Things I have come to realize.

I cannot send my husband to the car dealership to get an oil change for the car. Well, I can send him, I just can't send him ALONE. Want to know why? Well, I can tell you. He went there with our car, and is coming home with a different car. Yep, he traded in our Nissan Versa for a Nissan Rogue. Of course asked me first, and brought the car to the house with the salesman so I could see it. Did we need it? Yep. Our Versa was just too small for us, but this is a regular occurrence. Every time my husband takes the car for an oil change, he tries to buy something else. I have thwarted his efforts until today. So the oil change that should have taken an hour at most..is going on 6 hours!

I have also realized that Dr. Brown's bottles are absolutely magical! JR has a HORRIBLE stomach and we have had issues with formula and bottles since the start with him, well I finally went and picked up some Dr. Browns and he is doing SO much better.

I would write more, but JR just started having a fit and I need to go get him into the bath and ready for bed. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Catching Up.

I'm selling some of my diapers (to make room for new ones) so if you're in the market for some diapers that are in great condition, you can see them on my facebook page!

Cloth Diapers for Sale!

Not too much going on. My birthday is next week and we're getting ready to move to a new apartment in a couple of weeks! Yay for getting a washing machine and garage, and just a bigger apartment! We're super excited. We'll be moving in around the 15th so I may go missing for a few days.

So I think I may have decided on a name for my business (which the plans will start going into motion after we move!). What does everyone think of Happy Horse Diaper Company? I want honest opinions, please. If you have another suggestion, please let me know. I really appreciate it.

JR is doing well. We switched his formula again a few weeks ago, as he was having some tummy problems. He's doing much better now and thankfully Costco carries it, so we can get a big tub for a decent price. He's taking a nap now and I'm catching up on some things. Dinner is in the crockpot, the house is (somewhat) clean. I just have a pile of laundry and diapers that need washing but I have to wait for my husband to get home before I can embark on that adventure!

I'm waiting for my referral from Tricare so I can go see the orthopedist. Unfortunately my doctor's recommendations did not work. I'll update more on that when I go see the specialist!

Other than that, not too much is happening. I'm not overly exciting!

Am I crazy?

I need to get JR ready for bed, but I just wanted to throw this out there.

I am seriously thinking about starting a cloth diaper business (just retail, I can't sew) and my husband is (surprisingly) on board. Obviously I have a lot to think about and research before I dive in head first, but..

I need a name. I'm completely clueless as to what I should call it.

Any suggestions? Input? Am I crazy? I'm not really sure. I've just fallen in love with all of the benefits of cloth, even in our short time using it, that I want to share it with others. I still get snide comments (I posted my idea on my personal FB page and that was all I got) and people telling me it's "gross" and that they'd rather "just throw the diaper away." Well I wouldn't. I don't mind washing diapers. I'd rather save money and not expose my son to all the chemicals and junk in disposable diapers. Honestly, since using cloth, I've not touched one bit of poop, I can't say the same for disposables.

I have converted a few. Two people I know (who are not even pregnant yet) have decided they want to try cloth, just after seeing me use it.

Any ideas or input, words of encouragement (or just tell me I'm crazy) would be great, I appreciate it.

Getting back to normal

My mom left yesterday morning, and as nice as it was to have her here (she got up with JR in the morning, so I got to sleep in! So nice!) it's very nice to have things be "normal" again. She can be pretty overbearing, and we had our moments where I had to remind her that I am his mother and she kept insisting he was cold or sick. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

We live in So Cal, so obviously it's not as hot or warm as Florida, but it's still pretty warm. Yet she kept putting my child in long sleeves and pants, he slept in fleece pajamas, and of course you can't forget his heavy petunia picklebottom blanket (that I use for winter time!). My poor child was always sweating. So yesterday after she left, we sat around in a diaper and t-shirt!

