Reviews From The Baby Birthing Mama |

Thirsties Duo Diaper Review and Giveaway!

I was so excited to be able to review something from Thirsties! I was lucky enough to received a Thirsties Duo Diaper, which I must say I love using on my daughter. I had heard so many great things about them from so many of the cloth diapering mama’s that I know, I just needed [...]

Tips for Saving money with a family vacation

As a young family, you can imagine that we enjoy not being home. In the next year we have at least two vacations that we would like to take. Both vacations are to bigger resorts or themed hotels. Both vacations would end up costing a lot if it weren’t for a few simple things that [...]

The Little Things That Count

It always shocks me that the smallest things may make someones day or even week. There are a couple of things that we enjoy doing that can help other out. One of the things on the top of my to do list is donating the MOUND of clothing we have that our children can no [...]

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A Blogtastic ExtravaganzaExtra Early Entries

Filed under Blog Events by Allie on January 15, 2011 at 10:51 am {no comments}

This year some fabulous woman that I know have put together a wonderful blog event! As noted by my header it is called “A Blogtastic Extravaganza”!!!! I am proud to announce that I will be taking part in this awesome event. It starts on the 18th and you will have until the 22nd to enter.

In the next two days I will have four spotlight posts going up. At the bottom of each spotlight post you will get a change to enter before the event! All entries completed before the event *ARE NOT* mandatory but if you want them to count you MUST be a GFC Follower. Do them if you would like more chances to win!

Introducing My sponsors-

Go Green Diapers are a wonderful company. It is a Mama owned company who makes Affordable Low priced Pocket diapers.

Eco Sprout Detergent was started by a WAHD(Work At Home Dad) who wanted not only a Cloth Diaper detergent but wanted something that would work for the whole family! They are a small family run company with attention to quality. They hand mix each batch of detergent!

Stones of Healing is a run by a mama named Cara. She loves all the things she makes. She creates a wide variety of Jewelry. She also has nursing necklaces a well as teething ring necklaces!

And Last but not Least is A Beautiful Canvas Painting from MeAsAMommy.com! She does a wonderful job!! This is one she did of my sister and niece!

So *Early Extra Entry* time. Again these ARE NOT mandatory just if you want another chance to win!

3 Entries- Grab the button and put on your blog
1 Entry Each- Go to each store and tell me something you would love~For me as a mommy follow her via GFC

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AppleCheeks & Twig Studio WINNERS!

Filed under Reviews & Giveaways by Allie on January 9, 2011 at 9:40 pm {no comments}

I am so sorry its taken this long to get it posted!

The winner of the Twig Studios Ornament giveaway is Christa, She said-

The winner of the $25 AppleCheeks Gift Certificate is Chany! She Said-

More Followers Monday

Filed under Misc. by Allie on January 3, 2011 at 8:23 am {one comment}

Hi there! Im Allie. Leave a comment and introduce yourself! I won’t bite promise. =D

What is your least favorite thing about the Holidays?

Eco Sprout Cloth Detergent Review

Filed under Reviews by Allie on December 30, 2010 at 9:59 am {no comments}

I am always weary of trying out new detergents on my babies. We have very sensitive skin in our family so it makes it difficult to gauge what will work. Generally I do scent free, especially if I am going to be using it for my son who has eczema. I was lucky enough to be sent two different scented samples of the Eco Sprout detergent!

This is our new favorite detergent for our diapers. We have always had smell issues. Emmie especially has really smelly pee. It also makes life a little more difficult having to go to the laundry mat or hand wash to do our diaper loads. It seemed like I would have to wash our diapers at least twice to get all the smells out of them and even then sometimes that wasn’t enough. With this detergent it is completely different! It is all we will be buying for our cloth diapers from now on. We have tried countless others and nothing does it like this stuff does.

