giveaway! cloth diapering supplies for babymamas and mamas-to-be

Posted on 21. Jun, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

We have been doing cloth diapers with Alice Elfie from the beginning and we both love it. After using the occasional disposable diaper, Dave and I have been surprised by how easy the cloth ones are to use. I’m not an “earth mama,” but I feel really accomplished and proud when I think about how good cloth is for Alice’s sensitive little buns and that I’m not contributing to the gross piles of disposable plastic diapers in landfills that won’t break down for hundreds of years.

My friend Kelly Ward, owner of Baby Naturally, LLC is sponsoring a giveaway today of a FuzziBunz one-size diaper. Alice uses these–they can either work as a cover for a prefold diaper or as an all-in-one with a washable insert. At night, we use a prefold WITH the insert so she can stay drier and sleep a little longer.

I also love that Kelly’s company is owned by another working mom like me, and that her job fulfills her passion of creating a natural, organic environment for her son and other children. Kelly also believes in using handmade, repurposed items whenever available and she’s been a great supporter of my business!

If you don’t have a baby and aren’t planning for kids, I think it’d also be great to enter for someone you know, or just to have an awesome A+ gift on hand for baby shower season. Kelly’s shop has lots of other great gift ideas too, and tons of stuff I want for myself as a new mom.

To enter just leave a comment here, and I hope you check out Kelly’s website, Baby Naturally LLC. You can really see the love she put into her business on her website which I admire her so much for.

Winner drawn on Friday!

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link love, more thoughts about postpartum life, and a few pictures from this week

Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

A few websites and articles I’ve been reading/browsing/enjoying:

• Melissa of Melissa Jill Photography explains why she doesn’t offer discounts–a touchy and challenging subject for many self-employed people
• Tips from Ann Handley on how to get a speaking gig at conferences at events

(more…)

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what no one told me about postpartum life

Posted on 01. Jun, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I keep remarking to Dave that we spent so much time preparing for labor and birth, and I am embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me to educate myself about how life would be different–both practically and emotionally–in the weeks after Alice’s arrival. Everyone always says “your body will never be the same.” Or other parents would laugh knowingly when I said things like “I’m moving into a coworking space four weeks later” or “I’ll just bring her along to the photoshoot” or “I’ll just work while I’m nursing.”

What would have been more helpful is if people had given me specific examples of adjustments they made after giving birth. So knowing that, here are my observations for you as a new mom of three weeks. I can’t speak about cesarean recovery or anything other than my own experience, but here we go:

• Have a dedicated postpartum wardrobe. There are a few reasons for this–first, you will want to be able to move freely as you slump into every chair and couch in the house holding your infant, as well as be able to change quickly when your clothes get soiled. And when I say “soiled” I don’t just mean baby poop–I mean sweat (yours and baby’s), lochia, soapy water from baths, snot, tons and tons of milk (which doesn’t smell so great after a few hours), and any other body fluid you can imagine. I recommend getting lots of pairs of XXXXXL cotton underwear, solid colored yoga-type pants (you can wear them in public), solid-colored nursing tanks (I love the ones from Target), and knit cardigans and shawl-type sweaters. I also wear tons of maxi dresses (Forever 21 has them at good prices). Things that wash easily and can be mixed and matched. And I didn’t expect to be changing my shirt 3-4 times a day, so I also recommend buying more than you think you need.
• On that note, you don’t have to look bad and unkempt and frazzled and dirty all the time in public. I thought I would.

• Skip buying maxi pads and just get depends–especially for the first week after childbirth. The amount of discharge that I had was not like a “heavy period.” It was like a mass murder bloodbath. And the blood clots! It’s like, did I have another placenta in there?! I had no concept of postpartum bleeding and I wish I had known what to expect.
• The lack of sleep hasn’t been that hard to cope with. I think mothers must get some kind of new hormone that helps them feel better with less rest. I’ve been getting sleep in four-hour blocks (except on the weekends, when Dave lets me sleep in), but I don’t feel that my energy level is diminished. I don’t know if other mothers have similar experiences though.
• Moms don’t know better than dads. It’s important for dad to have ample alone time with the baby. I have loved watching Dave form his own rituals and routines with Alice, like singing when he changes her and playing different games with her in the tub than I do.
• I never really feel clean although I shower every day (a privilege, I know). Milk dries on my skin, I sweat a lot more than normal, and the changes in my hormones have changed the balance of oils on my skin, causing acne.