She completely embraced my cloth diapering and did well with it. She thought it was awesome and cute. Except for when she put my Organic Hideaway fitted on him one morning, and when I got up she told me it "sucked". So I asked her if she put a cover over it, she said no of course. Well that's why it "sucked"! I found it pretty funny though. After that I made sure she was fully stocked with pockets and AIOs.

Overall we had a good time. She spoiled JR by buying him some new clothes and a few diapers. I got some shirts and slippers and she gave my husband the money to buy his new phone. So she spoiled us! We also went out to eat a few times and she babysat so my husband and I could have some alone time. It was nice.

It's also nice to have our lives be normal again. She plans to come back out around JR's birthday in April, so that will be nice.

Not much else to talk about right now. So I'll leave you with some pictures

Is it Monday Yet?

Sorry I haven't been around much, my mom is still here.

I'll be back next week!

For now, enter the giveaway that ends tomorrow for a semi-custom fitted diaper!

http://diapersdogsanddeployments.blogspot.com/2011/09/organic-hideaway-diaper-review-and.html

also, make sure you visit and "like" Cloth by Tel's FB page and let her know that Diapers, Dogs and Deployments sent you!

http://facebook.com/clothbytel

OH! and if anyone (or if you know anyone) has any BumGenius Elemental diapers for sale (new or used) please let me know. I LOVE these diapers but they're so expensive it's hard for me to get them. Boy colors please :) You can either leave a comment or email me at amanda.maupin(at)hotmail(dot)com. Thanks so much!

Help me, and I'll do something for you :)

As you all know, I recently reviewed and had a giveaway from Cloth by Tel. Well she is having a referral contest right now, and because I was doing a giveaway I couldn't ask for help until it ended. The winner of her referral contest will get 6 diapers. I'm behind by about 65 referrals right now (I guess people on facebook don't like me LOL).

So here is what I'm asking of my readers, and this only applies to people who are not already fans of her facebook page. If you like her facebook page, then write on her wall that Amanda Maupin sent you, I would be appreciative.

AND to up the ante, if I win, I will giveaway one of the diapers on my blog, to thank you all.

Here is the link to her FB page.

http://www.facebook.com/clothbytel

Cradle Cap Remedies?

I've been a bad blogger, but I need some help. We've been battling cradle cap with JR for a while. I got a cradle cap kit that allows you to use regular baby shampoo and it came with a little scrubby mitten thing and a comb. It worked great the first time around, pretty much got rid of it, but it came back with a vengeance. I feel so bad because the scrubby thing and comb make his scalp red, but I'm not sure what to do.

Does anyone know of any natural cradle cap fixes? (I'd prefer to use something natural vs calling the pediatrician and getting some crazy chemical medicine, if at all possible) It's driving me crazy that I can't get rid of it.

Time to get ready for bed. There are two giveaways on the blog, make sure you enter and share with friends.

Cloth By Tel OS Pocket Diaper Giveaway - Ends 9/9

Organic Hideaway Diaper Giveaway - Ends 9/16

and for good measure.

Giveaway: Fuzzibunz OR Rumparooz Cloth Diaper, Changing Cloth Diapers Book Review, & Coupon Code! (Ends 9/9)

Giveaway: Fuzzibunz OR Rumparooz Cloth Diaper, Changing Cloth Diapers Book Review, & Coupon Code! (Ends 9/9)

Enter to win a Fuzzibunz OR a Rumparooz Cloth Diaper from 17 Sirens!

Giveaway: Grasshopper Cloth Diaper (Ends 9/15)

Giveaway: Grasshopper Cloth Diaper (Ends 9/15)

Enter to win a Grasshopper Cloth Diaper from 17 Sirens!

Organic Hideaway Diaper Review and GIVEAWAY (9/16) (US/CAN)

I recently received an Organic Hideaway diaper from Hannah (the owner) and she is allowing me to do a review and to give away a semi-custom fitted diaper to one Diapers, Dogs and Deployments reader!