The smells are wonderful. Even Landon, who said ” let me ‘mell it”, said it smelled good. You can’t get more honest than a toddler! I have washed with 3 of the scents so far and each time my diapers smell so good afterward. My favorite so far is the Warm Vanilla Sugar. Two tablespoon gets the diapers so clean and fresh feeling. Emmie hasn’t had any incident with it being on her skin. She also reddens easily but Eco Sprout had been amazing! Eco Sprout has 5 great scents plus a fragrance free detergent for kids who are even more sensitive than mine! The scents consist of Fresh Linen, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Lavender Chamomile, Sandalwood Vanilla, In the Buff(unscented) and their seasonal scent -Cinnamon Sticks.

This detergent is great also for the price. While we have to wash diapers every other day we won’t need to break the bank with buying detergent! It only cost $13.98 for a 48/96 load bag and only $7.98 for a 24/48 load bag. Also when it arrives, the detergent is in a plastic bag but it comes with a nice canvas bag which varies with the size of detergent you get! The Eco Spout family is so nice and very pleasant to work with! They are also fast with shipping too! I reordered more on the 27th and it was here the next day.(The company and I are in the same state so that’s why.) They are a marvelous company. If you are looking for a detergent that is green and diaper safe this is it. It makes the diapers clean with the hint a of a wonderful smell! Not only can you contact them through their website but you can also talk to them over on facebook!

Our First Christmas Ornament- A Review

Filed under Reviews by Allie on December 22, 2010 at 11:50 pm {no comments}

This year is our first Christmas in our own apartment. Yes, that is correct, we lived with someone for the first two years as a family. I wanted something perfect to commemorate FINALLY being on our own. Etsy of course had my back once again!(Can I just say I LOVE ETSY!!) I started poking around the Ornaments/Decoration section and found the most perfect First Christmas ornament ever!!

I only had one request for the ornament, that was to just add a 2010 on the back! I plan on keeping this forever so being able to get it dated made it just right for us! Its great that she is able to add little personal touches like the year or even a name! Heather, the owner of Heathers Paper Crafts, did amazing on it and got it out right away. I was impressed with how fast I received it! It is a really solid wooden ornament. Its nice because I have a tendency to drop EVERYTHING but if I drop this it won’t break on me! I love that it came with the beautiful ribbon shown in the picture and a thin ribbon for hanging. No ugly green wires for this beautiful decoration! Also her prices rock! Emmie loved looking at it and touching too!

Heather makes many different ornaments. From Mommy to be and Baby’s Name to personalized monogrammed ones! And they are all so freaking cute! But Heather doesn’t only make ornaments, she also make cute little tile coasters and die cuts! I wish I had thought to buy some of the holiday gift tag die cuts because boy would they have come in handy! Heather is super sweet and fast to reply! The only suggestion I can make is to put it far enough back on the tree ranch so it doesn’t fall on baby/toddler head. You should defiantly check out her Etsy shop and buy a special ornament for the kiddie in your life!

AppleCheeks Review & Gift Card Giveaway

Filed under Reviews & Giveaways by Allie on December 20, 2010 at 12:24 pm {467 comments}

I first heard about AppleCheeks from Emily over at Baby Dickey. I loved the way they looked! These diapers are seriously cute. I was recently given the opportunity to review two AppleCheeks diapers for my kiddos! Ilana, Co-founder of AppleCheeks, was nice enough to send me a diaper for each kid and also side extenders for Em’s because she is such a big girl.

The Color-
This is one of my favorite things about the diapers. Not only are they super cute but the colors just pop out at you! I received a Mrs. Robinson and Raspberry Sorbet. Mrs.Robinson is such a pretty blue and reminds me of a sapphire which happens to be one of my favorite colors. Raspberry Sorbet is a magenta pink but has something to it. They also have other great colors like Cherry Tomato, St. Lucia and Lemon Zest. These are just a few that I fore see myself buying! The names are unique and the colors are fabulous!

Inserts and Fabric-
I have a lot f sensory issues. For the longest time I couldn’t let me kids were fleece because the feel grossed me out. The fleece on this diaper is easy for me to touch without getting grossed out. The inside is so soft and cuddly feeling. Something I really enjoy putting on my kids skin. The inserts for these diaper are so lovely. The feel so fluffy WITHOUT making the diaper HUGE. When I first felt them before I had washed them, I thought to myself, I doubt this will hold my massive pee pants for long but boy was I wrong! The diaper felt nice and pretty much dry right after the wash! The insert need to be washed 3 times in hot water and dried on hot in the dry before they will reach FULL absorbency, but even after one wash they did wonderful!

