July 16, 2014

Jack's Corner!


You guys,

I am so excited. I am opening a dayhome/child care center!

With Carter going back to school in September (Criminal Justice - Policing), I need to find some income. My options? Go back to work in my field (Medical Transcription), making more money, but spending money on putting Jack in daycare (and being miserable!! I need to be with my baby!), or work from home, making less money, but keeping Jack with me! So a dayhome it is!

I can't wait to get started.

About me? I am the oldest of 5 kids, the youngest is 8 years younger than me so I spent a lot of time helping out with him (and the other boys) while I was growing up. I baby sat for other families from the time I was probably 12, including a family that had two boys with special needs. I was also a nanny for a year after high school. I now have a 16 month old who is seriously my pride and joy. He challenges me every day (and has since he was born!), but watching him learn and grow is so rewarding! That is why I chose a dayhome.

I know how much I love my child, and how difficult it would be for me to leave him day after day so I could go to work (heck, it's difficult for me to leave him for a couple of hours!!). I would need someone I trusted, who I believed could care for my child as well as I could without taking over the role of mother. If it was me looking for childcare, I would want someone with children. Someone who knows the ups and downs of child rearing, of being a mother, of its joys and challenges. Someone who you can see genuinely cares for her own child, as well as the ones in her care everyday.

That is what I want to bring to these young lives. I want to be a leader and friend, gentle but strong.

I just finished my CPR level C and First Aid certification, so you can be sure your children are in capable hands!

I am going to be "open" from 7 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, with the exception of stat holidays or the Monday following a stat holiday on the weekend.

I will be accepting full time (over 25 hours a week or 100 hours a month), part time (under 25 hours a week or 100 hours a month), after school care, and drop in.

Full time: $450/month, $500/month for newborns-1 year old (contract required)
Part time: $250/month, $300/month for newborns-1 year old (contract required)
Drop in/after school care: $7/hour, $10/hour for newborns-1 year old

I will be providing two snacks (morning and afternoon), and lunch.

Parents are required to provide diapers, wipes, an extra outfit, outdoor clothes, sunscreen, bug spray, a bottle or sippy cup, comforts such as a blanket or pacifier, baby food, and formula. I will not allow toys or books from home.

I am not licensed, going through an agency, or offering subsidy. I will provide a receipt for tax purposes at the end of the calendar year.

I am so looking forward to meeting and caring for your precious kids!! Please don't hesitate to message me on Facebook, or text or call me (403-360-7294) if you are interested or have any questions! :)

July 8, 2014

Cloth Diaper Reviews! *updated December 21/14*

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own.



WAHM - Basically I have no idea where or who made these diapers. They are both pockets with snaps, which basically means they're as good as whatever inserts I use. 11 pts

Bamboo Baby - This is an AIO (all-in-one) diaper, with a bamboo interior, and snaps. It is a great diaper, very absorbent for my heavy wetter. My only complaint is that the bamboo does get very rough when it line dries. 12 pts

AMP - This pocket diaper is starting to delaminate, so we've only used it once or twice. I found it fit similar to Applecheeks, but smaller. 12 pts

BumGenius - I believe these pocket diapers are Freetimes, which we're not huge fans of since Jack figured out how to undo velcro. The Canada diaper, I actually cut the pocket out and sewed the patch on to make it a festive diaper for July 1 (since I'm still waiting for my EBB CMG [definition below]). Again, how much I like BumGenius depends on the insert used. 7 pts

Imagine - These diapers are called fitteds. They are super absorbent, almost made out of a terry cloth material, but HAVE to be used with a cover or they leak like mad. They work awesome for naps! 13 pts

Imagine AIO - This diaper was provided to me by Snappy Nappies. It's similar to the Imagine fitteds, but has a "built-in" over, which gets an A+ for me!! 15 pts

Kawaii - "Meh" is my best term for these. I find they fit fairly loose, and they're super wide and bulky. 11 pts

Snappy Nappies - These are great cheap pocket diapers. I love that I can buy them locally. The 3 beside the Kawaiis are charcoal bamboo diapers with a double gusset, and when I use the charcoal insert with Snappy Nappies' "heavy wetter" insert (which is bamboo and Zorb) he can have a huge long nap! I ordered bamboo booster inserts from Alva as well, and they are AWESOME. I use them in all of our diapers for extra absorbency. 14 pts

Max and Meena (Mighty Nites) - Another Canadian WAHM, This is our newest diaper, and probably my favourite for night times. It's really trim, especially for how bulky it feels. This is a fitted hybrid, which is basically made for heavy wetters at night. Plus, this diaper fits really large around the waist, so it'll fit him forever! He wore it for 14 hours with no leaking at all. 13 pts

Kabumkiss - These are our other fitted hybrids that we use for night. They do absorb a ton, which (downfall) causes a really strong ammonia smell. These ones do have some leaking issues if he wears pants or if his shirt touches the inside of the diaper, so we just try hard to make sure that doesn't happen! 11 pts

Lil Bit Everything - This is a WAHM based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her diapers have great fit, Zorb inserts, and - best of all - totally custom! All 3 of these diapers, I emailed her the picture of what I wanted (or, in the case of the birth announcement diaper, what I wanted it to say and a sample of one that I liked), requested the colors of fabric, thread, and snaps, and received them less than a week later! She has great customer service. In fact, I have one more coming from her shortly! 14 pts

Maplebeans - This is a gorgeous Canadian WAHM fitted diaper that I refuse to put a cover on, obviously ;) The fit is awesome! 14 pts.

