I loved my gown from a sweet friend! What a great baby shower gift!!
Proud grandparents
Sleeping with Daddy
Ready to go home!!
My first bath at home
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We love the Blooming Bath
Friday, February 1, 2013
Baby Raegan
Raegan Kate Sanders was born on January 25th at 1:41pm and was 6 pounds and 21 inches long!
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Cloth Diapering
I have had a lot of people ask me how cloth diapering is going or how we like it - so I decided to blog some of the stuff I have shared with others regarding our experience and regarding how we picked stuff to use.
I will post more about them as our experience with the continues!
When I was about 8-10 weeks I started doing a lot of research on cloth diapers! I was obsessed with it. I watched a lot of YouTube videos on FuzziBunz diapers and I LOVED them. However, I did not love the price tag of almost $30 per diaper or for two. The same went for BumGenius and all of the name brand diapers. A lot of the diapers are made in China for a fraction of the cost. I know, I personally would prefer to buy from American companies but when it came to these diapers, I was on a tight budget and cloth diapering costs a lot up front.
I found someone in my hometown who used Alva Babies and said they were a good price so I looked and they ranged from $4-7 a piece. I ordered about 5-8 at a time (once a month or every paycheck). I now have a stash of about 10 newborn diapers (which you may or may not need depending on the babies weight) and about 30 regular ones!
All of the diapers I have are pocket diapers. Some that I ordered from Etsy (newborn ones) don't actually have pockets that you insert the microfiber pad/insert inside, they just have the insert/pad on the outside and they snap on. The ones I ordered on Etsy are flannel/fleece feeling material and they definitely would not be good for a baby during the heat of the Georgia summer but for right now, they work perfectly! They are just very thick! However, they fit Raegan perfectly in the waist and legs!
The Alva Baby and Nikkis Diapers ones have the inserts on the inside, there is an actual pocket that the insert/pad just slides right into. I ordered all types of Alva Baby diapers. None of mine are the same material or pattern so if you want to read into what the difference is and pick one specific type (4.0/microfleece/microfiber/etc..) you can. But I just wanted a mix! I suggest having at least 20 diapers total. When ordering from Etsy, it is a toss up because you never know what they will be like but I searched in the search box for cloth newborn diapers and then sorted them by price. Just make sure if you order that you are ordering the actual diaper, not pattern to sew one.
Also, you may want some All in One cloth diapers, they don't require inserts but Alva Baby doesn't carry those and I do not have any of them.
As far as why we chose cloth over disposable, the price is a huge difference! I spent around $300 and that is all I will need until she is potty trained! I bought diapers with snaps, not velcro. However, velcro may be easier, but it sticks to stuff in washing machines and dryers and the snaps adjust a lot more. It just takes one extra rinse cycle for these to come clean (some websites suggest using hot water and some recommend using cold water - we use cold and it works fine!). When you research cloth diapering you will see all sorts of opinions on this stuff!
Now, as far as cloth diapers besides saving money in the long run, they are easy! They absorb all of Raegans pee into the insert so she doesn't stay wet at all!! Which is wonderful! She doesn't cry hardly at all because she doesn't realize she is wet whereas when we used the disposable diapers from the hospital (used until they ran out), she screamed when she wet herself because there is no where for it to absorb to! And those were Pampers!
Also, I ordered flushable cloth diaper liners (they look like dryer sheets). I ordered a few on amazon.com and I ordered four rolls from Alva Baby. They come like 100 sheets per roll or pack but they are huge so I cut them into three! So basically, I stuff the pocket with an inserts and then lay a liner on top and it catches poop if she poops for the most part and we don't flush
them, we just toss them in a trash can!
As for washing/trash goes - I wash all of Raegan's clothes and diapers in All Free and Clear detergent (way cheaper than Dreft and other special stuff) and I use Shout Color Catchers in her stuff as well to keep things from bleeding on each other (I also tear those into three sheets). You aren't supposed to use Dreft and specialized detergents on cloth diapers because they make them not absorb. Also, if you dry them in the dryer instead of hanging them to dry, you should not use fabric softeners or dryer sheets in there because they also make the diapers not absorb.
