Planting our garden with Mema.

Playing in her sensory box when the gardening got a bit boring.

I think this face is saying “bon appetite!” 

We have (from left to right): onions, spinach, red chard, peas, cabbage

more onion, romain lettuce, spring mix, peppers, watermelon

more onion, tomatoes (planted later than this photo), more watermelon

onions, cucumbers, a few types of squash.

Our first bounty.

So how are we feeling? My husband still can’t give me a clear answer on if he feels better or not, but he complains when I don’t give him a smoothie. One day that I forgot (I have a horrible memory), he told me that was why Peanut was complaining of a stomach ache. Though she’s not drinking as much of hers as I’d like. I think I may have scared her off with a few crazy ones I tried.

How do I feel? I can describe it in one word: vitality. I just feel great. Full of life. It sounds corny to me as I type it, but it’s truly how I feel. I’m accidentally forgetting to take my placenta pill more often and I don’t even realize until the next day. I’m sure that it’s not just the green smoothies. It’s pretty much impossible for other factors to not cause an effect on real-life experiments, but I’m certain that they’re helping me. I feel better on days that I’ve had a smoothie in the morning.

We’ve started drinking bigger smoothies. I always fill my husband’s cup to 24 ounces (used to do 20 ounces) and then I fill Peanut’s cup and mine (both of which don’t have ounces written on them like his). If I’ve filled Peanut’s and mine is as high as it’ll go (which should be over 24 ounces because it fits over 3 cups), I give my husband some more. We’re also putting more greens in than we used to, mostly increasing whatever the non-spinach green is for the day. We rotate that green between collard greens (which I now add 2-3 leaves), swiss/red chard (at least 5 leaves), and green/red kale (at least 5 leaves). If anyone has some recommendations on other greens we can add, I’d love to hear them. Probably about a year ago I tried romaine lettuce in a smoothie and thought it was gross. I’m sure there are other things we can try though.

I’m also looking into what other vegetables we can add. I feel like our fruit drawer is constantly needing to be refilled, but our veggie drawer not so much. My husband really doesn’t like V8-type drinks, so a full on veggie smoothie or juice is out of the question, but I’d like to sneak other things in the same way I’ve done the avocado (which I can’t taste whats-so-ever). Maybe I’ll start experimenting with it. Toss in a carrot? How about a stick of celery? Or a tomato?!? Little bits at a time to see if we can tell the difference or not.

Now you get some recipes! (I’m not putting info on chopping anymore because you really have to do what your blender requires)

Citrus-y Goodness

1/2 pineapple including core, tough skin removed

2 oranges with pith, zest removed

1/2 lime with pith, zest removed

1/2 lemon with pith, zest removed

1 banana peeled

1/4 avocado with skin removed

6 leaves red chard

spinach to fill the container (about 2 handfuls as much as I can possibly grab at once)

ice (about two big handfuls and a little handful)

Strawberry Old Favorite

2 apples with everything included

2 oranges with pith, zest removed

12 strawberries with everything included

1/4 avocado, skin removed

3 small-ish leaves of collard greens

spinach to fill the container

ice

Holy Moly How Many Limes?!?

3 limes with pith, zest removed

1/2 lemon with pith, zest removed

3 oranges with pith, zest removed

1 apple with everything included

1/4 avocado, skin removed

5 leaves of red chard

spinach to fill the container

ice

Strawberry Banana

15 strawberries with everything included

3 bananas, peeled

1 apple with everything included

1/4 avocado, skin removed

2 big leaves collard greens

spinach to fill the container

ice

By the way, there’s still just over a week left enter the giveaway for a wool soaker from Zinny Jane. There’s not a ton of entries yet and it’s super easy to enter!

So when Twig was born, I decided to knit her some wool longies. It took quite some time with a newborn and toddler, but I’m so happy I made them. They’re super cute and work perfectly as a diaper cover. No leaking whatsoever and they only feel a bit damp if I need to lanolize, which is true to all wool.

The pattern was really easy and is located here. I did the knit flat pattern in newborn and even though Twig is above the recommended weight (or at least she was 3 ounces below it a month ago, so I’m assuming she is now), she still fits in them. I made the legs plenty long, so she’ll outgrow the rise before the legs I’m certain. She seems to have relatively short legs anyway, because some of her 3-6 month clothes fit everywhere except the length of the legs.

