(we just got a new wide angle lens, used to take these photos)

We survived yet another day of driving yesterday.  This leg took us from Hagerstown, MA to Charlotte, NC.  I am so glad we broke up the drive.  It was another successful trip.  No crying, minimal whining, and no diaper catastrophes.

I used the Best Bottoms shell for Fletcher to swim in since I forgot his Swimmi.  He ended up wearing a bumGenius! 4.0 shell with biosoakers.  Everett had a Gro Baby which he used overnight with a biosoaker, and when that shell had some poop in it in the morning we switched to the same Gro Via shell he wore the day before that I washed in the sink and hung to dry overnight.

Both boys used Biosoakers for the entire trip.  I am very impressed.  I have used them before on a plane trip.  I believe not using the stickers helped make things a whole lot easier.  I was using them in the Gro Baby and trying to sticker them on a plane changing table.  Just laying them in was easy and leaves no sticky residue.  They stayed in place just fine.

Other than the biosoakers our trip was made easier by a portable DVD player, Chuggington, and a baby who loves to sleep in his car seat.  Ev slept virtually the entire trip, both days.

As for the hotel, we cosleep so we didn’t need to pack any beds.

And for food, I bring that with me wherever I go.  It is the perfect temperature so no need for bottle warmers.  He also drinks straight from the tap so there are no bottles needed.  I don’t know how people travel with bottles, what a pain!

We will be in NC for 2 weeks with family.  Like I said before, I am using cloth here.  I packed light (by my standards).  I unpacked the diapers and put them in this basket.  Ev’s diapers are on the left, Fletcher’s on the right.

We decided Sunday at 10 am we would go to Ottawa for the rest of the weekend.  We left by 11 and spent exactly 36 hours away!

At Cosmic Adventures in Ottawa

Museum of Culture

Remember how I was waiting for the Mutsy to announce their new stroller?  Here it is!

Chester, New Jersey – (July 2010) – Netherlands-based Mutsy, recognized for its modernistic stroller designs featuring a distinctive modular, flexible system, introduces the Mutsy Duoseat, a front and rear seating unit that can be used with their popular Mutsy 4Rider stroller chassis.

Mutsy’s solution for parents with two young children (mom can now use her 4Rider chassis even after the arrival of a new member in the family!), the Duoseat is a special insert with two seats that can be combined with the 4Rider stroller chassis.  The Duoseat’s compact styling offers the benefit of being able to transport two children without the hindrance of a double width stroller.  The seat allows for easy turning in tight places and full access even through the narrowest of doors.

The front seat is suitable for children 6 months and older.  The rear seat, suitable from birth, can be placed in 4 positions, including a reclined position for baby.  Each seat unit has its own hood and the Duoseat offers great stability, safety and comfort for its little passengers.  Available in Navy, the Mutsy Duoseat has a recommended retail of $199 (chassis not included).  The Duoseat/Chassis combination has a recommended retail of $599.  Optional footmuffs are available for purchase for each seat.  The footmuffs provide for warmth in cold weather and the rear seat muff also offers additional support and cushioning for baby. Baby can be placed in the muff during winter/colder weather months and on top of the muff during summer/warmer weather months.  The optional footmuffs have a recommended retail of $49.

DuoSeat can be purchased online at www.mutsy.com and at leading specialty juvenile products retailers nationwide.

We got back from Texas on Sunday.  It was a long day which began at 3:30 am and lasted until 5:30 pm.  2 flights and a 1.5 hour car ride home.  I am lucky that my son is a great traveler and has always been great on the plane.  We visited my husband’s grandmother.  She is having good days and bad days, but unfortunately she doesn’t have a lot of time left.  She was so happy to see my son.  Out of all of her grandchildren he is the only blonde one, hence his name “The Golden Boy.”

