Getting Ready for 2011!

Out with the old and in with the new!

Baby Magnus is gearing up for his first New Years and wanted to wish all of his internet friends a Happy New Year and all the best in 2011!

Christmas was great in the Magnus household - he is now swimming in toys! (me thinks too many :P ) But more important than the gifts was the time we spent together as a family.

Magnus' first Christmas was great with a Christmas morning Skype session with his grandparents who live over the mountains and spending time with the other side of the family who live in town. He was quite excited for a 10 month old - but understands that any time the family gets together it is going to be a good time!

As 2010 winds down and 2011 bursts out of the gate make sure you set your sights high for this coming year and embrace the family, friends and activities that you love.

Please be responsible this holiday season if you are celebrating with a few drinks! We would like to see all of you back here next year!

From Magnus and both of us, we all hope your Holiday Season is filled with family and friends and love.

Jay, Amy & Magnus

Take the time to make some memories!

Halloween is a great photo opportunity when the kids get all dressed up!

But don't forget to take pictures of the little things every other day or so - some turn out great and others will remind you of your little one's firsts.

With the advent of a baby, one of the first things we did was get a new reliable camera to capture all of the glorious memories as they happened. We got the Cannon Power Shot Digital Elph - a great little point and click with 12.1 mega pixel resolution. Several months later we are still clicking away and the pictures are turning out great.

The main thing we were looking for in a camera was the speed that you can go from powered off and in the case to picture taken. The little ones move so fast (and they only get faster) that if you want to capture them doing anything you have to be quick!

The Cannon that we have also has a movie mode that is very decent - it doesn't replace a video camera but it does make video virtually Facebook ready - small enough file sizes with high enough resolution that you can see what is going on. Most of the times you are "in the moment" you already have the camera with you - just switch to movie mode and go!

Sometimes you need professional help

Even with a great point and shoot we found that one of us was always missing from the picture so today we met with a professional photographer to get some snaps of the little guy and our family.

The experience was great! If you are ever in need of a photographer in Kelowna, B.C. Canada, contact Michelle via her Facebook page here.

Have a Great Halloween and keep making those great memories!

And The Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone for entering our first ever Blog Giveaway!

We had around 100 people enter the contest!

Baby Magnus had quite the fun time picking the winner!

And the winner of the 2 GroVia All-in-Ones, GroVia cloth wipes and GroBaby Bio Wipes was Jennifer!

Keep checking back in the future as we hope to have more give aways!

Congratulations Again to Jennifer!

The Martens Family

Cloth Diapering on the Go!

Don't forget we're having a great GroVia package giveaway. We'll be drawing the winner at random Saturday October 16th at noon PST. If you provided your email we will contact you. Good luck!

I'm going to visit one of my oldest and bestest friends tomorrow. Magnus and I will be making the trip (just a three and a half hour drive) down to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and spending 4 days relaxing, shopping, and seeing the sights. I'm really looking forward to our getaway and I'm so thankful that my friend Sara who has 2 boys of her own is so hands on supportive. She'll gladly take my fussy little man when I'm needing a break and continually offers great advice and encouragement. We all need a friend like this and I hope once I've mellowed out a bit with motherhood I can offer the same support to my friends with new arrivals and little ones.

My only concern with this trip is that I currently CD. At home I wash every other day and have a diaper sprayer which I've come to depend on. We haven't had too many hiccups with CD'ing and have only gone away once for an overnight since we started and didn't have any issues. I'd love to continue CD'ing while away but I'm not sure if it's realistic to go 4 days without laundering. Will my GroVia cotton soakers get moldy (a few have said there is a possibility they might)? Will it be a regretful hassle (I've already got so many baby things I need to pack)? Will I be banished from visiting Sara as long as I'm CD'ing (I doubt I will but you never know ;-)? What is my motivation for CD'ing while away so long, am I doing it to prove something to myself and others?

I am contemplating using my GroVia Biosoakers which are like a disposable/compostable inset that goes in the shell. Many mamas use these Biosoakers for travel and when away from home. It's been suggested that I use the Biosoakers for the first few days then the cotton soakers for the last few just to ensure no mold. I'm on the fence really and will let you all know how it goes.

Obsessive mommy <3

Mama Stash!

This post is for the mamas but men if your curious go ahead and check it out.

I've never really been much of a tree hugger I love everything womanly about me kinda girl. Especially when it came to my period. Don't get me wrong though I can't say I loathe that time of the month either. But since it's return in the recent months and after having a baby I have to admit that I feel differently about my little friend and almost embrace it.