I’ll definitely be knitting these again one size up as soon as I finish my current project of a blanket for my mother-in-law and a wool soaker for Peanut at night. Of course I have a lot of projects in my head, but this one is definitely on my short list of making soon. Speaking of my projects, if any of you knitters are interested, friend me on Ravelry! I almost have my whole stash on there (my aunt gave me an insane amount of yarn because shes so awesome) and I’ve been keeping track of my projects there too. Loving that site.

I love this picture so much that it makes me want to cry. 

So I’ve come up with some green smoothie tips to share with all of you.

Rinse it out immediately. When you’re done drinking or making your smoothie, rinse out the container ASAP. Especially if it’s an odd shaped container that would be difficult to scrub. These things stick like crazy and it won’t come off in the dishwasher.

Taste before you pour. As we learned with the first recipe here, not all fruits taste very good in a smoothie. If I would have tasted the smoothie named Cantaloupe Disaster before we drank it, I would have added something really strong like pineapple to tone down the flavor of the cantaloupe.

Thickening fruit versus flavor fruit. You can add anything to a green smoothie, but you need to keep in mind thickening fruits versus flavor fruits. Things like bananas, apples, avocado (yum healthy fats!), pineapple cores, etc. will thicken the smoothie. This is a good thing, but if you made a smoothie of just the thick fruits, you’d end up with sludge. The flavor fruits are the ones with high water contents such as oranges, lemons, limes, kiwi, berries of any sort, etc. They taste delicious, but won’t make the smoothie thicker. Just use your judgement to tell if a fruit is thickening or flavoring and try to keep a bit of a balance.

So far with our health, I think we’re all feeling pretty good. I’ve had headaches the last few days, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the smoothies. I have felt like I need less coffee in the morning though and I really don’t feel like drinking it after I’ve had my smoothie, even if I half a cup sitting on the counter waiting. I’ve also been craving water more.

Peanut only had that sore tummy for a day and it’s gone. Still don’t know if it was a little bug or smoothie related. She hasn’t been drinking all of her smoothie every day. I encourage her to drink it, but I don’t push it too hard. She drinks a lot more on the days that the smoothie turns out better. Maybe I need to calm down with my adventurous smoothies.

My husband had a few days of a sore stomach, which we’re not sure if it was related to the smoothies or not. He said that his digestive system might feel a bit better than it did at the beginning of the challenge, but overall he’s no better or worse.

I’m 100% sure we’ve had a smoothie every day, but I must have forgotten to add a few of them here and for the life of me I can’t remember them. So since the days don’t add up correctly anymore, I’m making up silly names for each smoothie.

Cantaloupe Disaster

1/4 cantaloupe with seeds, rind removed, chunked

1 small banana, peeled, cut in half

1 kiwi, ends cut off, cut in half

1 apple, cut in half

1 orange with pith, zest removed, cut in half

1/4 avocado, skin removed

spinach to fill the container

ice

This one wasn’t very good. Cantaloupe doesn’t work so well for smoothies in our opinions. 

Old Favorite

1 apple, cut in half

2 oranges with pith, zest removed, cut in half

2 bananas, peeled, cut in half

1/4 avocado, skin removed

5 leaves red chard

spinach to fill the container

ice

I decided to make us an old favorite since yesterday was such a disaster. Turned out great, but the smoothies were a bit smaller than usual. Next time I’ll add something new or another orange and apple. 

Twisted Old Favorite

2 apples with everything included, cut in fourths

2 oranges with pith, zest removed, cut in fourths

1/4 pineapple with core, outsides removed, cut in 4 chunks

1/4 avocado, skin removed

1 banana, peeled, broken in half

5 leaves of kale

spinach to fill the container

ice

Green Tropic

4 chunks pineapple with core intact, outsides removed (approximately 1/4 a pineapple)

2 small bananas, peeled, cut in half

1/4 a lemon with pith, zest removed

1/4 a lime with pith, zest removed

2 oranges, zest removed, cut into fourths (trying to make it so I don’t have to use the tamper as much)

1/4 avocado, skin removed

10 leaves of kale

spinach to fill the container

ice

We liked this one, but it was a bit more “green” than the smoothies in the past have been. I think I should have added more fruit than I did. 

Tropical Deliciousness

1/4 avocado, skin removed

1/4 pineapple with core, chunked, skin removed

2 oranges with pith, zest removed, cut into chunks

2 bananas, peeled, broken in half

1 kiwi, ends chopped off, cut into chunks

1 leaf collard greens (these things are huge, so you only need one)

spinach to fill the container

ice

This one was delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again. I’m also trying to spend a bit more time at the cutting board so I don’t have to deal with the tamper as much. The Vitamix can certainly handle a whole orange, but I just don’t want to worry about helping it along. 