About Organic Hideaway (from her Facebook page):

I started making diapers when my now 11 year old was a baby. He used to get the worst rashes from disposables. This system came about by trial and error. When I found a diaper the worked well it would literally take 3 days to dry! By using simple flannel and microfiber double you can easily customize the absorbency that your child needs. I like things simple so I've always been a "toss in the washer AND dryer" kinda girl. Which is what you can do with these. Use any non bleach laundry soap and set it to your heavy wash and rinse cycle. Toss in the dryer on Medium. That's it! With all you have to worry about during the day, diaper care should not be one of those things!

(Amen to that sister!)

My Review:

As I always say, we are trying to cloth diaper on a budget (not sure if it's my husband's budget, or mine LOL) but her diapers are very reasonably priced. I paid $6 for my diaper!

I got a size medium fitted with dinosaurs!

My initial reaction:

I love this diaper. It's soft, it's absorbent (with absorbency easy customizable) and it's uncomplicated!

Washing:

Like Hannah said, she's a washer and dryer kinda girl (and so am I!) so washing this diaper is very easy. I just throw it in with my other diapers and it comes out great every time.

Fit:

My diaper is a size medium, which fits from 15-23lbs. JR is just under 15lbs, but it still fits him fine (thanks to the crossover snaps!) I've never had a leak from this diaper and it works with all of my covers!

(the dinosaur pattern is just so cute!) As you can see the dipe fits JR wonderfully but is still trim.

The diaper works great with my SweetPeaBaby cover (as well as Thirsties) and is nice and trim under clothes :)

I have not used this diaper overnight as I prefer pocket diapers for overnights, so none of my fitteds have been used overnight. Though I bet that with the right doubler, this diaper would perform great for overnights!

Overall I love the diaper and I plan to order more (maybe some custom diapers) from her soon! I just have to convince my husband! :)

Buy It:

You can purchase any of Hannah's products from her Etsy shop. She has diapers, covers, reusable nursing pads, tote bags and other great items. Her Etsy shop can be found HERE

Win It:

Organic Hideaway is offering a semi-custom fitted diaper to one of my readers! Winner will have choice of size and four pattern options!

Rules:

1. There are TWO mandatory entries! You must like Organic Hideaway on Facebook and follow DD&D via GFC!

2. You must be 18 years or older and be from the US or Canada

3. Winner will be announced on September 16th, you will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is drawn.

Click on the Read More link to be taken to the rafflecopter form! :)

Prayers please?

I figured I would update ya'll on my doctor's appointment today. I will have a diaper review and giveaway posted tomorrow, sorry it's taking me so long.

So I went to my appointment for my headaches, my insomnia, and my epidural back pain.

I have to go back in 3 months for my headaches, my doctor wants to address my other problems first. Disappointing, but I understand his reasoning, I've dealt with them for this long, I can go a little longer.

He gave me some low dose sleeping pills to help. He wants to see that maybe getting a good nights sleep will help relieve my headaches (the reasoning behind waiting 3 months, the stress of a new baby, not being able to sleep, etc.)

He sent me for back x-rays and gave me some back patches (it seems like prescription-grade icy-hot patches basically) and wants me to use them for a week (I have to wear them for 24 hours a day :/) then wait a week. If that doesn't help, he's going to refer me to an orthopedist.

This is where I ask for prayers. If this doesn't help me (which I don't for see it helping in the long-term) there is a really good possibility I could need back surgery to correct my problem. I've had plenty of surgeries (5 eye and I had my adenoids removed twice [yeah they grew back after the first time]) but this is like, major serious surgery. Not like go in, have a procedure and go home. I would be stuck on the couch, need tons of help type of thing. I'm kinda scared.

I had my x-rays and within a couple of hours I had the results. My spine was fine, except I have mild scoliosis (not what I expected to hear). They aren't concerned about it and said I shouldn't be either, it's a very slight curvature, but we'll see.

Thanks everyone :) I'm going to try to go to bed now.