DIY - Emergency Diaper Change Kits

We are getting ready to take DD on her very first plane ride! In preparing to travel with a toddler, I wanted to make sure we had the necessities easily accessible without packing up all of her earthly belongings just for an extended weekend. With a toddler that is not yet potty trained, diapers and wipes are definitely an essential!

I am taking individual diaper changing kits in my carry-on and packing the rest of her diapers into our checked luggage. These kits fit nicely into a purse or glove box and would be great to keep on-hand for quick trips out or for emergencies. Or assemble several kits for a practical baby shower gift! Each kit can be quickly put together with items from around the house. After being used, the kits can be re-packed or completely disposed of. It just depends on how messy things get!

EMERGENCY DIAPER CHANGE KIT:

• 1 diaper
• 2 wipes (or more, depending on your preference)
• 1 plastic shopping bag (finally, a great use for the plethora of Walmart sacks!!)
• 1 quart-size freezer zipper bag
• 1 sandwich-size zipper bag

Assembly:

1. Place one diaper into the quart zipper bag. I turned mine sideways but it was a tight fit. Anything larger than a size 3 would need to be put in the opposite direction or folded in half. 
       *Freezer bags are more sturdy. I recommend them over the regular bags!!
2. Place two wipes into the sandwich zipper bag. Roll bag to squeeze out the air before sealing. Place sealed bag into quart bag with diaper.
       **I only did two wipes in each kit based on our normal diaper changes. In my purse I keep another baggie with several wipes for really bad messes or quick hands & face clean-ups.
   
3. Lay plastic sack flat and fold into quarters width-wise, then length-wise. Place into quart bag.
   
4. Roll quart bag from the bottom up to squeeze out air before sealing. Adjust contents if needed to fold bag in half (for smaller diapers).
   

I have made four of these to put in my carry-on and one to put into my purse. As you can see, these are about the size of my hand and maybe 1/4'' thick. They will easily fit into any bag or glove compartment. When it comes time for a diaper change, I won't need to bring all of our belongings with us into the tiny airplane bathroom. We will just grab one kit out of our bag and go.

So why did I choose this random assortment of items?

• The plastic shopping bag can be unfolded and used as a changing pad. This will also be useful for disposing of the waste when you are finished - simply bag everything up and place in the trash can. 
• The quart bag has a few possible uses: 
• Bagging up really stinky diapers if no trash is available. I've tried this out with a stinky diaper in a hot car and there was no smell several hours later! 
• Bagging up clothes if there was a bad mess. Again, will contain the smell for several hours until the clothes can be washed. 
• Can be re-used for another kit if there was no major mess. 
• The sandwich bag can also fit a diaper for disposal or be re-used for another kit. Alternatively, you can place your hand into the bag and use it as a glove if needed.

Big Changes on the Horizon

Tonight We Rock

DD is great about her bedtime routine. Usually we will be in the living room playing, and I look at her and say "Guess what time it is?" She giggles and says "Night-night!!" and runs off to her room. Every time she runs past the changing pad and climbs up into the rocking chair, giggling and saying "Wok, wok, wok" as she rocks back & forth for a second. Then she climbs down and comes back to me to get changed into her PJ's. We do our little ritual of turning off the lights, turning on the music, and tucking her in with her blanket & Minnie Mouse. Then I talk to her about where she's going to go in her dreams overnight. My dad always used to do that with us and I loved it when I was little :) Then I leave the room & she goes off to sleep - or talks to Minnie for an hour. Whatever works.

Tonight DH did bedtime since I managed to pull something in my back. Things seemed fine until he walked out of the room & DD FLIPPED OUT. She started crying hysterically. After 2-3 minutes, realizing she was not calming down, I went in to get her. She climbed up into my arms sobbing. I held her for a minute then tried to lay her back down. "No, Mommy!! Wok!!"

So we rocked. And rocked.

Sweet baby girl feel asleep in my arms while we listened to her lullabies. It has been a long time since my little independent girl wanted me to hold her while she fell asleep. And I can't remember the last time we sat for awhile together in that rocking chair without her wiggling or trying to climb down to run off to the next fun thing.