I was changing my "Always" a month and a bit ago and had an epiphany. If I'm using cloth for my son because I believe it's healthier for him and the environment why not cloth for me? As I bundled up my little package of waste I wondered what one cycles worth of disposable pad waste would look like. How about a year or even my reproductive lifetime?

I hopped on the web that night and began researching "mama cloth". I found testimonials of many women that had made the switch. Some even stating that cloth reduced uncomfortable period symptoms like cramping and heavy flow (things thankfully I haven't had to deal with). Really it didn't take much to convince me and if you read my first blog you'll know I'm a bit of an impulse decision maker (my GroBaby purchase that started our CD'ing journey). I made my purchase of "Pink Daisys" from "Swaddlebees" a company that also makes CD's and awaited my next period and my order (hoping the order came before Aunt Flow).

So my experience went well. The cloth I must say is a bit bulkier than disposable but I don't mind. I purchased the stay dry option and they were quite comfortable to wear. I just tossed the MC in the laundry and washed with no extra effort. On the heaver days I rinsed a bit prior to washing using our diaper sprayer. A couple of other ways to organize MC laundering are: wet pail method which involves tossing the MC in a pail of water changing the water daily or keeping a wetbag somewhere in the bathroom. Hanging on the shower curtain rod out of LO's reach. With both of these methods you can wash your MC as desired or all at once.

Overall I felt like this was a positive experience for me and I'm glad I made the switch. Like CD'ing and using cloth wipes it seemed more involved and complicated beforehand but is really no biggie. I think I'll add to my MC stash in the next while and would like to try some WAHM products. There are so many mamas out there that will custom make MC for you. Just another green idea that has come to positive fruition.

Embracing mamahood Mama

Sharing the Love!

Anyone who is a fluff fan most definitely loves a CD giveaway. Katy Dibs has been blogging such giveaways for a while now: http://katydibs.blogspot.com/ Between her blog and "Dibs" FB page she promotes natural parenting giveaways from small businesses and WAHM's check it out!

Fluff loving mama

GroVia All in One Review and Giveaway!

I have 2 GroVia AIO's, a package of GroVia wipes and Biowipes I'd love to give away (really I'd like to keep them but feel I need to share my GroVia love). See the bottom of this post for details on how to enter.

If you've been following this blog for a while I must apologize as I left you hanging quite a few posts back. When we first started out CD'ing we were happily trucking along with the AI2 for daytime but sadly we went disposable for nights due to leaking and my laziness (who really wants to do a complete bed change at 3 am?).

Eventually we found success with the Dream Eze an AIO CD made by The Natural Baby Company (GroVia's parent company as well). This was a great nighttime CD but it's one fatal flaw was that it was not a one size system and I had only ordered medium (oh, and did I mention the Dream Eze had been discontinued and that is why I got them uber cheap).

Recently, I was able to purchase GroVia's AIO which is a lot like the Dream Eze but with some great improvements. Stretchy sides for a more custom fit, more trim design so no more fluffy bum, an extra snap in soaker for older babies heavy wetters and overnight, and adjustable rise with a couple of snaps so it's really a one sized system. I was so excited to put one of these on Magnus. I liked my Dream Eze but was going to LOVE the new AIO.

I had prepped my AIO's 5 times (I had heard they didn't need as much prepping as the AI2's) and we were ready for our first night. So Magnus slept really well that night but woke up wet. The following night was a wet one as well. Argh, I was getting frustrated. We tried 2 different boosters and Jay and I both had a go at putting the AIO on Magnus(really it's not complicated but we both have different ideas on what a good fit looks like). In my frustration I reached out to the best GroVia support I could think of, their Facebook page. In no time I got some tips and advice but none of it seemed to help and I wasn't feeling the love for my new AIO. This was really disappointing me as I love GroVia (yes, I'm a bit of a junky) and really wanted these to work. Thankfully someone reached out (thanks Amanda) by sending me a personal message suggesting I try prepping some more. Really, I hadn't thought it might be a prepping issue but I gave it a try. I prepped twice more and guess what. No leaks for the past 3 nights. My little guy likes to nurse at night (often 2-3 times) and the AIO is now lasting 12 hours. I should mention that we use the snap in soaker and a GroVia stay dry booster.

So on with the giveaway already! To enter you can do any or all of the below and tell me what you did in the comments of this post:

*Become a GroVia FB fan http://www.facebook.com/GroViaDiaper?ref=ts

*Post a comment or question about GroVia or GroVia product on their FB page

*Follow my blog

*Share the giveaway info on your FB page or blog

So that's 4 possible entries (if your following this blog already considered yourself entered). The winner will be drawn at random on October 16th/2010. This contest is open to Canadian and US residents and I will cover shipping. Thank you GroVia for supplying the fluffy giveaway prizes!

Feeling generous Mommy!