I have one large trash can (step trash can) and one small (step trash can). I bought these little Arm and Hammer freshener things (sold in the baby stuff at Wal-Mart) that I place in the bottom of the trash cans they are good for 90 days. I just use Wal-Mart bags in the small one and that is what I place the flushable liners and disposable wipes in when I use them (this is taken out every night). The big one, I have a Kissable Liner in (I ordered two of these). They don't zip or anything! It is like a trash bag but it works fabulous! You pull the whole thing out and toss the bag (filled with the dirty diapers) in the wash! You never have to touch the diapers again! You can touch them if you choose or pour them out into the wash but that is up to you! Just make sure your disposable wipes and liners don't get thrown in this trash can because that would be a huge mess if you wash them!
I also ordered a bidet on Amazon.com (it was around $30) and we hooked it up to the guest toilet across from Raegan's room to spray out diapers if they were really messy and happen to not get caught in the liner.
Here are the cloth diaper liners:
Flushable Diaper Liners
Here are the trash can liners!!
Kissa Pail Liner
I also ordered three wet bags (they are small) from Alva Baby to put in my diaper bag, Benton's diaper bag (which is an Eddie Bauer book bag from Bed Bath and Beyond) and one for when we send her somewhere else!
When we travel, we may use disposables because we don't always have assess to a washing machine. We received a lot of disposables as shower gifts which will be great for if she gets sick or for the church nursery (since different people keep it at different times it may be hard to send cloth) or for day care if the sitter is not comfortable using cloth.
More to come!
I will post more about them as our experience with the continues!
When I was about 8-10 weeks I started doing a lot of research on cloth diapers! I was obsessed with it. I watched a lot of YouTube videos on FuzziBunz diapers and I LOVED them. However, I did not love the price tag of almost $30 per diaper or for two. The same went for BumGenius and all of the name brand diapers. A lot of the diapers are made in China for a fraction of the cost. I know, I personally would prefer to buy from American companies but when it came to these diapers, I was on a tight budget and cloth diapering costs a lot up front.
I found someone in my hometown who used Alva Babies and said they were a good price so I looked and they ranged from $4-7 a piece. I ordered about 5-8 at a time (once a month or every paycheck). I now have a stash of about 10 newborn diapers (which you may or may not need depending on the babies weight) and about 30 regular ones!
All of the diapers I have are pocket diapers. Some that I ordered from Etsy (newborn ones) don't actually have pockets that you insert the microfiber pad/insert inside, they just have the insert/pad on the outside and they snap on. The ones I ordered on Etsy are flannel/fleece feeling material and they definitely would not be good for a baby during the heat of the Georgia summer but for right now, they work perfectly! They are just very thick! However, they fit Raegan perfectly in the waist and legs!
The Alva Baby and Nikkis Diapers ones have the inserts on the inside, there is an actual pocket that the insert/pad just slides right into. I ordered all types of Alva Baby diapers. None of mine are the same material or pattern so if you want to read into what the difference is and pick one specific type (4.0/microfleece/microfiber/etc..) you can. But I just wanted a mix! I suggest having at least 20 diapers total. When ordering from Etsy, it is a toss up because you never know what they will be like but I searched in the search box for cloth newborn diapers and then sorted them by price. Just make sure if you order that you are ordering the actual diaper, not pattern to sew one.
Also, you may want some All in One cloth diapers, they don't require inserts but Alva Baby doesn't carry those and I do not have any of them.
As far as why we chose cloth over disposable, the price is a huge difference! I spent around $300 and that is all I will need until she is potty trained! I bought diapers with snaps, not velcro. However, velcro may be easier, but it sticks to stuff in washing machines and dryers and the snaps adjust a lot more. It just takes one extra rinse cycle for these to come clean (some websites suggest using hot water and some recommend using cold water - we use cold and it works fine!). When you research cloth diapering you will see all sorts of opinions on this stuff!
Now, as far as cloth diapers besides saving money in the long run, they are easy! They absorb all of Raegans pee into the insert so she doesn't stay wet at all!! Which is wonderful! She doesn't cry hardly at all because she doesn't realize she is wet whereas when we used the disposable diapers from the hospital (used until they ran out), she screamed when she wet herself because there is no where for it to absorb to! And those were Pampers!
Also, I ordered flushable cloth diaper liners (they look like dryer sheets). I ordered a few on amazon.com and I ordered four rolls from Alva Baby. They come like 100 sheets per roll or pack but they are huge so I cut them into three! So basically, I stuff the pocket with an inserts and then lay a liner on top and it catches poop if she poops for the most part and we don't flush
them, we just toss them in a trash can!
