Finding hope...

A few months back I stumbled upon a blog that I have since grown to love!  Kristen from whenathome.com writes in a way that really speaks to me.  I am honored to be a part of her newest series on all things fertility related, entitled "Finding Hope".

All this week and next week amazing, brave women are sharing their personal stories.  Mine went up today finding-hope: melissa's-story .  Please read and share love with all the women who are a part of this series, and of course, read everything Kristen has written because she's awesome.  Thank you Kristen for sharing your blog with us!

Solids...a sneak peak...

We officially started solids!  I am trying to follow the baby led weaning style so we skipped purées and went straight to real food.  Juniper had her first taste of sweet potato "fries" and loved them!  I also got to start using some of my new cloth diapering tools, my sprayer, Spray-Pal and Diaper Dawgs!

 I will tell you more about both of our experiences in a later blog but wanted to share this milestone briefly for now.

My new best friends...(Diaper Dawgs review & Giveaway)

If dogs are a man's best friend then Diaper Dawgs are a cloth diapering mamma's best friend!

I have been wanting a pair of Diaper Dawgs since I first saw them.  You can imagine my excitement when my very own dawgy duo arrived in the mail!  Diaper Dawgs come in two color pack options, Milo (blue) & Buddy (green) and Molly (purple) & Bella (pink).  I chose for Milo & Buddy to come live with us and our cloth diapers.

By now I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about...what do dogs, I mean Dawgs, have to do with cloth diapering?  For me, the worst part of the cloth diaper experience is separating the inserts from my pocket diapers and removing the yucky liners from my covers.  I can have Milo & Buddy do the dirty work for me!  Diaper Dawgs are silicone mitts to protect your fingers from soiled diaper liners/inserts.  Just slip a Dawg on and let him (or her) "fetch" that messy part.  I know some moms have had success using these to help wring out wet inserts and that wasn't the case for me because the dirty water ended up getting inside but that could just be my bad form and not a fault of the design.  I am looking forward to their help as I start Juniper on solids.  My need to get at those nasty inserts will be increasing here very soon and I can already see the Diaper Dawgs, my Spray Pal, and diaper sprayer becoming my cloth diaper heroes!

Buddy in action...well pretend action anyway...

Diaper Dawgs are easy to clean, unlike my actual dogs.  You can either hand wash them with warm water and antibacterial soap or use a microwaveable sterilizer bag.  I keep one with my wipe container at my changing table, since there is not a sink handy I just spritz him with some hand sanitizer and let him air dry in between his bi-weekly baths.  You don't even have to feed them...best pet ever!

Speaking of eating, the Diaper Dawgs mouth makes storage easy.  The open mouth rests perfectly on the rim of a wipe container or diaper pail, etc.  You can also store the duo together after a really big mess by just letting them love on each other a little bit.

Want your own pair of Diaper Dawgs?  They retail for $7.95, or you can win your own duo below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received a product in exchange for this review, but all content, photos and opinions are my own.  Your experiences may differ.

*No purchase necessary to win.  Wishes4 fishes is not responsible for any technical failures or for shipping of the prize.  Open to U.S & Canada, ages 18+.  Facebook and Twitter are in no way associated with this giveaway.  Tweets must be PUBLIC to be eligible.  Wishes4fishes reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial.  Void where prohibited by law.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Juniper and I just wanted to share a little Valentine's love.

Cupid's Arrow Target Giveaway...

Welcome to the Cupid's Arrow Target Gift Card Giveaway sponsored by Dictated and Segment and hosted by The Parenting Patch! February 14 is approaching fast. Valentine's Day will be here and gone before you know. In celebration of the holiday love, how would you like to win $50 straight from Cupid's arrow to spend at Target? Two (2) lucky readers of The Parenting Patch, Dictated, Segment, and YOUR BLOG HERE will each win one (1) $50 gift card to Target. To enter for your chance to win the Cupid's Arrow Target Gift Card Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! Happy Valentine's Day! a Rafflecopter giveaway The Cupid's Arrow Target Gift Card Giveaway is open worldwide. An international winner will receive $50 via PayPal in lieu of the specified prize. The Cupid's Arrow Target Gift Card Giveaway ends at midnight CST on February 19, 2014. Two winners will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winners will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and other participating blogs are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Win some fluff money...

I love a baby with a fluff butt!  Cloth diapers have made such a huge difference for me and baby Juniper.  No rashes, no yucky blowouts, no harsh chemicals and on top of that they are super cute!  Here is your chance to try them out if you haven't yet, or for those cloth diaper addicts just add to your stash...

Welcome to the Nicki's Diapers Gift Card Giveaway sponsored by Inter Packet News and hosted by The Parenting Patch! One lucky reader of The Parenting Patch and Inter Packet News will win one (1) $20 gift card to Nicki's Diapers. To enter for your chance to win the Nicki's Diapers Gift Card Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway The Nicki's Diapers Gift Card Giveaway is open worldwide. An international winner will receive $20 via PayPal in lieu of the specified prize. The Nicki's Diapers Gift Card Giveaway ends at midnight CST on February 17, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and other participating blogs are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Valentine's Day is coming...

Welcome to the Crazy Cupid $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway sponsored by the USA Herald and hosted by The Parenting Patch! One lucky reader of The Parenting Patch and the USA Herald will win one (1) $25 Amazon gift card. To enter for your chance to win the Crazy Cupid $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! Happy Valentine's Day! a Rafflecopter giveaway The Crazy Cupid $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway is open worldwide. An international winner will receive $25 via PayPal in lieu of the specified prize. The Crazy Cupid $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway ends at midnight CST on February 15, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and YOUR BLOG HERE are not responsible for prize fulfillment.