DIY Baby Food

With an bountiful harvest from garden this fall after lots and lots of canning came the baby food makin!
Miss Gracelyn makes baby #4 for our family but can any of you relate with me when I say I feel like I'm a first time mom sometimes. On so many occasions I'm pulling out my journals from the previous kiddos.
Well here we are again...baby food.  Gracie's showing major interest in our food.
I mean she's doing ANYTHING possible to get whatever we are eating or drinking.
She's only 6 months old. WOAH. Time just needs to slow down. I just want to enjoy snuggling her and nursing her I'm not sure I'm ready to have 4 hungry kiddos sitting at the table and the mess from babies learning how to eat... yikes. Well I better get ready for it because the time is here.

Here I find myself in my kitchen. The spot the I spend most of my time (I'm working on getting my hubby to build me a peninsula so I will be 100% in love with the spot I spend so much time in, check back to see if we make progress on that!)

Baby wearin and baby food makin

Also, is it possible to spend time in your kitchen without the huge aftermath from a tornado that came through?
Sticky, slimy, water spilled, peelings everywhere but that smell of fresh cooked veggies it cannot be beat. And knowing exactly what is put into Gracie's mouth from her baby food is one of the best things I feel that I can give her. Also I really think this homemade baby food has to taste better to her since it's fresh and it's made from scratch from the earth from God. Oh and one more thing, the texture... I love being able to make the texture just right.
So the mess, the time, the process it's all 100% worth it to me to make homemade baby food (not to mention the savings from making my own baby food).
 NOTE: You don't need any fancy baby food makers to make your own baby food. I use my super awesome Oster Fusion Blender (thank so to Teah for the awesome gift!) You can also use a food processor and some food just a fork!

 DIY BABY FOOD... Trust me, you can do this!

Below is how I made Gracelyn's carrots.

Get this book! Link at the bottom!

#1. Wash & Peel

 

#2. Cook the carrots until soft 

 #3. Cut them up and put them in the blender, I poured a little of the water in with the carrots from the pot.

#4. Pour puree into ice cube trays

#5. Put ice cube trays into freezer (takes 15-20 min to firm)  

#6. Pop frozen food out of trays and put into freezer zip lock baggies.

(They slide right out)

 

 

There you go! You got this, and your baby will benefit from the freshness of homemade baby food!

Preparing meals yourself doesn't mean you have to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. You can set a few hours aside each week to make the supply that you would like.
 It also doesn't mean that you'll never reach for a jar of store bought baby food on days where you are super busy or in a pinch but making fresh baby food straight from your kitchen, nothing can be better! 

I really love this book --> The Baby & Toddler Cookbook it has over 90 recipes and it's loaded with nutritional information.

Baby soft from head to toe

Cloth Diaper. Changing pad made from auntie. Happy Girl

There isn't much better than the smell of a baby right after bath time. But to top that off, the smell of my sweet little hunny after I have used some Nessa's Naturals products on her from head to toe.

That smell. No other words to describe it than heavenly. You know what I'm talking about... if you don't let me explain. When you give your little sweet pea a bath right before bed time then you get them snuggled into their jammies, swaddle them up and get cozy in the rocking chair. You shut your eyes and thank Jesus for this precious miracle in your arms and then you smell that amazing aroma. Ahhhhhh. Just shut your eyes, can you picture what I'm talking about!

Oh and this bottle. PINK. Simple. Love it

 

We are on baby #4, I have tried lots and lots of different baby washes, moisturizer creams, diaper rash creams, lotions... ect.
I have seen rashes spread and get worse and used body washes that just plain smell nasty when I am drying off my baby.

After using the "Sweet Baby Oil" I have fallen in love. Gracie's skin is so soft and it smells wonderful! The scent comes naturally along with a mix of Lavender and Roman Chamomile Essential Oils. Are you ready to hear the best part. It is ALL NATURAL, ORGANIC and HOMEMADE. You just can't beat that. There are no preservatives going on to my sweet babies soft skin.

*To see the list of ingredients  that are in the products click here

 

Sweet Joy.  

