I remember hearing about AppleCheeks cloth diapers online way before I was pregnant. Their bright colors, fun names & cool designs stood out to me. Then I met the oh so fun & sweet Katie from AppleCheeks at BlogHer ’11. And even though Zach & Lucy were just a dream at that point, I looked forward to using the diaper she gave me on what I then called ‘future baby’.
Six week old Zach in his first cloth diaper 7/3
Katie & I have kept in touch, and when I mentioned that the AppleCheeks Wild Child size one diaper was the first cloth diaper Zach ever wore & how much I loved it, she offered ever so kindly to send me two more. Because both babies needed AppleCheeks love & one to spare!
So excited to receive fluffy mail!
I chose the Cherry Tomato {hello NCSU red!} & Appletini envelope covers & bamboo inserts because they were cheery, bright colors that would also work on either baby. After multiple washes & dries {I both line & dryer dry depending on how much time I have}, the colors are still as fun & radiant as ever.
Zach 10/13 in Appletini
And speaking of washing & drying, I also love that the soft bamboo insert in this pocket/envelope style diaper doesn’t need to be removed for washing. Unlike some inserts that get stuck in the pocket, these easily slide out in the wash aka no Suz digging out pee soaked insert FTW! And the inserts slide in easily enough that husband’s hands can do it.
Lucy in Cherry Tomato 10/12
These diapers are very trim fitting which means that while they work great on my skinny babies’ legs & booties, they might not be as perfect of a fit on chunkier babies. Although they’ve grown well as Zach was 7 lbs in the top photo & around 12 in the photo below.
Zach in Cherry Tomato 9/22
I’m hoping my babies will last in the AppleCheeks size ones {up to 20 pounds} for a while longer because they are honestly some of my favorite diapers they wear. It took me a little while to get these photos & this post done because they are a daycare top pick!
Lucy loving her AppleCheeks 10/12
I was provided AppleCheeks diapers to review but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All opinions stated are genuine & my own.
I’ve been holding off writing this post until I’d used both pumps for a while. I purchased my Freestyle at the end of July. I began using it exclusively a couple weeks ago.
After speaking with other moms of multiples who had successfully & unsuccessfully breastfed, I decided to rent the Symphony for three months {at the cost of $180 by the way}. I spoke with a couple LCs before I delivered, & they too strongly recommended that pump to establish milk supply for NICU babies. I’ll never know otherwise, but I feel that the Symphony, & my consistent contact with it, helped get my supply in order for feeding two.
Five day old baby Zach in Jason’s arms with the-thankfully–ever-present-in-NICU Symphony in the background.
The Symphony is big & heavy. The hospital had it on it’s own rolly cart which worked well to move it around the NICU {seen above}. It’s quiet though for the size – the motor barely hums & there’s pretty much no vibration. The sucking timing with the Symphony seemed in line with what my babies do.
The parts used on the Symphony are the exact same ones as all the other Medela pumps, except for the tubing. I was fortunate that the NICU LC gave me parts & my hospital room nurse did too. Be sure to ask for parts in the hospital – it’ll save you $50. It was nice too that I then had back up parts, so we didn’t have to wash constantly. I do go by the rule of thumb that it’s okay to place the pump parts in the fridge during the day or night & just wash them every 12 hours or so.
I started out pumping every 3 hours around the clock with the Symphony for 15 minutes at a time. The NICU LC told me it was okay to go a 4 hour stretch at night, so I could sleep a little more {this was before they were home}. Once the babies were breastfeeding, I jumped my pumping scheduled onto their NICU feeding schedule. I’d feed them every 4 hours then pump afterwards. My output was typically about an oz on each side after feeding both. If I pumped without feeding them, I would typically pump 5 oz on the right & 6 or more oz on the left.
Now let’s chat about the Freestyle. It’s the most expensive of the portable Medela pumps {was $299 at Target}. I did my research again though & felt like for my life~ work schedule, travel plans, two babies~ the Freestyle would be better than the more well known Pump in Styles.
For one, the entire pump fits in my palm & is fairly light weight. It’s a double pump, but the tubing is made so that you can change the connection and pump one at a time if needed. It can clip onto your pants aka you’re not tied to a big heavy pump. I would be unable to cart the Symphony back & forth with me to work while carrying the Freestyle up from the parking lot, up & down flights of stairs & holding it while pumping is a breeze.
The Freestyle has a rechargeable battery which makes the pump portable. This has been great for over-night pumping. I can pump in the nursery while putting the paci back in Zach’s mouth. Or pump in the kitchen under the light when the rest of the house is sleeping in the dark. Or like this morning, pump in the kitchen before work while eating cereal & packing up bottles for daycare.
The Freestyle is fairly loud in a white noise kind of way. The pumping motor is pretty noticeable. The sucking seems to be a little longer & slower than my two do.