Ella Bella Bum - These are my all time favourite. They are SO trim, they fit under any pants. Plus, she's also Canadian! And you can order custom diapers (although they do run a lot pricier than I really like), which are called Custom Mini Groups. I have 3 coming soon! 13 pts

Poppyfields - Another Canadian fitted diaper that is so freaking cute!! Again, super absorbent. 13 pts

Applecheeks - Right up there with EBBs, I love the elastic fronts and backs, and the bamboo inserts are great. It's also a trim diaper. I need more ACs!! 13 pts

Best Bottoms - Snappy Nappies provided me with a Best Bottoms overnight system. It's a cover with microfiber inserts (which usually don't work for Jack at all), so I was pretty hesitant. But to my pleasant surprise, the MF inserts are great for playing around! And I used the overnight system (an extra overnight insert with the regular) for a nap and some play time after, and it worked for about 5 hours! Not quite a night time diaper for my little fire hoser, but great for a nap! 14 pts Update: I used the overnight system last night, and it worked! It's a Christmas miracle! Woo hoo! 

Inserts - For the most part, I use 2+2 inserts with a bamboo booster by Alva, or prefolds with a bamboo booster. Basically we've use every insert suggested, and only ever hated microfibers. Jack pees too fast, and microfiber didn't have time to absorb so he would leak.

CD-Safe Bum Cream - Snappy Nappies gave me a sample of Yum Bum Butter by Delish Naturals and we love it! It smells so good, and is good for more than just bum rash! Jack got a heat rash on his belly, so I put some Yum Bum Butter on and it cleared right up! It's all natural and doesn't cause build up on the diapers. Yay!

Criteria for "point" system is located here!


Mom Fails Confessions #2


From Facebook
Kyra confessed:  Sometimes when milo wakes up before his deemed "wake up time" I turn off the baby monitor and keep sleeping. I will never know how long he sits and talks/cries until he goes back sleep. Milo also lives off of cheese and fruit. He refuses to eat veggies or meat. He also loves ice coffee...

Rebecca said: I put Ian in his crib screaming because I can't handle it sometimes him being so grumpy. On the drive home from Raymond I gave him a little bit of tylenol because he was so upset crying from Raymond to Calgary almost non stop couldn't take it anymore.


From Babycenter.com March 2013
"I forgot a diaper after being at the waterpark.. So he went home in an extra swim diaper. And peed - everywhere!"

"When my son was a newborn and I was super sleep deprived I accidentally left the faucet in the bathroom sink on.. and it stopped draining. When I finally noticed the bathroom was flooded, every drawer in the vanity was full, and the basement was raining. My husband still hasn't let me live it down."

Dad fail! "I couldn't figure out why my kid was having such a hard time standing up! Finally I went to change his diaper, and both legs were through the same hole!"

"When little one was about four months my husband and I were leaving my parents house late at night to go home. We had just used the last diaper at their house but figured it didn't matter because we were going home anyways. We get into the car and realize it has no gas. We proceed to break down a couple blocks from my parents house. We get out our cell phones to call my parents to come pick the three of us up only to realize that both our phones are dead. So we get out of the car, put the baby in the stroller, and walk back to my parents house. When we get there we realize lo has decided it would be great time to explode her diaper. However, there were no more diapers to change her into at my parent's house. My dad luckily had a gas can and gave us gas to get us home. Lo had to wear a towel wrapped around her for the ride home. Talk about unprepared. I do, however, now always make sure there are enough diapers, gas in the car, and that my phone is charged before I go anywhere." *Duly noted*

"When mine was a newborn, I hadn't gotten the whole 'prepared diaper bag' thing down yet. So when she pooped at the docs office (I think her 1 month check up) I didn't have a spare.
When I took her with to my 6 week pp checkup, I was all prepared w extra diapers! Except during that visit, she peed THROUGH her sleeper. I had no spare clothes. Ugh.
Lessons learned!"

I certainly can attest to lessons learned. *sigh*. We don't go ANYWHERE without extra clothes, extra diapers (cloth and I leave disposables in the car, just in case), food (because a hungry baby is a miserable baby), and a sippy cup (because, believe me, there is nothing worse (or wetter) than being at the zoo in the 25C weather and realizing your left baby's cup in the car.