Dual Diaper & Fit-
This is really two different diapers in one. It can be used as a pocket diaper or like a prefold/cover combo. I personally love pockets so its how I use them. The only down side to this is you will need more diapers, especially when you have a newborn. As pockets these bad boys are so easy to stuff. The mouth of the pocket is super wide and its convenient because you don’t need to unstuff before washing, as the washing machine will do it for you. As I said above Emmie is a big girl. (28 pounds and 30 1/2 inches big) The size twos fit perfectly. We have had a lot of issues with finding a diaper that works for her and my son because he is small and she is the opposite. AppleCheeks are great though! They fit chub butt well and they seem comfortable for her. Also AppleCheeks, in recent months, came out with Flushable Diaper Liner. I still stuff like a pocket and lay one of the liners in the diaper. Also if baby only pees on it, just rinse and hang dry. (No money wasted!) It makes poop so much easier to deal with since my kids have stickies, and it’s hard to get it all off before washing. I think these liners are a MUST. (Well for my household anyway!)

Overall-
I am in LOVE with these diapers. They rock. They can easily fit my fatty 28 lber and my taller skinny 26lber! I also love that I can choose to do cover/prefold style or pockets! The pocket opening is nice and big, which is great for the off chance that my fiance may stuff diapers. They even get Landon’s approval. When asked if he liked his Diaper he promptly said “yes”. When asked if they were bad he said “NO”! (I only asked to make sure he wasn’t just saying yes to everything!) I will most defiantly be buying more AppleCheeks. Actually I already did!

A $25 Gift Certificate to the AppleCheek online store!

This MUST be completed before ANY other entry will count!
Follow this Blog on GFC and tell me what you would buy from AppleCheeks online store!

All of the below equal one entry unless otherwise stated. One entry = One Comment
-”Like” AppleCheeks on Facebook
-”Like” Reviews From The Baby Birthing Mama on Facebook
-Follow @AppleCheeksDipe on Twitter
-Follow @Bbybirthingmama on Twitter and tweet the following(*Can be done 4x a day w/ hour between each!*)
-”Enter to #win a $25 Gift Card to @AppleCheeksDipe online store at @bbybirthingmama #clothdiapers #giveaway http://tinyurl.com/2eqth3x”
-Subscribe to the AppleCheeks on their blog via GFC (This can be found near the top on the left sidebar.)
-Subscribe to this blog via Email-MUST CONFIRM EMAIL (Click the orange star in the “Follow me box”)
-Grab my button for this blog and leave a URL where I can find it{two entries}
-Grab my button for my other blog and leave a URL where I can find it{two entries}
-Follow my other blog via GFC
-”Like” my other blog on facebook
-Blog about this giveaway and leave a URL{three entries}
-Enter my other giveaway here. (*Ends 12/22*)

*This Giveaway will end 01/03/11 @11:59pm EST! I received two AppleCheek Diaper envelopes, Two Bamboo inserts, two boosters and a 100 count of flushable liners for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and completely honest. *

10 Tips For An Ultimate Holiday Season

Filed under Twitter Moms by Allie on December 17, 2010 at 11:32 am {one comment}

10-Scouting Toys
Every year I make sure to not only keep count of what my kids seem to like, but I also look at trusted toy sites! I really like the Ultimate Toy Line that Hasbro has. Unfortunately this year our kiddies aren’t big enough for these toys. If they were older though some of these toys would surely be on our gift list!

9-Making a List
Make your list soon! Its so much easier once that is done. I usually make this list right before thanksgiving and during. I am able to ask the kids in the family what they want, so when I go shopping I can simply add them to the list as well!

8-Budget
STICK TO IT! For our first two years as a couple my fiance and I tried to figure out how to afford extra things we saw later. It didn’t fare well to say the least. This year we have kept to our budget and it feels great. We can’t get them everything they love but that’s okay because it isn’t only about presents!