• Once again, I had no idea how much postpartum bleeding there would be.
• Four hours can go by in a moment when I’m trying to calm the baby or do “Alice chores.” In four hours, I can answer all my e-mail or make six headbands or 20 boutonnieres or a posie bouquet, and have time to meet a friend for lunch or a client for a meeting. Or in four hours, I can feed Alice and give her a bath. Or do a load of laundry and make myself a bowl of cereal. Maybe.
• Everyone will want to come visit.
• Nothing I bought has been more important than washcloths. Tons and tons of the plainest, most ordinary cheap white washcloths. They work as burp rags (we save our cloth diapers to actually use as diapers), to wipe off sweat and spit-up, and most importantly they soak up all the milk that leaks all over all day long. I was proud to buy several sets of handmade nursing pads from Etsy, but for me they work for about two minutes. Instead I put folded washcloths in my shirts and I go through about eight per day. I know there are bigger problems–I’m glad nursing is going well–but leaking is cold and wet and inconvenient.
• Poopy diapers aren’t that gross.
• People will judge you no matter what…someone will always think you’re the worst mom ever. I recommend not asking anyone for their opinion unless you really want to hear it.

• Although babies sleep 16-19 hours a day, I still don’t often find more than an hour or two to get anything done. I have mastered sewing while nursing, and being able to hold the baby in a wrap helps, but when baby naps there are so many other things to do–tidying the living room for the barrage of guests constantly arriving, keeping the dishes done so the baby can take baths in the sink at a moment’s notice, keeping breast pump/bottles washed immediately so they don’t get stinky, constantly running loads of laundry up and down the stairs and folding the laundry. Plus work.

Today has been a challenge–I have two side projects due to clients and I’ve been up for the last 7 hours with my wide-awake, alert genius baby. Now it’s almost 5pm and dad will be home, so hopefully I can take that time to tackle those work projects! What a lesson in prioritizing this has been. What do you do when you are working two dream jobs?

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Alice goes to CAMP

Posted on 27. May, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I met my friend Eric Downs of Downs Design and the landlord Bob Grinnell at CAMP today to check out the buildout progress and take some photos. My grandparents are in town and they came too with my mom.

Getting my key to the door!

A lot of people have been asking for more information about visiting CAMP this Summer, and I will let you all know when we launch our website. I don’t have answers to a lot of your questions yet! Right now we are focusing on finding furniture and fleshing out how everything is going to come together with our tenants and website. It’s such a fun process but so much work!

I have a five-year lease and I keep thinking about how Alice will be in KINDERGARTEN before the lease is up–that blows my mind! I think she will have fun growing up at mama’s office.

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“You have a lot of balls up in the air.”

Posted on 23. May, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

Two-week old baby (already!). Developing and promoting a line of party dresses. Fulfilling around 10 bridal orders every month. Stepping out a project and planning a photoshoot this week for an upcoming book. Managing the buildout of CAMP and looking for furniture (not to mention finding tenants!). Working with my friend Eric to make sure all of these projects have a website and awesome branding…

Yesterday, I spent most of the day with my mom and her parents who are here for the summer from Florida. They were excited to meet their great-granddaughter for the first time and came bearing sage advice and pink onesies. I love them so much and miss them during the year–summers are the best since they started coming up here.

My grandpa drove Alice and me home. I hadn’t talked alone with him in years and as I explained everything I have been doing, everything I have going on in my life, I realized how much I have grown in the last few years. Last time I really hung out with my grandpa I was a high school brat and all I wanted to do was text my boyfriend. What a difference in the things we have to talk about.

Welp.
We have billions of OLD peony bushes at this new house with the most colorful, fragrant blooms. I can’t wait to split some of the bushes up and plant more.
Dave’s parents are over here visiting, helping him build a square foot garden.
Today the plan is to go shopping to find something that FITS ME for this upcoming photoshoot.
And pick up several sets of vintage metal lockers for CAMP (thank you Craigslist!).

I’ve been kind of quiet on the blogging/social communicating front lately because all I really ever have to say is I’m working hard and OMG I LOVE THIS BABY.

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