I may not have many more nights of being able to rock her & hold her while she sleeps, so I made sure to enjoy it tonight.

Sleepy baby and snuggles with mommy:

Who's the teacher?

Over the past couple of weeks we have been working with Aly on her attitude. She's been whiny and throwing fits when she does not get her way. While it is completely normal toddler behavior, we do want her to learn that it is not acceptable to act like that. So we've been taking her aside and explaining, calmly, that it is OK to be frustrated and upset. But we can't throw a fit because of it. We need to be calm, speak kindly, and ask for help.

Looks like I need to take my own words to heart.

The other day I had to take Aly with me to Aldi. It's not the easiest store to shop at with a toddler. The main thing is the cart situation. At most other stores there are several cart corrals to park near so that I can load the groceries & the kiddo in the car, and then return the cart without having to walk more than 10 feet away. At Aldi, all the carts are kept locked up next to the store. Which results in some crazy kind of juggling act, or carrying the toddler to put the cart away, and trudging back to the car again. No fun feat in the howling wind and cold.

As I pulled into the parking lot I spotted an elderly couple backing out of the BEST parking spot in the lot. Right next to the door & the cart corral. I stopped in the main aisle and put on my blinker (which is supposed to be the universal sign for "Hey - I saw this space first and it's MINE!"). As I waited patiently for them to pull out, another car came along and whipped into the parking space. MY parking space. What??!?!?!?! I muttered some not-so-nice words under my breath and started to circle the lot again to find another spot, glaring at the other person as I passed by their car. Yeah, not my finest moment.

We found a spot not too far away from the cart corral. Not ideal, but it would work. I got Aly out of her seat while still mumbling about the rude person that took OUR spot.

And then it hit me. I was being a horrible example for my daughter. It didn't matter if the other person saw me or not. That spot was not mine. In this situation where I was upset and frustrated, I did not remain calm or speak kindly. How can I expect my daughter to learn those traits if I am exhibiting the exact opposite? Immediately I prayed for forgiveness as we got a cart and started to head inside. Before we got to the door, I saw the lady who took the parking spot struggling to find a quarter in her purse. She asked me if I had a quarter to trade her for some nickles. I reached into my wallet, got out the quarter, and handed it over. No trading for smaller change - I just gave it to her. I almost felt like it was my penance. After the mean things I had just called her, the least I could do was give her a quarter.

So I guess mommy needs to learn this lesson as well: it is OK to be frustrated and upset. But we need to speak kindly and stay calm.

18 months!

DH had to take Little Miss for her 18 month checkup yesterday since I was sick. Unfortunately we seem to have caught a case of the rotavirus around here. Blech. Thankfully DD seems to not have had as bad a reaction since she had the vaccine.

I can't believe she's 18 months old already! Seems like just yesterday we were finding out that we would be having a little girl, and now she seems to be half-grown! At this checkup she finally made it onto the growth charts. She's been hanging out in the -1 to 3% since she was born. This time her weight of 20.5lbs put her at the 5% for weight! And her height of 32'' landed her in the 63%. WOW! I knew she had recently hit a growth-spurt since she skipped over 12-m clothes and went straight into 18-m.

She is into everything and loves exploring the house. She recently figured out how to pull out the dining room chairs, climb up onto them, and then onto the table! Seems like nothing is safely out of reach these days. We are finally starting to work on potty training as well. She just wasn't ready over Christmas, but in the last week she has gotten more interested and has told us several times that she needs to go. Soon I will take a few days off work and we will work on it - and hopefully we can say No More Diapers!!

She's talking up a storm and repeating everything we say (or at least she's trying to). She loves to sing and dance along with her shows. And she really likes it when Daddy pulls out the guitar to play and sing with her. She grabs her drum and bangs along, usually right in-beat to the music :)

She LOVES Minnie Mouse :) Here's a pic of her hanging out with Minnie while mom got ready for church. Sweet girl let her friend sit in her favorite spot and brought over her car seat to sit next to Minnie and hold her hand while they watched Minnie's Bowtique. She just saw this picture on the computer and said "Hi, Aly!! Hi Minnie Mouse!!" So cute!