7-Start Early
I go out on Black Friday. While not everyone loves this option, I sure do. I have a lot of fun with the crazy of it. Also I get such great deals most of the time that it is hard to beat. This year I got 120 dollars worth of clothing for the kids for only half that. How can you beat that. It was especially nice since I was able to then budget more money towards toys.

6-Christmas Cards
This was our first year with Christmas Cards but I must say it is a tradition we will keep up. I loved them and they will be such a cute keeps sake for the kids when they get old. Also it will be fun to see our family grow over the years.

5-Early Wrapping
I always want to put this off to the last second but it is such a bad idea. It’s so much easier if you wrap as you go so you don’t have so much extra to do on the 24th. In our house that’s family night and we are exhausted by the time we get home!

4-Christmas Cookies
Mmmmm. I love love love Christmas cookies. They are so good. This year my mother- in-law and I baked together. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed eating the end results!

3-Decorating
I love setting up our tree, our lights and adding ornaments! Its one of my favorite things of the seasons. I enjoy having the kids help us put the ornaments up(usually all in one spot on the tree) and Landon enjoys helping my plug the lights in!

2-Christmas Movies
Christmas movies are the greatest! Its so cute that Landon is getting older and understanding Rudolph and Santa. He loves them and it really is fun to see his face light up when we turn them one!

1-Family Time
Of course this is number one. I love that I am able to have a special day with my fiance and kids. It brings memories of opening presents and having a great breakfast with my family! I can’t wait for Christmas morning as this year will be the first that Landon gets “Santa”. Its a great day to just be able relax, enjoy and be thankful for all the wonderful things we have!

**I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Hasbro Ultimate Gifts blogging sweepstakes, making me eligible to get a $50 Gift card to use at www.HasbroToyShop.com! For more information on how you can participate, click here.**

In The New Year

Filed under Twitter Moms by Allie on December 16, 2010 at 3:39 pm {no comments}

Every year during “New Year Resolution” time I make so many plans for things I want to accomplish. It’s a pit all really, trying to do so much, because I always end up not being able to follow through with something that I want to get done. This year I plan on not making that mistake. I have two things I want to get started with and I will be sticking to those two things only. This year my focus will be weight loss and schooling!

I always say that one of my goals is to losing weight. I do fine for the first two or three months and then I just forget the drive I had in January. This year though, I don’t want to forget. I need to be healthy for my kiddos and for myself. I want to be able to run and play with them without getting totally winded. This year I will stick to a strict diet as of January 1st and I will go walking for an hour a day four times a week. I would love to do more if I can manage it with schooling but that will have to wait until I am able to start that.

In the end of May, I will be starting on my prerequisites to start nursing school. At first it will be just one class but I hope to have them all finished by May of 2012! I have gone from doula to midwifery to nursing. Although one day I want to become a Midwife still, for now I am going to focus on getting my nursing degree for something to fall back on. I have always loved the medical field, so it really is as close to perfect as I will be able to get right this second. The schooling will take about three years but I am excited to be able to start in the upcoming year.

Every year I have so many goals for myself that I just can’t get it all done. This next year I will be sticking to weight loss and school. I aim to get good grades and try to keep a 3.5gpa. I also plain to lose this weight and keep it off. My kids deserve a healthy mommy and I deserve it to. I can’t wait for January first to come around to be able to get started on my plans for the new year!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Twig Studio Ornament Review and Giveaway

Filed under Reviews & Giveaways by Allie on December 14, 2010 at 11:16 am {56 comments}

This being out first Christmas, saying we have no decorations for the season is dead on! When I started thinking about ornaments, the first place I went was Etsy. I mean Etsy pretty much always has anything anyone could want. Anyway when I started looking around I soon found Twig Studio. I am a lover of trees and nature, so naturally when I saw her ornaments I had to have a look.