Zesty Delight

2 kiwis, ends removed, cut into chunks

2 oranges with pith, zest removed, cut into chunks

2 apples all included, cut into chunks

1 leaf collard greens

spinach to fill the container

ice

This one was also really good. Got a bit too tangy towards the end, but I still liked it. I forgot our avocado which made me sad. Avocados aren’t a taste thing, but rather just making sure we get those healthy fats. 

I didn’t take Peanut in the bath until she was a few months old. We used one of those baby baths that sits in the sink and since our sink wasn’t big enough in the basement, we had to go up to my in-law’s kitchen to do it. We were very much welcome to do this and I know my mother-in-law enjoyed helping with her bath, but half the time Peanut hated it. I always felt rushed to get her clean and out and I’d get covered in water myself. When I got brave and took her in the tub with me, I was still in that worrying-new-mom stage. I spent the whole time pouring water over her so that she wouldn’t get cold. It still wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

Then one day when I wanted to shower, I had the epiphany that I could bring her in with me. From then it grew into her joining in for pretty much ever shower we took. Sometimes she’d get a shower in the morning with my husband and then another one in the afternoon with me. She loves playing in the bath or shower. It’s been a great way to bond and play.

So when Twig was on the way, I decided that I would just bathe with her from the get-go. I sold the baby bath long before that and it just made sense to me. My husband was worried about me having both of them in the bath, as we were sure Miss Peanut would want to join if mommy and the baby were getting in, but I figured we’d all figure it out easily enough.

And we did. We have our little routine and we have a great time of it. It’s definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. So we donned our swimsuits in order to show you our daily bath time routine.

This is our pathetically small tub. If it weren’t so small, I’m sure that daddy would join us at least some nights. As it is, I rest Twig’s head on my stomach so that she can half float and kick in the water. I hold her on both sides just below her armpits so she’s fully supported. She loves it. Even if she’s in a horrible mood, she’ll get happy the moment we get in the tub.

Twig kicking in the tub was her first time she showed us she wanted to play with Peanut. She thinks it’s hilarious to kick her sister, especially when Peanut {gently} kicks back or plays with her feet when she does it. She actually aims at Peanut too. She’ll stretch her feet out to try to get her or kick close when she’s close enough to reach.

Twig loving the bath.

Getting down to the nitty gritty. I clean Twig’s leg folds while she’s in her kicking position. Just run my fingers through the folds. We don’t use soap unless I’ve done oil in her hair for the cradle cap, which has been less than a handful of times.

I turn Twig the other way to get her hair and neck folds. I support her with one hand on the back of her neck and head and I use the other to clean her. She’s not super happy with the process, but it’s quick so she doesn’t complain too much.

Then I take Twig and set her on my leg while I do Peanut’s hair. She lays back and is supported by my legs and I use my free hand to get her hair wet. We wash her with soap about once a week (or whenever she starts getting stinky) because water will wash off most of the dirt and other things just fine. No need to be squeaky clean every second of every day. Our bodies have natural oils that protect our skin on them and it’s not healthy to constantly wash them off.

After both of the girls are clean, we just hang out for a while longer in the tub. Twig floats and kicks. Dea asked me to sing the songs from Tangled (and sings them with me now since she’s heard the words enough times). It’s a great way to bond and make everyone happy and calm during an often stressful and grumpy part of the day.

Do you bathe as a family? Do you think it’s unusual to bathe as a family? Any tips or tricks you’d like to share about getting your little ones clean and happy? 

All the non-leafy greens before blending.

Around here, we love green smoothies. I drank them pretty religiously when I was in my first trimester because of the folic acid in leafy greens. I also used them as a way to get raw placenta into my system after the birth (don’t worry, you can’t taste or feel the placenta in them!). I feel great after drinking one and want to do it on a more regular basis. There are weeks where we can’t get enough spinach at the store and there are, to my dismay, weeks where we end up feeding the spinach to the bunny before it goes bad! Gasp!

My husband doesn’t drink green smoothies very often. It’s not that he doesn’t like them, but rather that he’s generally not home when I make them. He has been dealing with stomach issues, as well as tendonitis. He also has horrible eczema (he’s a redhead) and I’ve been looking for natural ways to help him. From my research online, I’ve found that eczema is often a sign of something wrong in the gut. That paired with the stomach issues he has sounds like there is indeed something wrong! And I’m sure that green smoothies can’t hurt the tendonitis. If anything, he may be deficient in vitamins that help tendons to function correctly. I found a few different options of what vitamin he could be deficient in (most notably magnesium and vitamin c) and all of the options are in high abundance in green smoothies.

