Summer Mini Session Event

I am having a SUMMER MINI SESSION EVENT from August 8th to the 12th! Click the photo below for more info!

Not only that, but, I am trying to get to 200 fans on my photography fanpage:

www.facebook.com/HeatherBaysPhotography
If I make it to 200 fans by the end of the month of July, I will be GIVING AWAY one mini session for FREE!!! Woohoo!! So, if you've been meaning to get portraits of your family, or kids, or yourself or with your partner or friend or even your pets, then here's your opportunity! Come like my page! And if you really love me, then please, share the news too!
Thanks,
Heather!!

Golden Ages to the Dark Ages of Teething

On average, a baby will cut their first tooth at 7 months. Which is around the same age they become these dangerously fast paced curious little creatures who may bite, pull hair and twist nipples when given the chance. Such busy bodies with equally busy brains. Adelaide got her first tooth at the beginning of August, and now she is working on her 5th one. For teething pain I just give her frozen berries and icecubes or frozen cubed cantaloupe in her Nuby mesh thing and she really LOVES it. She also loves her cthulhu's frozen tentacles, lol. And when the pains really bad, at night before bed I'll cave and give her a half dose of baby pain reliever. You could try Camilia. I get to brush the little teeth every night when we're in the bathtub! They're just the cutest little things.

I've noticed Adelaide eating more since she got her first tooth. So I get vegetables and fruits (homegrown and organic as much as possible) and puree batches big enough so there's plenty left over to freeze a few meals. Here is a super helpful and encouraging site to keep you from feeding your baby boxed or jarred instant food from the grocery store. http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com. If you wanna make batches and freeze them like I do but need a bit of advice, just read THIS. We kept her on a gluten-free dairy-free sugar-free diet at first (mainly because of the yeast rash.) She's since had plain yoghurt which I add fruit to for a sweetener (because she still remains sugar free), and organic brown rice and organic oats which I just process to a fine grain in the food processor. The way I see it, it's only an hour and a half per week to make baby food. You could make bigger batches so you only have to make it every 2 weeks. Whatever works for you and your schedule!

When we started giving Adelaide textured lumpy food and finger foods, it was a little scary at first. I was so afraid she was gonna choke. I also wanted to avoid sugar and gluten filled prepackaged foods that some books recommend. Chopped banana is an easy choice, especially if you're on the go. Or soft fruits like plums, cantaloupe, berries, pears, or avocado without peels of course. Or bake small cubes of sweet potato adding cinnamon and nutmeg until they are super tender (and of course you can omit the spices.) Or slice an eggplant after peeling it and add minced garlic with a dash of pepper and let the eggplant sit and sweat for about an hour or more, then bake for 40 minutes on about 350F, let cool and dice in small bits.

I can't wait til she can eat what we eat! Curries, stews, soups, BBQ! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!! I'm even going to attempt making breast milk ice cream!! Sugar-free of course! So babies can eat it. Perfect for teething!!

Teen Moms Shouldn't Be Glorified.

Okay, I know that I just started my first period after having a baby and having gone 15 months without it, but this show "16 and Pregnant" angers the shit out of me!!! How could ANYONE think it's okay to make a shows called "16 and pregnant" and "Teen Mom" and be okay filming the trashiest and worst child parents parent this way!!??? And don't we have laws about child labour? These wee babies and toddlers are technically working, they are being filmed for TV! For money making purposes! How is it possible that there have been movies or shows or music videos or even songs that get banned from public, but THESE ones, yes THESE ones are a keeper?! This is outrageous!
http://ca.jezebel.com/5796167/did-16--pregnant-star-get-knocked-up-to-be-on-tv?skyline=true&s=i
I just can't believe that there are people out there who would glorify teen pregnancy. I don't have TV and I even know about these shows! I see and hear about them on the internet (that link is the perfect example.) I see these teens and their tots on the covers of magazines when I'm waiting to pay for groceries at the supermarket. These girls have been modelled the same way Lindsay Lohan is and Paris Hilton and Miss Spears. You're fooling yourself if you think this isn't glorifying it! I know they claim to show people the struggles that teen moms go through, but the fact that there are for sure girls out there that would get pregnant just for a chance to be on these shows tell me that the people behind these shows aren't doing their job. And what parent would LET their child BE ON these shows in the first place? Should I even bother asking, lol?! The problems in these children's lives, both the wee children and the teen children, are not problems to be aired on TV for the purpose of a reality TV show, ESPECIALLY when the consequences are so REAL! I hate television!!

Cloth Diapering Mum!

We have gone cloth!  Yep!  The best decision ever.  We ordered a bunch of AMP diapers after much research, trying to decide how I wanted my cloth diapering system to work.  Thanks to our families and a dear friends Mum (one of the coolest Mum's around) we had enough money to buy them which makes this the ultimate gift.  We have been using them for almost 2 weeks now and it's SUPER easy and I just LOVE the diapers, they leak far less then disposables and are WAY cuter and so fashionable, lol.  Seriously, check out the colours!!

We ordered 20 bamboo inserts, 5 of each size of the microfibre inserts, and 21 of the one size pocket diapers in all different colours that fit babies from 7lbs to 35lbs.  I cut up a bunch of soft cotton fabric in squares about the size of my hand to use and wiping cloths.  I have a spray bottle and I filled it with water, olive oil, vinegar and baby soap.

I got the recipe from the AMP diapers site:
2 Cups of previously boiled water
1 Tbsp of baby shampoo or baby wash
1 tsp of cooking oil or baby oil (we prefer cooking oil such as canola or olive oil)
1 Tbsp Vinegar (anti fungal) 
Pour over wipes in an old wipe container or a similar plastic container of your choice.

Cloth diapers are much easier then I imagined.  With what I ordered it seems I can go 4 or 5 days before having to do laundry.  My system is something like this...I will fold a bamboo inserts in 3 on the short side (they are rectangular) and lay it on the diaper, this way when I change her I can reuse the diaper if it's not soiled and just throw the soiled insert in the diaper pail bag.  And sometimes I will stuff the diaper with a microfibre insert if we'll be playing or going out because they seem really soft and cushy that way and it's much easier and quicker to deal with when you're out...you just throw your diaper in the wet bag instead of the garbage. Here's a short video:

When it comes to laundry day, I just throw both of the pail liner bags in to the front loader and do a cold rinse and then add 1/8 of a teaspoon of Allen's natural laundry soap and do a hot wash.  Then I throw the clean diapers in the dryer with 2 clean dry towels (to shorten drying time.)  Ta-da!  That's it.  It sure beats going to the shops and spending like $20 a week on a pack of diapers and lugging them home, only to collect bags of dirty diapers which then end up in the garbage. 

These specific diapers will fit Adelaide for her whole diapering life and if we decide to have more babies, we can use them on them too!  My opinion after just 2 weeks is obviously grand, but I will do another review in the near future as an update letting you know how things are going with them.  But I seriously can't imagine ever going back to disposables!