Another reason I really love these products is they have many different uses:

SWEET BABY OIL

*Great moisturizer

* Helps with cradle cap

FROSTING CREAM

*preventative for diaper rash

*in place of lotion (no preservatives)

So there you have it folks, the next time you're in need of baby wash or lotion click here and buy yourself a bottle! You WON'T regret it!!

 

Bountiful Weekend

Today our family celebrated as we dedicated our sweet baby girl, Gracelyn Joy to the Lord at our church. Such an honor and a reward to be parents but knowing that Gracie isn't just our child she is the Lord's and that we made a promise today that we will bring up Gracie to know the Lord, that's just something to celebrate! (Read on...and you'll see a little of the celebrations that took place, stay with me it gets a little lengthy but it's good and of course there are pictures throughout too)  but first let me explain some things...

(A  little previous family history side note: Ashtyn was baptized in the Lutheran church that I grew up in. When TJ and I got married we became members at Swan Lake, Evangelical Free Church. At Swan Lake they do not practice baptism of infants but have a dedication service instead. The boys were both dedicated (And I'm so so sad to say that I don't have any pictures of any of them. The ones I had were ruined when our basement flooded a few years ago, so this is a partial reason why I do so many blog posts).

Dedication was a new thing to me (new as in 5 years ago new). I was not familiar with it, since I grew up Lutheran and I was accustomed to baptizing babies, but after praying and researching TJ and I both agreed that dedicating our children was the best choice for our family. This poem I stumbled across really sums everything up.

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OUR SWEET GIRL

You are an incredible blessing

An extraordinary gift

Given to us from our Heavenly Father

To experience this life with.

We dedicate our hearts to teaching you God's way

With everything we do

And every word we say.

We know your precious eyes are watching us intently

And your tiny little ears are listening so sharply.

We'll teach you how to love by the way we treat others.

We'll teach you generosity by the way we give.

We'll teach you how to worship God by our obedience to Him.

We'll teach you righteousness by the way we live.

Our prayer is that you grown up strong

and love the Lord your God.

You are our sweet child

And we love you with all of our heart.

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Verses that I cherish...

 "She said, "Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD. "For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him. "So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there." ...1 Samuel 1:24-28
 ...Hannah, what an inspiration. She gave her son Samuel over to the Lord and knew that Jesus loved her son more than she ever could.

And here is another verse that just confirms our reason to dedicate our babies instead of baptizing. I believe that they should be baptized when they are old enough to make the choice on their own of accepting Jesus into their hearts.

"And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord." - Luke 2:21-22 ...Mary presented Jesus, her first born son to the Lord in Jerusalem. Jesus was not baptized till He was 30 years old, but was presented when he was eight.

I truly believe that children are a heritage from the Lord. That they are a reward from God. Every parent should realize that children are a heritage from the Lord. They are a reward from God...Psalm 127:3 "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him." 

Back to the celebration details ...
Today was a beautiful extremely gorgeous day outside.
It began by the church service at 9am. (Thank you to our family and friends who were there to support us and love on our little Gracie, we are so very thankful for all of you!!)

"...that I may walk before God in the light of life." Psalm 56:13

 

unfortunate camera problems but thankful to have a few photos!

Our family :)

Auntie Halie and Uncle Matt

Kenzie and Ashtyn, cousins and forever friends

After church we had the big celebration at our house. It was wonderful. There was 23 people at our farm and it was just amazing!  As I finished preparing the meal, I looked out my kitchen window to see all the kids out running in the yard playing catch and a few carrying kittens around and the adults were walking around the farm talking and soaking in God's gorgeous day he gave us. That moment just made a special place in my heart.