Adding the leafy greens and ice.

As an early Mother’s Day gift, I got a dry container for my Vitamix (I’ve already made wheat bread–from actual wheat kernals–and it was super easy and delicious). While looking at videos on Youtube about my Vitamix blender for ideas, I found The Vitamix Lady. She was doing a demo, presumably at Costco, and she mentioned that people who took a 30 day Vitamix challenge reported both weight loss and more energy as their top two side effects. Sounded like exactly what I need to get myself back on track and in the habit of drinking these lovely, healthy smoothies.

So I started to look at challenges online. All the ones I found either A. Weren’t long enough, or B. Involved other things besides green smoothies. As a biology teaching major, I know that an experiment is only valid if you test one variable at a time. So I can’t say that green smoothies made me feel better if I also cut out soda and start exercising more. I also like the idea of a 30 day challenge because you need at least 21 days to get into a habit. Sadly, with the no spending challenge, I did go back to buying things pretty regularly. So possibly those extra 9 days will better solidify the concept in our minds.

Final product.

Last Friday, we started our challenge. I’m going to try to share not only our benefits or problems we’re facing with it, but also the actual smoothies that we make! I’m trying out new things every day, so I’m sure there will be delicious ones and not-so-delicious ones. I’m also trying to add as much of the fruit as possible so we can get all the nutrients. If you’re doing smoothies with a non-commercial strength blender, know that you’ll need to prepare the fruit by removing things that can’t be chopped and cutting the fruit into smaller bits.

Methods: I put in everything except the green leafy vegetables and blend enough that there aren’t actual pieces of fruit in the container, then I add the leafy veggies and ice and blend until smooth. This allows more of the green leafy veggies, along with getting the smoothies big enough that they can give 2 adults at least 20 ounces and a toddler approximately 10 ounces. 

Day 1 (pictured)

1 orange with pith (which is incredibly healthy for you), zest removed, cut in half

1 apple with seeds and stem, cut in half

1 small banana, peeled, broken in half

1/4 avocado, skin removed

1 kiwi, ends removed (but not skin), cut in half

4 chunks of pineapple, outside removed, inner core intact (approximately 1/4 a pineapple)

spinach to fill the container

ice

We all enjoyed this one a lot. Peanut drank all of hers right up.

Day 2

1 orange with pith, zest removed, cut in half

1 apple with seeds and stem, cut in half

2 small bananas, peeled, broken in half

1 lime with pith, zest removed

4 chunks of pineapple, outside removed, core intact

5 leaves of kale (introducing the different green leafy veggies slowly for my husband)

spinach to fill the container

ice

Husband thought this one was too lime-y. I loved it.

Day 3

2 oranges with pith, zest removed, cut in half

1/2 lemon with pith, zest removed

1 kiwi with ends cut off

1 small banana, peeled

4 chunks of pineapple, outside removed, core intact

5 leaves of red chard

spinach to fill the container

ice

The red chard makes the worst colored smoothies in my opinion, but I couldn’t taste it at all. My husband put his in the fridge until after lunch and it made it taste like old bananas a bit, but he didn’t mind it. Peanut drank hers pretty fast.

We’re all feeling good so far. Peanut and my husband have had a bit of a sore tummy, but I’m not sure if it’s related to the smoothies or not. It could make sense for it to make them feel a bit tender because of introducing so much goodness into their diet at once. They don’t feel awful or anything though.

Anyone want to join us on our challenge? Have any of you done a similar challenge? Hopefully we have awesome results to share!

Without a medical degree or testing this at all, since it only occurred to me in hindsight, I think it might have been the lack of breathability of her diapers. Especially at night.

This realization made me want to use more breathable diapers on Twig when she came. I also needed something that I could easily remove for elimination communication. After reading this post by Hobo Mama on prefolds and That Mama Gretchen’s Wool Week posts, I decided that was the route I wanted to go. I started in search of prefolds and wool covers.

That’s when I stumbled upon Zinny Jane on Etsy.

This lovely woman knits the cutest wool soakers in the world! I’ve been using the small one she sent me in combination with other covers and I have to say, it’s by far my favorite. It is absolutely darling. I know that soakers generally go under clothes, but I often find myself putting Twig in this one with leggings just because it is So. Frickin’. Cute.