We packed for this trip in less than an hour but I still made sure to bring my cloth diapers.  We were staying at family’s so we had easy access to a washer.  I packed fairly light.  Usually I have 20+ diapers, this time I only took 8 diapers, but 10 total since one was an All in Two.  I tried grabbing All in Ones or diapers with inserts that agitated out.  This made laundry easier, so insert to stuff or hunt for.  In case you are interested, I took:

(2) Tots Bots Easy Fits

Drybees Hybrid AIO

Best Bottom with 3 inserts

Smartipants

Bum Genius Organic AIO

Bum Genius 3.0

Thirsties Duo

I didn’t pack detergent because I knew Kim from Rockin’ Green was based in San Antonio.  Speaking from previous experience, no ordinary detergent will do in the mineral heavy, hard water in Texas.  I had repelling issues last trip.  I wanted to buy some samples of Hard Rock for the trip and I did.  I didn’t have any issues and that was wonderful!  It was also a lot of fun to meet Kim, someone I have interacted with for a year or so on twitter.  I am seriously still in awe of what an amazing business woman she is because her company has exploded!

Other than visiting our family, some of whom came from North Carolina, and of course the others who live in Texas, we did the usual touristy stuff.  We took Fletcher to Schlitterbahn and he loved it!  We did some shopping and a lot of eating!  In fact, my OB appointment to check in on little Shrimpy was today and the P.A. said “Looks like your baby had a growth spurt.”  Yeah, we will say it the nice way and not, “Looks like you ate a crap load of tacos in Texas.”

While I was gone I had zero internet access, unless you count my iPhone.  Grandma’s house doesn’t have the internet!  I still have a lot of playing catch up to do.  I was supposed to send out the Operation Fluffy package last week but that will have to come this week.  I hope this will convince Ellen to put cloth diapers on her show.

Thanks for sticking around and waiting out my absence.  I will fix the Katydid video review as soon as I can as well!  Here are some pictures from the trip!

Grandma and Fletcher

Fletcher and his "Cuncle" Leroy

Image: Flickr bfraz

Some of you know this, but I had to book it on a plane over to San Antonio to visit a family member who is very ill.  She wanted very much to see her “golden boy” who is also my son.  My son is the only blonde member of her family so this cracks me up.

We heard the situation and bought right after (11 pm) and had to pack and get on a plane the next day.  It was hectic but we survived.  I made sure to pack up my cloth diapers.  I had some dirties, but not many, and threw them in the washer and rinsed them.  I am worried they are going to mold before I get back but I hope not!  I meant to wash them too but there was too much going on.

My son was perfect on the plane too!  We brought books, snacks, a DVD player, and a baby laptop.  The second flight he slept the entire time!

Right now I have my iPhone but no access to my computer except from Starbucks.  Obviously things are busy but I will try to keep some posts coming.  There will be a giveaway for a bumGenius 4.0!  Also, I had no idea the audio was missing in the Katydid review I posted Monday.  I can’t fix it until I get back home in a week.

The good news is that I am going to visit Kim from Rockin’ Green!  How cool is that?

When I think back to the many, many times I have nursed in public I notice there is probably a reason no one ever uttered a word to me about it:  I looked like I was doing what I should be.

Most new mothers fear nursing in public more than anything else.  I did also.  I feared showing too much skin, I feared having people confront me, and I feared making others uncomfortable.  I covered myself with a nursing cover and was constantly checking on the baby to see that he was breathing and eating.  It was the least natural experience.  I tried to schedule all of my outings to be right after he nursed, or I would top him off before we left.  No outing was more than 2 hours since I had to be home to feed him again.  It was miserable.  My husband was also paranoid about nursing in public.  He was watch as I did it and if the cover slipped, he would position it back, even if it was my should that was visible.

Eventually I learned that using a cover wasn’t for us.  My baby hated it, and it was a pain.  I started dressing in layers or wearing nursing tops. I would sometimes use a blanket to cover while I latched my baby because that was the one chance someone had to get a nipple shot.