That meal that I told you I finished preparing... I am so pumped to share with you that I had it all ready to go last night, so when we got home from church I just had to put things in the oven and warm things up. So I feel like I can a little bit brag about this because I will have you know it is the very FIRST time I have ever ever ever been prepared like this. I mean EVER! I am the one that is always late (as most of you know) and scrambling around last minute making a big mess because I wasn't prepared.
So here is how prepared I was.... I finished everything and crawled into my bed last night (Saturday morning at 2:45am.) Yes, I was that prepared. haha. Not sure why I can't ever stay on track and accomplish things at normal time but anyways... this was still awesome to just enjoy our time after church and not feel so rushed.. (It was also an awesome feeling to take a long nap this afternoon) :) 
One last thing being prepared thing... THE SMELL.. when I walked into my kitchen when we got home, it was marvelous. Fresh homemade bread in the bread machine, the smell of chicken. the savory smell of squash. yum yum yum.

I am so thankful for God's goodness, his love, the gifts he has given to us that we don't deserve.
This meal we made, most of it came from our farm. Seeing the prepared food all ready to be served just reminded me again for God's unfailing love for us.

On the menu:

Farm grown baked lemon pepper chicken, roasted carmel glazed squash, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, cracker with homemade goat cheese (thank you to Shirley for this deliciousness), fruit salad and last but not least...lemon blueberry cupcakes. YUMMO.

We ate, and enjoyed conversation.  Then went back outside to enjoy the day. The entire day was so wonderful.

But all things come to an end... Harvest. 2013.. yes we're right in the heat of it.
TJ was one of the first to leave but we really enjoyed spending our morning with him.
We have also really loved the times that we have gotten to ride in the tractor and see daddy over the last few days. Each one of the kids love it, they could all spend hours and hours with daddy or grandpa in the combine and tractors.
Even, Miss Gracie who got to have her first tractor ride today (at 4.5 months old). She giggled and smiled at daddy and watched everything going on but it wasn't long until that hum and steady bumpy ride from that big rig put her right to sleep. We watched the sun go down and what an incredible view from the tractor.

 

Helping Delaine for a little bit

Spending time with Grandma while Brayden got to ride with daddy

Gracie's first tractor ride!

She's loving it! So is her mommy and brother

future farm girl in the making!

unloading on the go :)

and the bumpiness and constant hum put her right to sleep shortly after we got in

didn't take her long to be a daddy's girl

 
Praise God for his great blessings and a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

 

 

 

  
 

Cloth Diapering 101

Something slightly unfamiliar to me, Gracelyn is our 4th baby and my 1st to cloth diaper. I know... slightly crazy. When I thought of cloth diaper I thought of those huge white pieces of material (I came to find out they actually have a name = prefolds) and big safety pins that absolutely freaked me out. (I have vivid memories of my mom using these on my sister, but luckily since she used these big honkin pins I didn't have to help in the diaper changing department).

I have since then changed my mindset and explored this cloth diapering thing and became very interested. I like to save money and love all things natural. And this is the 1st time I have had two kiddos in diapers (Peyton is almost potty trained but when we started he wasn't even close to potty training). Well here is what I have been finding out.

there is a whole new world to cloth diapering these days!
Totally modern, and the best part, other than saving a lot of $$$, is they are so stinkin cute! Oh and another plus is not having to argue about who is going to take a stinky bag of disposable diapers to town to dispose of!
Oh and a few more benefits of cloth diapering that I have appreciated
*Less Blowouts, few and far between. I actually haven't had 1 blowout yet!!!
*less diaper rash, Gracie hasn't had 1 diaper rash since we started using cloth diapers and neither has Peyton! He has suffered many diaper rashes from the chemicals in disposable diapers
*So cozy, SO CUTE Seriously, these are just way more fun to put on then a regular pair of disposable diapers and they are so soft, it just seems fitting to put this cute soft cotton diaper on Miss Gracie's soft little buns!

and... just look at my cute little toddler sportin the 'Smart Bottom' cloth diaper.

 

Now lets get real. These diapers are soooo stinkin cute, but the inside... now the 'taking care of them' part can't be cute. It's gross... icky... disgusting... OVERWHELMING... isn't it?? Of course NOPE Not at all! Here's what I do. (Read on, I'll explain the brand of diapers that I use and all the supplies that I use)

 

Washing system of our Cloth Diapers (infant - eating solid foods)

1. Take the cloth diaper off your baby. I use cloth wipes, just leave the wipes in the diaper (if using disposable you need to THROW these into the garbage, DON'T WASH them!!)