As for washing/trash goes - I wash all of Raegan's clothes and diapers in All Free and Clear detergent (way cheaper than Dreft and other special stuff) and I use Shout Color Catchers in her stuff as well to keep things from bleeding on each other (I also tear those into three sheets). You aren't supposed to use Dreft and specialized detergents on cloth diapers because they make them not absorb. Also, if you dry them in the dryer instead of hanging them to dry, you should not use fabric softeners or dryer sheets in there because they also make the diapers not absorb.
I have one large trash can (step trash can) and one small (step trash can). I bought these little Arm and Hammer freshener things (sold in the baby stuff at Wal-Mart) that I place in the bottom of the trash cans they are good for 90 days. I just use Wal-Mart bags in the small one and that is what I place the flushable liners and disposable wipes in when I use them (this is taken out every night). The big one, I have a Kissable Liner in (I ordered two of these). They don't zip or anything! It is like a trash bag but it works fabulous! You pull the whole thing out and toss the bag (filled with the dirty diapers) in the wash! You never have to touch the diapers again! You can touch them if you choose or pour them out into the wash but that is up to you! Just make sure your disposable wipes and liners don't get thrown in this trash can because that would be a huge mess if you wash them!
I also ordered a bidet on Amazon.com (it was around $30) and we hooked it up to the guest toilet across from Raegan's room to spray out diapers if they were really messy and happen to not get caught in the liner.
Here are the cloth diaper liners:
Flushable Diaper Liners
Here are the trash can liners!!
Kissa Pail Liner
I also ordered three wet bags (they are small) from Alva Baby to put in my diaper bag, Benton's diaper bag (which is an Eddie Bauer book bag from Bed Bath and Beyond) and one for when we send her somewhere else!
When we travel, we may use disposables because we don't always have assess to a washing machine. We received a lot of disposables as shower gifts which will be great for if she gets sick or for the church nursery (since different people keep it at different times it may be hard to send cloth) or for day care if the sitter is not comfortable using cloth.
More to come!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Pregnancy
Well, these 9 months have flown by fast!! Now, in 3 short weeks, Raegan should make her arrival! I am very excited to meet our baby girl and I know that God has surely blessed Benton and I throughout these past 37 weeks!
As 2012 comes to an end, I can't help but reflect back on what a great year I've had. Benton and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by finding out we were expecting a baby! We were able to vacation to the beach a few times and the mountains during the fall! I graduated from my dietetic internship, obtained my first job as a Clinical Dietitian, and passed my RD exam! I have changed jobs, now I work as a consultant dietitian for long-term care facilities and I LOVE it! I cannot wait to see what God has planned for me and my family in 2013!
4 weeks! Baby Sanders was the size of a poppy seed!
5 weeks!
11 weeks - almost time to announce that we are expecting to our friends and family!! (We waited until we were out of the first trimester before we told anyone!)
17 weeks
The proud grandparents-to-be at the gender reveal party
19 weeks! Halfway there (almost :) )
My mother-in-law is very excited!!
24 weeks
Starting to get the room ready - long way to go!!
26 weeks!
27 weeks!
30 weeks!
31 weeks!
36 weeks!
Raegans Room!
Raegan's fabulous bedding by BirdsHaveFlowers shop on etsy! See her shop here:
Babyland - we went and got baby Raegan her first Cabbage Patch Doll!
Yes, I am going natural during childbirth and we are excited about it :)
This was the first 4 of my 37 cloth diapers I ordered! So exciting! They are adorable!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!! What a great ending to 2012! God has been so good to us!
Meet Sassy Fras Sanders! She is my new puppy since my sweet Zoe Bug went to doggy Heaven earlier this year. Sassy has brought so much joy to me during this pregnancy and I can't wait for her to be Raegans best little friend in a few weeks!
