. to go nurse your baby. We somehow made it through that first year and miraculously we are still married. It was so tough that we vowed to space our children at least 3 years apart so that we would have time to recover.

In the meantime, I started selling cloth diapers working out of the home when the baby was 6 months old. (She was napping for long periods of time during the day and I was stuck at home!) I started daydreaming about having a store where I could bring my baby with me to work and all the cool products I could sell and community events I could host.

Fast forward 2 years, and we started thinking about having baby #2. I was still doing the cloth diaper business out of the house and had faith that if I opened a storefront I could make it work. I also promised my husband that I would never put us through that ever again so I needed a new source of income. I knew I wouldn’t be eligible for maternity benefits so I decided that a store where we could bring our babies with us to work would be my solution.

I opened Sweetheart Diapers & More in June 2010 and our second child was born in October 2011, so it gave me almost a year and a half to get the store running smoothly and find an awesome employee to take over for 1 month when the baby was born. Tina, my employee, is exactly what I had envisioned the perfect employee to be at the store. She is a cloth diapering, babywearing, breastfeeding mother who is friendly, trustworthy, knowledgeable, intelligent, patient, reliable, and creative! (I could go on with more adjectives, but I think you get the point). And she brings her daughter with her to work, who is currently almost 1.5 years old and is the most adorable little girl.

When my son was 4 weeks old I started going back in to work. (The business can only run for so long without the owner around, unfortunately.) The good thing about newborns is that all he needs is to be with me! He breastfeeds and likes to be in a sling all day, so it really doesn’t matter whether we’re at the store or at home. Just like my daughter was our cloth diaper model 3 years ago when I first started out, now my son is our babywearing model! If you come into the store when I’m working, most likely I will have him in a sling or wrap.

Bringing baby to work has its pros and cons, but what I like is that since I have to work, at least I don’t have to choose between working and being with my baby. And after all, I think it makes sense to walk through the door of a baby store and to see – a baby!