Officially a Work At Home Mom!

I've been a stay at home mom for a couple of years now and it's been great. I can't decide what is harder, working outside the house, or staying home. They both have their challenges! Well I have officially combined the two - I'll be working at home. I have been praying for an opportunity like this where I can be at home with P'Diddy so that I can continue to nurse full time, cloth diaper, etc but at the same time make a little money to help out the family. My prayers were answered over the last couple of weeks!

First, I was presented with the opportunity to watch a couple of sisters. One will be here in the afternoons after her pre-K and the other comes home with my two boys after school. But as you know daycare does not pay well and I still needed to find something else.

I learned that it's a killer out there in the workforce! Sooooo many people are looking for a job. I started applying for positions left and right wondering how I was going to manage everything but knew I would figure it out. The other day I was browsing through Craigslist and I found a job that made my heart race. It fit me to a T and it mentioned telecommuting. I couldn't send out my resume fast enough. To make a long story short - I got the job!

Now help me BeachBums (I think this is what I'll name you :), tell me your secrets. How do you write your blog, make your products, manage your time, & be the best mama you can?

Mama Chat

I am having a crazy week and behind in my postings. I came up with Mama Chats so that even if I get behind I can made a few comments and you will know I am still here and what I am thinking.

I've added another child to my household this week. I'm watching two sisters when school starts next week and we're getting a head start. Wow is it different having girls. The shrieks! 

I'd also like to keep chatting about my no sleeping baby. But we'll probably have to leave that for another day.

Kim from www.mycraftymom.net is busy working on my bloglift. Hope I'm not driving her to crazy with my ideas! :)

I've also been job searching. Would love to find something to do by telecommuting. Wish me luck!

Ok, loud children. Signing off.

No Sleep, Caffeine & Breastfeeding

I'm a sleeper. In a perfect world I could sleep ten hours at night and nap everyday. I also pride myself on having children who sleep good. My older two always napped well, were maybe up once in the night to eat, but slept through by their first birthday. My six year old will still take a nap on his own if he's tired and admits he's kind of nervous about first grade where there is no rest period. But baby P'Diddy? He doesn't like to sleep. The reasons that always go through my head are:

1) He's still little and hasn't figured things out yet
2) He's breastfeeding (my other two weren't by this point) and on no schedule
2) He does not want to miss out on anything
3) He has to much energy and doesn't need as much sleep
4) He got 6 teeth in his first 5 1/2 months

 But being up for hours in the middle of the night? WHY? Not taking a good nap the whole day? GEEZ!

This does not happen everyday, but often enough that I complain and whine and wonder what I'm doing wrong. Then one evening Hubby said, "maybe you are drinking to much caffeine" Hmmmm....

My research began. I start with Google but it instantly takes me to Kellymom.com - one of the top websites for breastfeeding support. I should have known. It's a great resource and I've spent a lot of time there already.

The first line that jumps out at me "Caffeine is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics for use in breastfeeding mothers. Most breastfeeding mothers can drink caffeine in moderation" Phew! But I keep reading because I am not one who believes everything medical societies have to say.

"Babies whose mothers avoided caffeine completely during pregnancy seem to react more to caffeine in mom's diet." Well I AM drinking more. I would drink a few soda pops a week during pregnancy and now I was drinking one or two a day. "A baby who is being overstimulated by caffeine is a wide-eyed, active, alert baby who doesn't sleep for long. He may also be unusually fussy."  BINGO!

I'm happy that I may have found my answer! Maybe I can get some sleep again! I decide that maybe I should read the whole page word by word instead of sentences that jump out at me.

I find the article goes against my idea that it is probably caffeine affecting him. Not that caffeine may not effect a baby, but probably not in my case because I don't drink enough of it. They have a great chart that shows how many ml of caffeine a drink has in it. A can of soda pop or two is not enough to matter. Plus, after consumption it would affect a baby most after about an hour and dwindle down in the next couple hours. We were staying up for hours at night so this couldn't be it could it? Another fact I learned is that caffeine will affect a newborn more and by the time they are six months old it shouldn't be much of an issue. We are right at that point.

I stopped drinking my soda pop past the lunch hour. I began bragging to Hubby that P'Diddy got up at the same time each night to nurse and then woke up each morning the same. Three nights in a row! It's a miracle! He's finally getting it! I got cocky and had a Dr.Pepper last night. Guess what? We were up for two miserable hours last night from 3-5am. A coincidence? I don't think so. What do you think?

Resources: http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/caffeine.html

http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/smith_answers2.html#coffee

Second Week Thoughts & Winner!

I was so excited when I woke up this morning because I knew I'd get to go to Random.org and pick out a winner for my first giveaway! Before I announce her I want to share with you my thoughts this week.

- I need a BlogLift! Yep, I'm ready. After browsing through all the cute blogs I decided that I wanted one that showed ME and will "brand" Crunchy Beach Mama. So I'm selling a few diapers to help fund this. It just means a little more laundry right?

- I need a computer break. Have you ever been on so much that your eyes hurt at the end of the day? You go to sleep dreaming about what to write, where to promote, and who you need to email.

- That the blog community is overall WONDERFUL and I love love love the new friends that I have made!

ok ok I know you want to hear who won my first Babylegs giveaway. I'm so happy with the turnout of 136 entries. And the winner is................

#75 Kim from www.mycraftymom.net (hey Kim I need those comment numbers - I had to count to high! :)

She commented... added your button to my blog! (left sidebar under (mama blogroll)

entry #2 .....see it pays to add my button! :)

 

Thanks again to everyone and don't forget my Usborne Books giveaway - the entries are low and these are FABULOUS books that anyone with a child in their life needs or as gifts!!

New Followers

A HUGE Thank You to all my followers!