At the time by son was 5 or 6 months we were nursing in public pros.  By the time he was a year I had nursed all over.  Caves, planes, restaurants, parks, amusement parks, public functions, a duck boat, a paddle boat, etc…

Not once did a person tell me to cover up.  Never did someone roll their eyes at me and “tisk tisk” at the obscene act I was committing.  I was always, always prepared with my witty comebacks if someone asked me to put a blanket over my head or feed my baby in the bathroom.  At times I would have an entire dialogue running, playing out the way I was going to make those people wish they had never confronted me.  I almost wished someone would say something, just once, so I got a chance to use all of my comebacks I had been storing up for months!  Fortunately, no one did.

I nursed in public for about 15 months until we weaned down enough to only nurse at home at night or for naps.  But why didn’t anyone ever say anything to me?  You read all of the time about women asked to leave restaurants and public buildings because they were nursing.  And it isn’t geography.  I have nursed in my own town plenty, but in other places.  Rural and urban.  Salisbury NC and Las Vegas NV. I have nursed in front of all classes, the uppers and the lowers and in between.  Certainly someone should have said something.  Maybe they wanted to…

I am a firm believer that confidence was the key to my success at nursing in public.  I was stealthy, I learned how to get my baby latched and in position to keep the key parts away from public view.  I never looked around nervously to see if anyone was watching, or skulked to a corner to feed my baby.  In the company of friends I may have turned around to latch my son and returned, but not always.  I looked like I was doing what I was supposed to be.  There was never a doubt.  I was feeding my son the way it was intended.  He needed to eat.  I had the food.  How else was I supposed to feed him?

When I hear of nursing mothers who are so afraid to nurse in public they pack formula for trips or pump milk in advance, I get sad.  I want to tell them all that they can do it!  They too can nurse in the public eye without fear.  And you know, if someone comes and says something to them, they can rip that person a new one.  Not only is it the LAW that women can nurse their children in public, but it is the baby’s right to eat.  In some states, there are even laws protecting mothers against persecution from obscenity laws or public nudity laws (NY State does) so if something is seen, it is still under the umbrella of breastfeeding, therefore it is not “nudity” or “obscene.”

I always urge women to educate themselves on their rights to be prepared.  But if you look like you are feeding your baby in the most natural way possible, I have a feeling those naysayers might not want to pick a fight.

Have you ever wondered what our cloth diapering friends across the pond (and around the globe) are putting on their babies?  Well, for starters, many countries call their cloth diapers “nappies.”  So, what are we missing out on?

Many months ago I stumbled across Tots Bots, a UK cloth nappy company with the best prints!  While some of their product line has made it stateside thanks to Bummis (I am reviewing the Easy Fit)  we don’t have their prints!

In Australia I found Itti Bitti Nappies.  This line has a ton of different styles to offer and I love the rainbow of colors!  They make SIO (snap in Ones) and All in Ones to name a few.

New Zealand seems to have a lot of cloth diaper users.  EcoBubs is a brand I learned about that has an adorable striped pattern and comes in different color combos.  This diaper is a wool pocket.  Intrigued…

Pikapu is another Australian brand.  Why am I including it in my list?  Because they make a charcoal and a grey version (love it!).  This is an All-in-one with absorbent layers but with microfleece against the skin.  I imagine it to be like a Bum Genius Organic AIO but with a stay dry layer.  They do resemble Thirsties quite a bit.  And their typeface and website remind me of an American Apparel ad sans the visible butt cheeks.  I have to give them props for their motto though…

From Singapore comes a cutesy named diaper: Moo Moo Kow. This diaper is very similar to Happy Heineys.  They have wide tabs with either a velcro or snaps version.  Their diaper is also a one size pocket.