They were so beautiful in pictures. Really they looked amazing. Of course I messaged the owner, Karen, right away. We talked and and she was so quick with shipping. When I got it I was so excited. The box was nicely wrapped in brown paper. And it was stuffed so well that barring someone squashing the box, I don think it could have gotten broken.

When I opened it I was stunned. This ornament is even prettier in person. Another bonus was all the little gift tags I got. If I wanted to give it as a gift I had a multitude of gift tags to choose from, which all featured a reprinting of a painting Karen made. The glittery red/pink paint stands out so much. It sparkles against the light of our tree, which makes it look that much more brillant. The best ornament that we have! The only think I would suggest is be careful. I am a constant butter fingers and this Ornament it glass. I did drop it on our carpet and was lucky it didn’t break but it isn’t something I would test! Although I originally wanted this ornament for Christmas, I will probably display it on a wall in my apartment all year round. Also it will be perfect for valentines day decorations!

Karen is one talented lady. Not only does she paint these cute ornaments, she also makes acrylic nature paintings that are amazing and reasonable priced. She features a few different items in her shop such as these painted wine glasses and stationary. She is also a musician and has a very peaceful CD, which my children adored, that is available for purchase on Amazon and Itunes! She is defiantly busy and is generous enough to be giving away one of her CD’s on her music facebook page this month. The link is below in the extra entries if you want to check it out!

Karen has offered One Lucky reader the chance to win an awesome Heart Shaped Cheer Ornament of their own!

*These two things = 1 comment and MUST be done before any other will count!*
Follow me on GFC and Heart Twig Studios on Etsy.

*All extra entries = one comment unless otherwise stated*
-”Like” Twig Studios on Facebook
-”Like” Reviews From The Baby Birthing Mama on Facebook
-”Like” Music By Karen Altman on Facebook
-”Like” The Baby Birthing Mama on Facebook
-Go to the Twig Studio Blog and Leave a RELEVANT Comment
-Follow @twigstudio on twitter
-Follow @bbybirthingmama on twitter and tweet *can be done 3x a day, hour between each tweet*
“#Win Heart Shaped Ornament from @twigstudio on @bbybirthingmama Review blog #giveaway #Christmas #Ornament http://bit.ly/ecKQOd “
-Grab “Reviews From The Baby Birthing Mama” Button(2 entries, must leave link)
-Grab “The Baby Birthing Mama” Button(2 entries, must leave link)
-Follow this blog w/ networked blogs (in the follow me section)
-Follow my other blog w/GFC(in the follow me section)
-Follow my other blog w/ networked blogs(in the follow me section)

**Ends 12/22 11:59 EST. This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents if you’re international you will receive a $15 credit instead of the ornament! I was given the above ornament for my review. Even so, this review was 100% my own and honest!**

Hannah and The Talking Tree By Elke Weiss

Filed under Reviews by Allie on December 5, 2010 at 3:04 pm {8 comments}

We are avid readers in this house. My kids love books of all sorts just as long as you’re reading to them and it probably needs pictures to! But most days my children will sit quietly for ten to twenty minutes just looking at the books we own.

When I opened this book, I thought it looked so cute. The different size fonts in the book and the illustrations made it. Seriously I would print and from some of the illustrations in this book because I like them so much. This cute book is about a little girl with large ears. All the other kids whisper mean things about her so she goes for a walk and meets a tree. The tree is the last one left because all those around him were cut down. Hannah befriends the tree and gets others to see that they shouldn’t cut him down. They plant more tree and then the original tree gets more tree friends at the end.

The book would be great for for any kid. If you have a self conscious child this book is great for providing that they are unique and there is nothing wrong with that. Hannah is brave. She gets her peers to listen to her for the sake of her friend. This book is also wonderful for the fact that it teaches kids to love nature and help it! The recommended age is 3 to 7 but my two year old son loves this book. He has me read it over and over again any time I take it out. The Colors are fantastic and the concept is simple and sweet. This is defiantly a book for all parents to read to their kids.

You can buy this book here or on Amazon! Also Hannah has a Website called Hannah’s Adventures. Also Hannah was two coloring books and another book coming soon. Be on the look out!