Bring on 2013!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Body by Vi (Visalus) Bandwagon
In the past few months in my small town it seems as though so many people have jumped on the Body by Vi bandwagon. Local chiropractors are having parties promoting this and advertising for it on the radio. Some friends are even selling them and spreading the great news of how awesome these shakes can taste. Where do these phases and trends come from? Just a few months ago people were having the wrap parties which are basically the same as taking a hemorrhoid cream and saran wrap and wrapping yourself to “lose inches.” As a dietitian, I know that people fall into the lose weight quick schemes all of the time. However, supplements and shakes are not the answer. I decided after hearing so much about this and almost having to get ugly with someone who kept pushing me to buy this ridiculous product to research it and here is what I found:
The Body by Vi meal plan provides a person with around 1200-1400 calories per day. Of these calories, 18% is fat content, 44% is carbohydrate content, and about 38% is fat content (CRAZY!). The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has evidence-based research that shows that a person only needs 45-65% of their daily calories from carbohydrates, 20% of their daily calories from protein, and 20-30% of their daily calories from fat and less than 7% of those fat calories should come from saturated fat sources.
Why are people losing weight on this diet? The calories are so low that of course people are losing weight on this diet. If you normally eat around 2,000 calories per day and you cut out 500 calories per day for one week, you will lose one pound because 3,500 calories equals one pound of weight. Therefore, if you were consuming a 500 calorie breakfast and a 500 calorie lunch and replaced these two meals with a Body by Vi shake that is around 200 calories or so, of course you will lose weight because you are creating a 600 calorie deficit daily. However, why drink a shake instead of obtaining your nutrients from food that has added benefits such as being natural?
Oh that’s right – Visalus advertises itself as being “all natural.” Well, the Vi-Pak states that it’s “all natural.” After looking at the ingredients it says that it contains kosher gelatin. I am not sure how you make cow hooves which are where gelatin comes from Kosher but good luck at figuring that one out. Another problem that I found is that the capsules Visalus sells are made from glycerin which inhibits absorption of nutrients. Therefore, Visalus is using a cheap product to sell for a big profit that actually inhibits your ability to get all of the nutrients it claims to provide.
What else is in the Visalus products? Soybean oil, Titanium Dioxide, trans fat in the form of Magnesium Sterate, talc residue, Maltodextrin, Aminogen, and soy-based protein. These are just a few of the ingredients that I found surprising to be in a weight loss/health product.
What is the problem with these ingredients?
Well soy-based proteins are fine; however, if you are a woman, you should know that soy-based protein is very estrogenic. What does that mean? Well if you have breast cancer in your family, I would steer clear of a majority of very estrogenic food items or supplements.
What about aminogen? Aminogen is a patented protease which is an enzyme. This enzyme breaks down protein which is most likely added to the Visalus mixes to help you break down all of the random excessive protein that is in their shake mix.
Magnesium Sterate used in the Visalus products is a trans fat. Yes, the dreaded trans fat that increases your risk of high cholesterol and heart disease. Why would Visalus use trans fats in their products when it is not even recommended for a person to have in their diet at all? To make the shelf life of their product last longer. Not only do trans fats make the shelf life of a product longer, but they also inhibit the absorption of many nutrients in the body, sometimes up to 80%. It is also very cheap for them to add this however it makes the quality of any product go down. We should be working trans fats out of our diet and the realm of supplements and diet products, not adding it in.
Since talc residue is used when pills are made in machines, if you take Visalus pills, you are probably getting some talc residue in your diet as well. Talc residue is known as a carcinogen which is a cancer causing agent.
Soybean oil sounds so good right? It has to be a healthy fat is what most people would think when seeing it on the ingredients of a health product. Well, soybean oil is genetically engineered which causes problems. Genetically engineered products can inhibit the absorption of minerals, especially iron which the body uses for multiple purposes but mainly it is essential for the formation of hemoglobin and transporting oxygen throughout the body. Also, soybean oil is loaded with something known as goitrogens. Goitrogens slow down the thyroid gland. Anytime you eat or consume a soy product, if you are on thyroid medication, it interferes with how the drug works which is a problem.
Titanium Dioxide cannot be natural in any way. If you look it up, it is white paint. Look on most paint cans or containers and you will see this listed at the top of the ingredient list. Why is this added at all? I have no idea.
Maltodextrin is a sugar and really, it’s very similar to regular sugar (Sucrose). Your body absorbs sucrose and maltodextrin the same. However, Visalus claims that this Maltodextrin in their product is “digestion resistant” which seems a little farfetched. If it is truly altered, it could cause severe problems for people with stomach problems because poorly digestible sugars can definitely increase the risk of an upset stomach.