In Germany I found a diaper called Popolini, which makes a variety of styles including a one size.  Since they didn’t have any english on their website and my husband was unwilling to help me translate, I had a hard time navigating.  But, they exist!  What I did discover is that there is a cross over between this brand, and Mother-ease.  Which products I am not sure…

I also noticed a trend: Australians are pretty straight forward about what their diapers are for.  This brand of diapers is called “Krap Katchers” (get it?) and isn’t anything unique, but I had to mention it for the name.  The diaper itself is a Fleece pocket designed for overnights.

Germany is BORING.  Every diaper I found was plain, white, and utilitarian.  This diaper, Storchenkinder, is a tying nappy.  I have actually wanted to try a tying diaper for a while.

I hope you enjoyed traveling with me and shopping for modern cloth diapers around the world.  There are many countries using cloth diapers, but in most cases they are still using traditional cotton squares.  The US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia are the leaders in variety and brands by far!

How often do you hear that sentence?  In the past month, I have heard it once and experienced it wordlessly one other time.

While flying back from Charlotte NC I was alone with my son.  I don’t even want to count how many times we have flown by ourselves.  The only way I would consider it is if I am babywearing (godsend for flying, let me tell you) and nursing (godsend for inside of the airplane).  Since I am still able to do both it was no biggie.

On the flight from Charlotte to JFK I sat next to a large, but nice and friendly man who was more than happy to make conversation with Fletcher and I.  Once the plane took flight I knew what I needed to do to make everyone’s experience positive.  Nurse.  It was nap nap time for my son, and time for me to watch TV on Jetblue!  I was wearing a nursing tank, the Hotslings Milk Daze (which I am reviewing and hosting a giveaway for soon!!!) and I pulled over one layer and latched him on.  All the while, the man next to me is chatting us up.  I didn’t want to say anything to him, but I assumed he would figure out what I was doing and pay attention to his screen.

Instead, he continued talking to me.  He even tried peering over to see if my baby was asleep.  He seemed completely oblivious.  Since I am not shy at nursing in public, and I knew my nipples were covered by baby and my breast was mostly covered by my tank, I wasn’t offended.  Maybe, if I had a regular tank top on and my breast was pulled out of the top, I would have made more of an effort to tell him what was actually happening.  ”No sir, my son isn’t asleep yet, but he is breastfeeding.”

Soon, he did go to sleep, and I put on my headphones for the universal sign of “I would like to relax and discontinue conversation, thank you.”  Our conversation ended until landing and he never was the wiser.

Just a few days ago, a similar situation occurred.  I was at the mall with a friend, and she was chatting with someone she knew.  My son was a little hungry, and very grumpy.  After the usual tactics to calm him and save my sanity, I went to the tried and true: milkies.

We sat on a bench while they chatted and I pulled my sweater up and unhooked my nursing bra.  He laid across my lap and had a light snack.  Then, a woman and her 2 year old daughter came to the bench.  She stood her daughter up on the bench to outfit her in the proper winter attire to leave the mall.  That day, it was a full suit because it was freezing!

Next to me I saw the most adorable shoes I have ever seen.  They were Mary Janes with pandas on the tip.  I was dying!  I struck up a conversation with the woman and commented on her daughter’s shoes.  We chatted while they got dressed (the girl also had a matching hat and mittens!).  When they were close to leaving my son finished so I sat him up and pulled my sweater down.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were breastfeeding.”  I let her know it was no trouble, and nothing to be sorry about.  It was a normal thing we were used to doing.  Then she let me know she nursed her daughter til she was 16 months, and only weaned at her daughter’s cues.  That was a wonderful thing to hear!  Not many mothers make it to toddlerhood.  I think we had a little “bonding” moment as we gushed about how much we loved nursing our babies.  Then we said goodbye.

Encounters like this always make me wonder, what is the big deal about nursing in public?  There is always a way to be discreet (unless you simply don’t want to, which is another matter) and nurse with no breast visibility.  Maybe, if you are very large busted it is harder or impossible.  I have never had one of those so I don’t know!