Cotton Babies Retail Store is moving!!

We've been working hard on getting the build-out finished for the new retail store (located at 9916 Kennerly Plaza in St. Louis, MO). The new sign is up and we should have the final permits tomorrow! We packed up the old store today and have temporarily closed at the old location until we can get everything moved in at the new address. I will send an email out to the St. Louis list as soon as I have information about the opening date. As long as everything goes smoothly, it will be very soon.

New Products!

When the new store opens, we'll be debuting many new product lines (some are new to St. Louis) so you'll want to be sure to visit our new location for the scoop. You're going to find new strollers, new carseats, new clothes and lots of fun new products from brands you know and a few you don't!

We're giving away a carseat!

The coming months will be full of events designed to support local parents. Our first event is scheduled for May 3rd when Britax will be sending a trained carseat technician to the store on May 3rd to do car seat demonstrations. At 1pm, we'll be doing a group demonstration in our teaching area. After the demonstration at 1pm, we'll give away a Britax Boulevard to someone who was there for the entire demonstration.

Food Fun: A Photo Essay

Zucchini is getting cheap around here, summer must be right around the corner! I bought a bunch the other day and made some very yummy zucchini bread. I had some extra zucchini when I was done mixing so I figured I would just pop it into my Fresh Baby Tray and make good use of it.


When I have been making veggies for the family it has been easy to pop a little of the leftovers into the blender and put them in the tray as well. I have just made sure to cook the vegetables without butter or salt, but those can always be added at the table if you miss them. For my zucchini, I just packed the shredded zucchini down in the tray without any other preparation. By doing this a little at a time, I have not really spent any extra time on freezing baby food. Well, I have to rinse out the blender, but that is only like a minute.

Once they are good and frozen I just pop them out and put them into labeled bags and rinse the tray out so my tray is always ready to catch more leftovers. I use one tray for food and one for breastmilk.

To get the zucchini baby-ready I popped it into a little bowl and microwaved it for 30 seconds, then mashed it a little with a fork.


Then the real fun began! Lily was not too fond of the zucchini, or maybe the texture. But they say that a baby may need to try something up to 15 times before they like it. Since it is such a mild vegetable, I think we will keep trying. This has been her general reaction to most foods, so I am really not too surprised that she was reticent.


In order to give her a chance to really understand what she was getting, I spooned some of it directly into her hand so she could squish it and smell it and put it in her own mouth. Watching babies have new experiences is an amazing privilege of parents and caregivers!


She played with it for a few minutes before it was time for nap. I think we will try it again later on today, maybe it will keep her busy while I try to eat dinner! (Her bib with a pocket kept her nice and clean.)

Other ideas for making your own baby foods:

• Corn, peas, green beans, carrots... pretty much any vegetable that you would eat yourself. We gave Lily a broccoli stalk to chew on while we ate dinner the other day and it kept her busy. She got enough of it to produce evidence in her diaper, even if it didn't look like she ingested any!
• chopped up fruit
• chicken or beef, VERY finely chopped
• cooked beans, whether canned or cooked from died
• leftover breakfast oatmeal

Some combo ideas:

• Beans and rice: I combine some canned beans with a little leftover rice, swirl in the blender (it gets blended less and less as baby grows and gets more teeth) and pop into your freezer trays.
• Chicken and noodles
• sweet potatoes and chicken (this one is a big favorite with my kids!)
• Apples and additive free breakfast sausage

Really the list is endless! Think about what you feed your family already. Start your baby on individual parts of that, about one every 4-5 days. They don't have to have a lot of it for you to be able to tell if it disagrees with them. A lick, a chew, a spit, and their body has been exposed to the new substance. Before you know it they have sampled most of what you are eating yourself. Don't be opposed to letting them experience the food with all their senses and their hair. The whole world is new to them!

Smells like... Nothin'

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get your diapers really clean.

Ah, but what does this really mean? It means having nothing left on the diaper but the fabric itself. This is the reason that you want a detergent without brighteners, scents, dyes or fabric softeners. All of these things are meant to leave a little trace on your fabrics. It's all well and good to have some optical brighteners and scents cling to your t-shirt. But when it clings to the fabric of a cloth diaper and then you add in urine on top of that, there are going to be problems. You should be able to stick your face right into a clean diaper from the dryer or line and smell nothing. If you still smell something, you need to rinse some more.

Cleaning your cloth diapers means that you need to get all traces of pee, poop, sweat, dirt, and detergent out of the fabric before you are done. If any of that stuff is left on the diaper you will find yourself with smell problems and possibly rash problems as well. bumGenius Odor Remover is a new way to help break down the stinkies before you even wash.

Since everyone has different skin, water, and washing machines, no one recommendation is perfect for all. It may take a little trial and error to figure out the right detergent and number of rinses for your hardness of water, sensitivity of skin, washing machine, and kind of diaper before you find the right combination for your family. You may still need to use a little bleach every now and then to help strip out the stubborn stuff but you certainly won't need it with every wash. There are also other ways to strip your diapers (remove detergent or rash cream build up) like Dawn dish soap.

Taking a clean load of diapers out of the dryer is one of the small joys in life for me. But maybe I am just really weird.

For more detailed information see Cloth Diapering - Just the Basics.

Trick for Neutralizing Ammonia Odor

I recently read one Moms advice on killing the ammonia odor in her cloth diapers. She says that Lime juice naturally kills bacteria and neutralizes ph, so she puts a tablespoon of it in the final rinse when she washes her cloth diapers.

Give this tip a try and respond letting me know if it works for you!

Me and My Lamby

Lambies are the best. For my last four kids I have used one and it has been so handy. That fuzzy little rug can do just about anything.

We have had our lamby for over ten years now and it still looks pristine. It has been through 4 kids - well it is on its fourth kid and there is not a stain to be found on it. It is still lofty and cuddly and perfect as ever.

Some uses for your Lamby Lambskin:

• Before baby is born, sleep on it yourself. It is wonderfully cushy on those sore hips and it will absorb some of your scent, which makes it comforting for baby after birth.
• Lay baby on top of it. It keeps baby warm when it is cold and cool when it is warm.
  
• Use it as extra cushioning in the stroller.
• Place baby on the Lamby when she needs a little bare bottom time. It will help to keep her warm and will protect surfaces under it.
• Watch baby discover the texture of the wool, they love to run their fingers over the slightly bumpy surface and try to grab the tufts.
• Use it as a home away from home while traveling. The familiar scent and feel will help baby to sleep better in an unfamiliar situation.

Just this afternoon, Lily was rolling around on hers and pulling up the edges and rubbing her own cheeks with them. She would giggle and snuggle it each time and then do it all again. It was truly a precious baby moment.

Care of the lambskin is much easier than I anticipated and is much the same as caring for wool diaper covers. Because wool is naturally dirt resistant, I only wash it right before a new baby and if it gets actually soiled with spit up or other body fluids. And with spit up, it can be wiped off pretty easily, so it doesn't get washed until it has been doused more than a few times. Follow the directions on the wool wash you choose (Not Woolite!) to soak it then hang to dry. Eucalan or LANA 20% lanolin soap both work well.