Another problem that I have with Visalus is that since the calorie intake is so low, they recommend that you purchase “Clear Control.” This is an appetite suppressant that will make you feel less hungry. However, I have yet to figure out what is wrong with feeling hungry. Hunger is a natural feeling that should not be suppressed because you are starving yourself using Visalus products instead of eating food that can give you a long lasting fullness effect. The fact that they want you to purchase an appetite suppressant is a red flag in itself. What kind of marketing is this company using?
What about risks with these products? There definitely is a risk when using any weight loss product. Particularly ones that promise you fast weight loss. Here is the problem with the Body by Vi shakes. When you eat less and consume less calories like you do when you drink these shakes, you definitely lose weight. However, if you are not consuming enough calories (1,200-1,400 calories is not enough to meet everyone’s needs) your metabolism will slow down and when you start eating more again, you will rapidly regain weight. Your metabolism will not speed up along with your appetite and intake so it will remain low while you gain weight and it takes time to build it back up.
Another thing is the cost of Visalus products. $56 per bag of vanilla shake mix is ridiculous. I can get the same nutrients through a multivitamin with minerals and not have all of the added extras that are not needed. This can add up to cost over $1,000 per year spent on a mix that can be easily replaced with a multivitamin that costs around $10 for 60+ pills. Plus, these shakes taste just as good without the expensive mix added to them. Google it, you can find tons of great nutritional shake recipes that do not require any mix whatsoever. You can take yogurt, add some fresh fruit, fruit juice, canned fruit, chocolate syrup, ice or whatever you want to it and still have a great shake that is low in calories and cost-efficient.
Another problem is the comparisons Body by Vi uses. They compare their powder mix alone (without the stuff you add to it in a blender) to products that are already mixed with milk or whatever else is used. Therefore, the Body by Vi mix looks as though it is a better choice when truthfully, its misleading.
Evidenced-based? I think not. Very little clinical research is out there about Visalus. I found a Registered Dietitian’s website that stated that Visalus had “white papers” (referring to clinical trials) that were evidence enough to prove the reliability of the product. However, their “white papers” are extremely biased. One of their lead researchers in the Body by Vi research is on their Visalus Board of Directors. That is a little questionable, don’t you think?
While I know that trends like this come and go, it is so misleading if you don’t look into it. You cannot always believe what you hear. A lot of people are getting paid to sell this product to you or getting free products if you buy it. I am not a fan of drink supplements, mixes, or food substitutes anyway but this is over the top crazy if you ask me. Also, the supplement industry has no one that regulates how it is sold or what is in the products. That is a problem in itself.
I know that people want an easy weight loss solution. I understand that shakes sound so easy and good. I know that people lose weight with this product. But why drink your calories when you can eat them? Why lower your metabolism for quick weight loss when you can keep it high and lose weight at a safe rate and keep it off for a long time? Visalus does not have well balanced products. While I love that they are promoting the use of fat-free/skim milk over other choices (which is something I think everyone should drink), these shakes compromise your health in the long run. Be educated before you buy. I personally don’t like products that have tons of ingredients listed. Look for natural ingredients that you know what they are when you see them on a label. Eat in moderation. Exercise. You can lose weight and save money by opting to just eat healthy and exercise.
Resources:
http://thesensiblefoodie.weebly.com/1/post/2012/04/diet-product-review-body-by-vi-part-two.html
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Updates
This was Stella when we first got her! So tiny and precious!
This is Stella 3 weeks ago, growing like a weed!!
My 23rd Birthday!!
Jerrod Neiman, Chris Young, & Miranda Lambert Concert in Macon!
Me & My Sweet Mother who took me to the concert! :) LOVE her!
Girls Night Out for Whit & Meg's 23rd Birthday!
I just wanted to make a quick post! I've been super busy lately. I finished up my dietetic internship rotations! Whoo hoo! 8 months flew by but I am so grateful for the opportunity and experience God blessed me with. Cedar Crest College was a great opportunity! I completed my rotations in Georgia (distance intern) at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, South Central Health District, the local school nutrition program office, and the district Head Start facility. I learned so much and had the most amazing preceptors. I definitely was blessed. I would recommend a distance dietetic internship to anyone looking for one this fall or spring! It is a lot of paperwork but once you get past that part, it is not so bad. God always puts you where he wants you.
Now, I just have to submit my final paper, pass my RD exam, and get a job! Wish me luck!
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