2. Throw the diaper into the diaper pail (garbage can with pail liner). DO NOT rinse diaper, DO NOT soak diaper, just throw it in the pail!

3. Washing day: (this is every-other day) Take the entire pail liner to the washing machine. Put everything into the washing machine...you don't need to look at any of it.. JUST THROW IT IN! Including the liner!

 

4. WASH.  rinse on cold cycle. wash on HOT cycle. rinse cycle. HANG dry! (you can do this inside or outside, I love to hang them outdoors as often as the weather cooperates)

So there you have it, so easy and there isn't any mess and you don't have to look or deal with any of that 'icky' stuff that's inside the diapers, well at least until your baby is eating sold foods and when you're at that stage here is what you do.

  

Washing system of our Cloth Diapers (after you start solid foods- potty training stage) 

 

1. Take the cloth diaper off your baby.

2. Throw the diaper into the diaper pail  -IF IT'S WET!!

2a.) If it's NOT wet.. yep that icky stuff... then you need to dump it in the toilet. I use this sprayer for Peyton's icky messes (which actually doesn't make it bad at all to use the sprayer). After you have rinsed it, throw it into the diaper pail.

You can also use these disposable biodegradable diaper liners, they lay on top of the diaper, and flush when they are soiled.

3. Washing day: Take the entire pail liner to the washing machine. Put everything into the washing machine...you don't need to look at any of it.. JUST THROW IT IN! Including the liner!

 4. WASH.  rinse on cold cycle. wash on HOT cycle. rinse cycle. HANG dry!

 

The IN'S and OUT'S

Detergent Yes, you do need special detergent, here is a link and here is another one for detergent suggestions. I use this one. I have a front load HE washing machine and it has been working great for cloth diapering.

 Diaper Pail you can order these or get the nice garbage can with a lid. You will also need a liner, these are my favorite.

Wet Bag this is by far my favorite,  I store my clean diapers on the outside and the dirty diapers on the inside. It's breathable so the diapers don't ever get moldy.

Wipes you can use disposable (which I did in the beginning) but it was really a pain to have to separate the wipes from the diapers. I'm on the go a lot and I started putting the wipes in the diapers but then had to dig back through the diapers when it was washing time. So I bought a few of these and they work so slick! I'm already washing diapers, throwing these in with isn't any more of a hassle. You don't have to buy special wipes. Wash clothes will do the trick as well!

 

Aren't they hard to put on your squirmy baby??

To my surprise they aren't at all! I prefer the Velcro (Ashtyn does too) but the snaps are just as easy.

There are many different styles of diapers, here's some comparisons... pre-folds, pocket diapers, all in one's.

I use the OS (one size fits all) and pocket diapers and all in ones. 

Here are the brands that I have: BumGenius, Smart Bottoms, Flip and Sunbaby.

I have bought most of them off of eBay but did buy the Smart Bottoms from a retail store in Henderson, MN, paid more than I'd like to admit but I'm in love with them!

Here is most of my stash :)

Flip and BumGenius both are solid prints.

Smart Bottoms and Sunbaby have both solid and pattern prints.

I honestly have nothing back to say about any of the brands.

Naturally, I do have favorites... 

BUMGENIUS

 

 

AND

 

SMART BOTTOMS

 and here is how I store them, 1/2 in here and 1/2 upstairs :)

 

So there you have it, our cloth diapering 101.

We started cloth diapering Miss Gracie when she was a little over 1 month old and Peyton was a little over 2 years old. I still use disposables at night on Peyton but I have fallen head over heals for cloth diapering :)

 

 

 

 

The Essential Birth Supplies

 I started this post a few days before Miss Gracie arrived and never got around to finishing it until now. So here are a few things I got ready for the preparation of our home birth.
Now... scroll to the bottom and you will find a list of the essentials that I wouldn't want to go without and were amazing during labor and delivery!

BIRTH SUPPLIES

TJ and I organized all the birth supplies, I loved going through all this with him, a new experience for both of us and learning together was something I will never forget.