The Freestyle requires it’s own pump parts. The tubing is different, the connectors are very different & comprised of 3 parts {you can buy extras of them though & I did}. You can use the flanges from other Medela models even though the Freestyle comes with different {softer plastic} flanges.
And you’re wondering about my output… That’s the main thing, right? I was worried too. So much so that my husband offered for us to continue to pay for us to rent the Symphony. But I’ve been happy to say that I don’t see much of a difference there. Now that I’m back to work, the day pumping has been on the lower end of my normal ~ about 3-4 oz on the right & 6 oz on the left. Overnight, I get the same as I had with the Symphony.
But the time it takes to produce the same amount is longer. Instead of 15 minute sessions with the last 3-5 minutes being empty pumping, I now pump mostly between 18-22 minutes before I get empty pumping. That’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed.
I think the Symphony did great to get my supply established, but that’s not to say that the Freestyle couldn’t have done that. I don’t know since that’s not my experience. But I will say that I’ve been happy with my decisions & have no real complaints so far with my switch.
When What Alice Forgot arrived at my doorstep, I thought two things ~ this book is thick & I’m so glad its more of a ‘chick lit’ light read. I’d been reading either heavy books for my local book club or pouring through multiples & breastfeeding books. I knew in my sleep deprived state, I couldn’t handle anything I had to think too hard about.
And what happened as I was reading What Alice Forgot, I got less sleep because I skipped naps in favor of reading. It was that good & I just had to know how it turned out.
What Alice Forgot tells the story of Alice Love, who wakes up on the gym floor thinking its 1998, shes 29, happily married & pregnant with her first child. But actually, its 2008, she’s 39, has 3 kids & getting a divorce {& she remembers nothing of the last 10 years}. The book tells the story of how she got from one place in life to the other. The 29 year old Alice reminded me of my recent former self, but I could understand & see how the 39 year old Alice got there.
The novel is told through Alice’s perspective but has letters that Alice’s sister Elizabeth writes to her therapist {helping her deal with her infertility struggle which hit close to home with me} and also letters their ‘grandmother’ Fannie writes to an old boyfriend {loved feisty Fannie!}. I enjoyed the others’ perspectives. Seeing Alice & her memory loss through them helped clue me in to what she’d gone through.
I really enjoyed this novel. I thought it was a quick, fun read & I’m looking forward to hearing what others thought of the book. For more discussion on What Alice Forgot, jump on over to the BlogHer Book Club page for the book.
This is a sponsored post from BlogHer Book Club, but the thoughts & opinions are my own.
Where She Went by Gayle Forman is actually the sequel to If I Stay. So in the last week (actually two weeks ago now), I read both. I couldn’t put either down; reading If I Stay as a library e-book from my phone Fri & Sun then finishing Where She Went in the hospital last Wednesday. These books are written under the young adult genre but are not quite as fluffy as somethings that ‘YA’ might lead you to believe.
Both IIS & WSW, describe the story of two musicians, Mia & Adam. Mia is a talented classic cellist while Adam is in a rock band called Shooting Stars. IIS is set in Oregon, from Mia’s point of view & mostly involves the story of her & Adam coming together as a couple, her family & the aftermath of a horrific car accident. WSW picks up on Adam & Mia’s lives but three years after the accident & told from Adam’s perspective, mostly taking place in NYC.
I really liked them both for what they are: entertaining quick reads. But Where She Went brought me to tears. I really didn’t want the book to end. In the way back of the novel though, there’s a glimpse at what I hope is a third!
You Have No Idea is the new memoir by Vanessa Williams, her mother Helen Williams & with Irene Zutell. While I knew who Vanessa Williams was & basic information on her past, I didn’t know much beyond what you probably know: how she was Miss America but lost the title due to a photo scandal, that she’d had some singing hits back in the day & that more recently she’d played characters on Ugly Betty & Desperate Housewives. I don’t watch either of those shows though, so I didn’t even know the details of the characters she played.
So when BlogHer Book Club, mentioned they were reviewing her new book, I jumped on it. I thought it’d be fun {pre}summer reading & knew her story would at least be pretty interesting how she’d managed to jump around the entertainment business & rise above the scandal that started her career. And interesting, her story definitely was.
At first I thought the way You Have No Idea was set up was kinda weird; almost random. You learn snippets, then later there’s probably a chapter devoted to that particular topic. And the chapters often flip back between being written by Vanessa & then Helen’s points of view. But once I got used it, I really liked that aspect. It was like you might get a preview of something & then you were looking forward to reading more {or at least that’s how it felt to me}. I also really enjoyed the dual points of view. Hearing Helen’s take on the men in Vanessa’s life cracked me up. They’re thoughts of the death of Vanessa’s father were so sad.
I think if you enjoy memoirs in general, especially ones on celebrities, you’d definitely like reading You Have No Idea. If your interested in more info & others thoughts on the book, jump on over to BlogHer’s Now Reading: You Have No Ideato join the discussion.
This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.