And it’s not just cute. It’s really well knit. Knowing some about knitting myself, I can recognize a plain pattern versus an intricate one. This one has special ribbing in all the right places rather than just around the legs and middle. It has different colors of yarn used for the stripes, but I’ve had zero problem with the seams leaking or anything of that sort. It’s all perfectly the same tension and it’s really tightly weaved. I’ve heard others say that they can’t use knit covers for nighttime, only felted will do. This one has had zero issue, even with me finding out the other day that I had only partially been lanolizing my wool (I was using wool wash with lanolin, but not any pure lanolin). Zero leaks even when her prefold is literally sopping in every square centimeter. And, teamed with a stay dry liner, very little pink rash.

Beyond that, it’s super easy to clean. Twig has monster poops. She only poops once or twice a day, rather than the probably 4-5 times Peanut used to when she was this age, and she definitely makes up for it all at once. I’ve seriously tried Every. Single. Fold. that is supposed to contain breastfed baby poop, but it still gets on the covers (any tips or ideas on this would be great!). If you use wool, you know how much of a pain it is for poop to get on the wool. You can’t just throw wool in the washing machine, you have to hand wash it. Some of my wool covers seem to just hold the poop in. I spend upwards of 2 minutes scrubbing to get it all out of the fibers, which is difficult when Twig is screaming to be picked up and Peanut is screaming to be played with. This cover has it all come off instantly and there’s zero staining, even in the off-white colored yarn. It’s awesome! And it dries quick too!

Beyond that, Molly, the owner of Zinny Jane, is amazing. She spent quite a few messages back and forth with me explaining what to measure, how to measure it, and what sizes would be best. Since Twig is such a huge baby (13 lbs 13 oz at 9 weeks!), she sent me two covers to review! One small and one medium. How nice is that??! I know how much time and effort goes into knitting a project, so in my mind that gives her extra props. Honestly, I wish I owned more of them even. I just love this soaker so much! I’m sure that I’ll be talking my husband into getting some more soon.

So do any of you want to win a wool soaker?! You can! (make sure to leave a comment for each entry!)

*Mandatory*  1 entry – Go check out Zinny Jane’s Etsy store and tell me which product is your favorite in a comment! (don’t forget to include your email in your first entry so I can contact you if you win!)

1 entry – follow me on Twitter. If you already follow, you still get an entry!

1 entry – Tweet about this giveaway (leave a link to the tweet in the comment). You can tweet about this giveaway once every day for an entry. That’s up to 31 entries just from tweeting!

2 entries (make 2 separate comments) – follow this blog by RSS or email.  If you already follow, you still get an entry!

2 entries – become a fan of The Adventures of Lactating Girl on Facebook. If you’re already a fan, you still get an entry!

2 entries – become a fan of Zinny Jane on Facebook. If you’re already a fan, you still get an entry!

1 entries – Write a post on your Facebook page about this giveaway! Make sure you link to The Adventures of Lactating Girl on Facebook in the post and leave a comment here each time you do it. You can do it once per day! That’s up to 31 entries!

4 entries – blog about this contest (leave a link the comment). Once per giveaway.

This contest is worldwide. The winner will be chosen on Sunday, April 29th at 5PM Mountain Standard Time by random. The winner will be emailed and must respond to the email within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck everyone!

Personally, I love it when I hear a parent that I look up to’s little dirty secrets. Not because I want to think I’m better than them, but instead because I like to get that affirmation that no one has it under control, not even the people that I admire. I like to know that other people also do the things that I feel guilty about doing as a parent. I like to know that I’m not the only one. So here we go, here are my top three non-natural parent things I do.

Peanut playing on mama's phone while sitting on daddy at 23 months.

In our house, we love technology. My husband plays video games every night. When I put together the swing, I was immensely happy that Twig seemed to like it. I am in love with my Apple products and have a mini-heart attack when my iPhone dies (which is almost daily). I strictly monitor Peanut’s TV intake, but she still gets more than I’d like. I love unabashedly love television myself, it’s one of my favorite “me” activities. Most of our toys are the delicious plastic battery-powered sort. And, probably the most shocking, Peanut has her own iPhone. When I upgraded to my 3gs, she got my iPhone vanilla. It mostly sat around dead and was only charged for special occasions when we’d need to keep her happy for extended periods of time like a car trip. Then when I upgraded to the 4s this last Christmas, she got my 3gs. We charge it regularly. She has a little side pocket of her backpack that she takes it in when we leave the house. She even takes it with her when she has sleep overs at her grandparents. She probably knows how to use an iPhone better than you.