Today is the mark of my 2nd week anniversary!

Goal for today is to get 100 Google Friends - 50 Facebook Fans - 60 Twitters

But don't follow me 'cuz - I want to see you back :)

The more Followers the more I can help the WAHMama's I feature!

Now what name can I call my Followers? Help me decide! Crunchers? Beachbums? What??

(last day for Babylegs ~ and my wonderful Usborne Books has low entries - spread the word!)

Sandy with Doodle Dypes

I am very excited to write this post because featuring mama's is what I want this blog to be all about!

You can't be a part of the Babycenter cloth diaper board and not know who Sandy with Doodle Dypes is. If there is a post talking about favorite diapers then Doodle Dypes is the top subject. Of course I had to have my first homemade diaper be from her!

Sandy sells her diapers on Hyena Cart which gets its name because people stalk it like a hyena and then pounce when the item gets listed. Isn't that hilarous? And it's true, Sandy stocks her diapers on Wednesdays at 6:00pm EST and they sell out within minutes!

The reason I got so lucky to get a diaper was because she also does customs. See them here. You will start be starting your wish list when you see these fabrics because they are so darn cute! I had one picked out for weeks, Camo Skulls it was called. I was scared to death someone else would take it before I could order it. :)

I finally got it ordered and was added to her long line of customers, but I didn't care how long it took to come because we weren't in a hurry. We were just excited to get one! A few days later I was scrolling through Facebook and she had a Star Wars fabric photo up. Both my boys were near me and just had to have it for their little brother. So another one got added to our list!

The day I got my shipping confirmation that the diapers were on their way was the day the boys and I started stalking the mailman. Then it was a fight on who was going to get to open it. After sharing the task we take them out of the package and they were so nicely wrapped in plastic with her name and a sheet of instructions on how to care for the diapers. Which one do we try first?

P'Diddy was napping when the diapers came and I don't think I've ever wanted to wake him up like I did then. I couldn't wait for him to wear them! I was a patient mom though because I've learned you never want to wake a sleeping baby. :)

Are you ready to see my cute P'Diddy in his new dypes?

Look closely so you can see the skulls in the camo. Now for a butt shot. We love Star Wars! May the force be with you.

She carries three kinds of diapers. One size fitteds, All in Twos, & the Dynky Doodles for the newborns. I can't imagine covering up this diaper with a cover so I had to chose an AI2. It has a five layers of soft organic bamboo inserts that are made into two that snap off to make drying easier.

Now enough about the diapers. Let's learn more about Sandy and the secrets to her success. She was nice enough to answer a few questions for me.

Tell me about yourself and your family.

I am a mother of two amazing daughters and I have two gorgeous grand-daughters who have become my entire world!! I am married and have been living in Northern California pretty much all of my life. I did spend 6 years near Peoria, IL and truly loved the Midwest as well. I am what some say a perfectionist in everything that I do - this of course can be good and bad!! :) My parents live near Sacramento and we spend as much time together as possible - my Mom often comes and stays with me and helps me out with cutting!!

How did you get started?

I worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the Education department and got injured back in 2006 which forced me to medically retire. I was so bored!!!! I am the type of person the loves having something to do and love even more doing for others. My daughter told me she was going to CD and I thought she was nuts!!! I knew nothing of 'today's' cloth - all that I knew were rubber pants and prefolds!! When she showed me her first diaper I was in love!!! I said, "I can make those too" - she was on a budget and I wanted to help her out so I sat in my craft room day and night, made a lot of really bad diapers!, until I got it just right!! I always call my oldest grand daughter "doodle bug" so the name "Doodle Dypes" was born!!

How long does it take to make a diaper?

Each diaper from start to finish can take anywhere from an hour or longer - depending on fabrics and such. When I use colored inners or thicker fabrics I have to baste the diaper first, then sew it - then remove the basting stitches!! I can normally get 6-10 done a day if I work from 7am until late into the evening. I love what I do and try and spend as much time doing it as I physically can!!

Are you a crunchy mama? (definition of crunchy here)

I AM A CRUNCHY MOM!!!! (Gi GI). I have always been aware of what is going on around me and try and leave as little footprint on this Earth as possible! I was very sad when I tried to breastfeed my girls and was not able to - just wouldn't work for me. No milk ever came in (that was probably the saddest part of my babies)! :( I believe in discipline through love and not anger. I do not believe in spanking - I think it only teaches your child about pain; unacceptable in my book. I see parents yelling at their kids and spanking and it is very difficult for me not to say something. I wanted 4 children and God blessed me with two - which I am thankful for - but I see Moms having tons of children and truly not want them - hurtful when I have so much love to give them!! I think that is one of the many reasons my grand-babies are so important to me - there is nothing like a hug from a child - I melt!

What is the best thing about your job?

By far, the best thing about my job is seeing LO's smiles when they wear my creations!! I feel like I am making a difference on Earth and not just existing in it. I am actually living with it and adjusting my lifestyle to fit it's lifestyle. I want my grand-children, their grand-children, etc. to have as beautiful of environment as I did growing up - I find myself saying, "in my day" and that is the one thing I use to always joke with my father about - wow, now I am doing it to my kids!!

Anything you'd like me to add?

One thing I strive for is originality, honesty, and above all excellent customer service - after all my customers business is what makes my business. If it weren't for them, I would not be blessed to be able to stay home and sew - one of my life long passions!! I never forget why I am here - and why I do this - you have to love what you do to truly make a good product.

_____________________

Isn't she great?

Here are Sandy's links so you can add them to your Favorites

www.hyenacart.com/doodledypes - so you can stalk her too

http://flickr.com/doodledypes - custom fabrics

Click here to "like" her on Facebook. Check out her Custom Photo Album and be sure to tell her that Crunchy Beach Mama sent you :)