unpaper towels

Goodbye expensive paper towels! You have been replaced by, er, UNpaper towels. (Also known as towels). I got these on Etsy from LittleWondersDesign and can't wait for the first mess so I can use them!

A few weeks I had paper towels on my shopping list, but was disgusted at how expensive they were (and always are) at the store. Here is an earth and wallet friendly alternative. They are thin, sturdy, and absorbent. I happen to think they are quite lovely to look at too :)

I folded them in half, with half of the next towel tucked under half of the one before so the folds alternate which side they are on and when you pull out one unpaper towel, another perks up for future grabbing. We had an extra canister not occupied by a baking ingredient, so it became my unpaper towels' unpaper home. Yay!

P.S. Before you ask: YES I am still using disposable toilet paper and plan to continue indefinitely.

7 months

Palmer is now seven months old! To commemorate the occasion, he decided to begin sitting up on his own. I still make sure to put the Boppy behind him or be sitting nearby so he doesn't bonk his head on the hard floor or coffee table, but he's doing a great job! My parents came over for dinner last night and afterwards we did a little photo shoot out in the front yard. He humored us by sitting on a quilt in the grass for a LONG time while we got a ton of good pictures! I'll be sure and post some of those soon. Here he is playing with his stacking rings- classic toys are the best!


skeptical of the TV. . .

Happy on the changing table, chewing the tag on his Easter bunny. Tags are the best part of plush toys- didn't you know that?

Palmer is gobbling up his "solid" foods twice a day and I think we'll up the frequency to thrice pretty soon. He has eaten carrots, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chicken with veggies, bananas, oatmeal, rice, corn, pears, apples, and broccoli so far. Pears and carrots are his favorites (since they're so sweet I think!) and he doesn't really like the texture of the chicken. All of his food has been homemade so far except two Gerber meals he's had while out and about. I think we'll stick with homemade from the freezer at home, but Gerber food is so easy to toss in the diaper bag since it will keep at room temp til it's opened.

Empty water bottles are the toy of the moment. They make a great crackly noise and can be crushed to fit in one's mouth for gumming. Who wouldn't love that? One of Palmer's favorite activities of the day is sitting in his Bumbo on the floor in the kitchen to oversee the morning feeding of the cats. He loves looking at kitties- and at feeding time all five are in one place! This = heaven. Here he is this morning. . .

the kittens eating. . .

He also likes to bend down and scratch on the rug. . .

This age is so much fun! I wish the weather would cool off so we could spend more time outside during the day. It would be great to plop him down on a quilt and get some fresh air! Hopefully the heat will let up sometime before I have a crawler on my hands.

celery sticks

We have found a great new solution to teething pain! Palmer loves gnawing on a cold celery stick. It's perfect since it has a little give to it, but since he has no teeth he can't get any pieces off.



(I guess the radio was on. . . haha)

sweet sleep & swimming

For the past two nights, (or maybe three, but I don't think so), Palmer has slept until 5:30am or later! The latest being 6:00am. . . when did that become late? :) This is HEAVENLY since for several weeks there he was waking up at 11, 1, 2:30, 4, 4:30 or some other similar smorgasbord of times. Perhaps we are now in a new glorious phase of snuggly, restful, wonderful, sleepy sleepy sleep. I just knocked on wood. What's even better is that after he nurses at 6 and slips into a paralyzing milk coma- HE GOES BACK TO SLEEP! I kid you not. That means I go back to sleep for a little bit too, usually, until the cats get too noisy trying to beat down the bedroom door. I guess they want breakfast or something- so needy ;)

We have been to swim lessons at an outdoor pool in McKinney these past two days and that has been wearing him out, so one of his naps has been nice and long too. This has, unfortunately, stunted the next nap to a nearly non-existent nub, but what can ya do? The water is surprisingly refreshing and cool at lessons and Palmer is enjoying himself. He especially likes singing "Wheels on the Bus" and "swimming" on his tummy to get a ducky or some other chewable rubbery toy provided by the lifeguards. It is quite a production to get him all dressed in a swim diaper, swimsuit, t-shirt, hat, and sunscreen for a half hour in the water, but it's fun to have something to do outside of the house!

lean and mean

Palmer had his 6 month appointment on Monday and we were surprised to find out he's now in the 25th percentile of weight! 15 pounds 13 ounces & 26.8 inches. He's still in the 75th percentile for height though (not surprised on this one seeing how his clothes fit!). Since his weight gain has slowed down a lot, the doctor seemed a little concerned that he's not getting enough to eat, but I think he's just leveling out. I mean, he nurses every 2 1/2 or 3 hours and stops when he's had enough- certainly if he was still hungry he'd keep nursing!

Palmer's definitely getting more active, thrashing around excitedly in his exersaucer and standing with help whenever he can. Maybe this is why he's trimming down, even with adding solids to his diet! Carrots are still very yummy and I made a cooked apple puree a few days ago that he has enjoyed as well! I have been mixing some rice cereal and breast milk into the apple puree to mellow out the flavor a little bit since he made quite a funny face when I fed it to him plain. It's so easy to peel the fruits or veggies, chop, boil or steam, and blend. I think I'll keep it up and just buy baby food in a pinch if we need it. I, obviously, eat packaged foods, but I like knowing his food doesn't have preservatives, fillers, thickeners and those sorts of things.

In other developmental news, sitting up is hard for Palmer- especially since his legs kick out involuntarily every time he gets excited. This has the unfortunate side effect of throwing one backwards. He's enjoying playing with his Fisher Price stacking rings if you sit him on the floor in front of you for stability. Peekaboo in the mirror is lots of fun too! Well, it's carrot time, bath time, and nap time so off we go!

diaper chat

bumGenius 3.0

This is an older diaper from bumGenius that I got for under $10- woohoo! It was a favorite of many people in the online cloth diaper world, so I thought I would try it out even though it is a sized diaper. This means it comes in sm, med, lg, etc instead of being one-size (OS). Palmer is currently in a medium. Everything else I own is OS since that is more economical, but since this one is out of production I got it at a discount. Sized diapers are generally less bulky that OS's because they don't have the adjustable snap down rise (vertical snaps to change the height of the diaper on baby's tummy).

What's GREAT about the 3.0 is that it is a true all-in-one (AIO) since it already has a soaker sewn inside the pocket. You can just throw this diaper on in a hurry, no stuffing required! I have used it for daytime just like it is, but during naps or nighttime I have added one of my Hemp Babies diaper doublers for extra absorbency. It has a fleecy lining just like the 4.0 that feels dry next to Palmer's skin. Another way this one stands out from the rest of my "stash" (that's what you call it in cloth diaper world) is that it doesn't have snaps! I am testing the waters of aplix hook and loop closures (basically velcro).

The aplix is nice since you aren't limited to the increments that snaps dictate. There are laundry tabs to stick the velcro to while the diaper is open so it can get clean while not attaching itself to everything else in the load. Potential cons of aplix that I have heard (and motivated me to use snaps) are that they wear out, get fuzzy, pilly, curled on the edges, and overall less functional over time. We'll see!