Mommy Guilt :(

My child loves the babysitter more than she loves me or so it seems sometimes.

I came home from work the other day. After LONG 11 hours away from Aly. I missed her SO MUCH! All I wanted was to see her and get a big hug (its her new thing). Maybe a kiss and a smile.

Instead what I got was a dirty look while she ran to the arms of her babysitter. Outwardly I tried to laugh it off.

(inside, mommy heart broken)

She gave Miss K hugs and kisses. And screamed at me when I tried to pick her up. She ran after Miss K as she tried to leave, clinging to her leg and crying, then banging on the door screaming her name after she left. All the while I was trying to console her while wishing and hoping that she would want me as much as she wanted the baby sitter.

It was not to be.

The rest of the night she remained upset with me. DH had to feed her dinner and get her ready for bed. Because she could not even LOOK at me without screaming. She wanted NOTHING to do with me. And I was so sad :(


We all went to sleep and I had the most horrible night of sleep ever. No more than 1 hour at a time.


But in the morning the most wonderful thing happened. DD woke up and started calling for me from her crib. "Mommy! Momm....Mommm.....Mommy!! I went to get her and she had a HUGE smile on her face!! She reached out her arms to me and said "HI, mommy!! I la you!"


*mommy heart melted*

I love my baby :) It sucks that I have to be away from her for so long each day. But I do it so that I can provide financially for our family. And I know my daughter loves me :) And I am glad she loves her baby sitter so much. I couldn't have asked for a more sweet and perfect person to take care of my little one while I have to be away. I am glad they have such a great relationship. DD can only benefit from having more people in her life that love her so much.

Scrub That Tub!

Cleaning the bathroom is not one of my favorite chores. I am willing to bet that it's not yours either. As a mom that works outside the home, I either have to find time in my evenings to clean it or clean during the weekend. But I would rather be playing with DD, and since her room shares a wall with the bathroom I can't really clean it after she goes to bed.

So I've started cleaning the bathroom while she takes a bath. She loves the extra play time in the tub, and I can be productive while I am in the room with her for awhile anyway.

I have been buying these "Quick Erasers" from Dollar Tree. Two sponges for only $1! They are half melamine (magic) sponge, half blue scrubbie sponge. I prefer these as I can really use ALL of the magic sponge since they have the blue sponge to hold on to. The all-white quick erasers tend to disintegrate and get holes in them. These sponges will last for 2-4 good cleanings and remain in once piece.

But what I really love about these sponges is they let me scrub the tub while DD is in it taking a bath! That's right - no bad chemicals getting in the bath water. I add a bit of soap to the sponge and start scrubbing away while she plays. My grandpa gave me a wonderful tip - the same soap that causes the soap scum will also remove that soap scum. And its true! Shampoo, bar soap, body wash, or even baby wash. Just a bit on the sponge and get to cleaning. Older kids may want to join in the fun as well :)

Once I am done with the tub I use the same sponge to get the sink - the magic sponge really gets all the caked on toothpaste, hair spray, and dried saline solution residue. By the time I am done DD has been splashing enough that the floor is pretty wet. Perfect, since I need to wash that anyway! Using the same sponge I wipe down the floors. The quick erasers are great for getting up the hair spray residue that seems to get all over the floors (actually, everywhere!). Lastly I clean up the toilet using some Clorox wipes. Call me crazy, but I don't really want to reuse a sponge that I used on the potty.

This takes me about 15 minutes total. Perfect amount of time for DD to play and get all prune-y in the water. Clean baby + clean bathroom = happy mama!!

If you don't have kids, or if they are old enough that they can bathe on their own, you can keep a magic sponge in the shower to give it a good scrub while you are already in there. I used to do this while my conditioner was soaking in 1-2 times per week. It is amazing how much easier it is to scrub the shower when you are already in it and not worried about splashing water on yourself. Or am I the only klutz that can't clean the tub without getting soaking wet? ;)