 

FREEZER MEALS

14 meals 1/2 gallon +10 quarts  of soup: veggie medley, chili, and chicken noodle 

 

SITZ PADS & BATH MIX

 

PROBIOTICS (KIFER)

Ok now.. Here is the ESSINTIAL LIST!

Things that I loved during my labor/delivery/post partum that I am so thankful for!

 

1. My BIBLE: A MUST. Spending time in the word daily is something I need and love to do. In preparation for the baby I spent a lot of time reading it was very relaxing and it was an amazing time to just be close to Jesus. A few verses that I buried deep in my heart...When I am afraid I will trust in you. Every good and perfect gift is from above. Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. The Lord is my strength and shield my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Everything is possible for him who believes.



2. Birthfree & Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: 2 really good books that we learned so much from during this pregnancy. This was our 4th delivery and I am blown away by how much I learned. We also watched the 12 video series from Birthfree by Jennifer Davis. They were exceptional!

3. Music & Candles: Setting the atmosphere was very important to me. I wanted a relaxing peaceful surreal environment. I had a few playlists picked out and lit candles that filled my bathroom. It was perfect.

4. Fruit Kefir Smoothies:  I had been using probiotics since I tested positive for Group B Strep and fell in love with strawberry banana kefir smoothies. So of course while I labored I drank one of these just a few hours before Miss Gracie arrived then had a smoothie every time I had a sitz bath. SO GOOD and highly recommenced!! :)

5. Sitz Bath/Pads: another must! I made the sitz pads and froze them, they felt wonderful for the first few days after delivery. I also took a few sitz bath. Very relaxing and rejuvenating!

6. Afterease: tincture Wish Garden Herbal Remedies, to help ease the after pains/contractions after giving birth. I used this every time I fed Gracie for the first 4 to 5 days and it did the trick!

7. Aloe Vera Gel: I used this on my pads each time I changed one, poured a little bit on there and it was wonderful. Very soothing and made everything heal a lot quicker.

8. Maxi Pads: I know, I know... I NEVER thought I'd be the one to put MAXI PADS on the essentials list. I'm NOT a fan of pads but as any of you moms know... the "After childbirth" isn't glamorous esp. for the first few weeks. I bought 4 different brands different sizes and thicknesses, it was nice to have the different pads throughout the last few weeks.

9. Tea Tree Oil: Fill a perennial bottle with warm water then added 5 drops of tea tree oil to the bottle... shake it up... and use this on your bottom each time after going to the bathroom for 2-3 days after delivery. Works amazingly!

10. Arnica: I bought the pill form,the cream and roll on. The roll on and pills are my favorite. A natural pain reliever and they are highly recommended!

11. Rice Packs: so thankful for Teah...who made me a few of these rice packs. I had one that we froze and one that we kept hot. During labor/hard  contractions I had a frozen one on my lower back, that really helped with contractions. After labor I used the hot one on my lower back and that also felt so good.

12. Hot Tea: I drank a lot of this before and after labor/delivery. A mixture of Red Raspberry Leaf and comfrey and shepherds purse. That was very helpful for blood clotting and the bleeding. I didn't have an excessive amount of bleeding and I believe it was because of drinking this!

13. Freezer Meals: Highly recommended but DON'T do it alone ..(ask a friend or your hubby to help you) I tried that when I was 37 weeks pregnant and paid for it for a few days after that. But having freezer meals in the freezer has been so helpful the last few weeks since Miss Gracie has arrived!

14. Water Bottle: Another MUST! I drank a LOT of water during my pregnancy but during labor this was just what I needed. Water bottle FULL of ice and water, I went through a lot of these. I don't ever remembering being so thirty but I'm so thankful that my hubby always had it full for me!

15. Vitamin e-oil: This was also so helpful. I poked a hole in a capsule and put it on my nipples after each time I was done breast feeding. I never once got any sores or had any pain from feeding (that doesn't include the pain that I had from milk coming in or the engorgement) but it was so nice to not have that extra pain on top of that. This definitely is a must!