My food intake is far from perfect. I have a major sweet tooth. I love baking and I love that people love what I bake. I am famous for my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I know my snickerdoodles are a favorite of many friends. Beyond making treats, I also love to buy them. Many of my favorite places to eat are favorites based mostly on their collections of sugary goodies. One of the first things I requested after Twig was born was a sandwich and cookie from my favorite sandwich shop. Speaking of eating out, I love that too. At home I have a freezer full of farm-fresh antibiotic and hormone free meat, but I go out to eat often enough that I sometimes wonder if it even matters what we eat at home. I love everything about going out to eat and always have. One of my favorite things to do is to go to lunch with Peanut, Twig, and my mom.

Yeah, I've loved Coke for this long. Alright, I probably wasn't actually drinking it that long ago.

My last thing is along the same line as the last one. I’m addicted to caffeine. I loves me a Coke. I recently got so bad about how many I was drinking (which was still only about 3 cans a day, but that’s a lot in my mind) that we stopped buying soda at the grocery store. We tend to go through phases of buying soda and then not, so that’s not unusual. I could try to just stop drinking soda, but I don’t want to. I love soda. I also love coffee. Since we stopped buying soda, I’ve been drinking more of it. Loaded with delicious creamer. If I don’t drink some sort of caffeine, I get a headache. Even more so since Twig was born and I started drinking more caffeine again. I have been drinking caffeine so long that I don’t notice the effects in terms of keeping me awake, but rather just keeping me from getting cranky and a headache. Yeah, full fledged addiction.

Some of that was embarrassing to admit to. Some of it I wish we could change. Some of it I don’t care to change at all. None of us are perfect people or perfect parents. Even the most natural parent does some things that conflict with their philosophies. I think that what matters is where we’re at the majority of the time. Most of my decisions are healthy for my family and the environment, but we all have our vices. We all have things that matter to us and it’s different from person to person. You may find some of the things that I do appalling and I may not agree with all of your choices either, but the important thing is that we all make the decisions that are best for ourselves, our circumstances, and our families.

What’s your dirty little secret? Do you do anything that entirely conflicts with your parenting philosophies and ideals? Do you ever feel like you can’t let others know some of the things you do for fear of not fitting into the perfect “natural parent” mold?

Today’s guest post is from Tophat at the bee in your bonnet. Heather is one of the few bloggers I’ve had the pleasure to meet in person and she’s just lovely. Sadly, she moved shortly after we met to a place much warmer and nicer. I’ve loved reading her blog since Peanut was very young and I continue to enjoy it today. We plan on doing elimination communication with Twig and Heather has done it with both of her children. So here we go!

Elimination Communication. Big, glamorous words for “catching infant poop outside of a diaper.”

There are lots of places for information about elimination communication such as Diaper Free Baby. And while I was working on this post, Boba published, “41 reasons to go diaper free with elimination communication, no potty training required.” You can hold a baby over a sink, over a toilet, over a prefold, over a bowl, or get a cheap Ikea potty. Or use the bushes outside. That works, too. Sometimes babies potty learn early. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they go on a potty strike for an undisclosed amount of time. And sometimes things come up and EC is just another thing on your mind and you need to give yourself a break. All of those are ok.

And now that list probably overwhelmed some of you. Taking a baby potty? Extra work. And on one level, you’re right. But what I tell most people new to EC is this:

You’re a parent, so you know that feeling you get when it’s been a while since your baby has pooped and she’s making that face and you know it’s going to happen and it’s going to be an exploding mess? It doesn’t have to be an exploding mess! Follow that feeling, take the baby to the potty, and save that diaper. And if you were wrong, then you were wrong. And if you were right, booya!

That’s all you have to do. You don’t have to do anything more than that. Just follow your instincts. Sharpen those “something’s up” vibes. Even practicing 20 minutes a day of naked butt time will increase your sensitivity to your child’s cues. Set a timer and do no more. If you can. Because it’s hard to ignore the signals once you learn them. Plus, it’s fun!

Which leads me to my favorite part of EC: the booyas.  If it’s not being fun, then don’t do it. ECed or diapered, by the age of 16, most kids are out of diapers and it won’t matter. Have fun!

Heather with her daughter on the potty at around 6-7 months.

TopHat blogs at the bee in your bonnet about breastfeeding, birth, parenting, and whatever else is on her mind. She is an avid knitter and lives in the Bay Area where the weather is always balmy, though sometimes foggy.