I haven't written a post on this blog in 6 months, or done a whole lot with respect to my business for that matter. I can definitely say that this period has re-affirmed to me the old adage about getting out what you put in - i.e. you reap what you sow. I haven't been putting in as much time and effort as I had been in the first year, but there is a reason for that, so, here's a window into what has been going on with me, and a little bit of where the biz is headed.
First thing, I was very much pregnant for the first 6 months of 2012. We welcomed our second beautiful baby girl, Zoë Elizabeth, on June 8. Meanwhile, back in October 2011 we put an offer on a house and the whole sale was quite a stressful one. This consumed our lives till March as we had to do renovations, pack, move, find a tenant for our current home, etc, And let's not forget I am still working my stressful full-time job. It was as if everything that could happen just decided to happen at one time. So, Eco Babies had to sit on the back burner for a bit. During this time also we decided to change the business name so it could stand out from all the other "Eco" and "Baby" businesses out there. So here I am with all this stuff going on and trying to conjure up a new business name.
Now that things are a little settled I am trying to get this business back on track. We have a new name and a fancy new logo. We're going to continue doing cloth diapering workshops hosted by Holy Cross Hospital, and will be doing workshops in my home hopefully by next month. That's right, it is a little weird, but, this new home has afforded me some space that I am going to take advantage of. And let's be real, the best place for a small home-based business to start is at home :) I remember when I bought my first cloth diaper we went to a workshop at the Owner's home and they seem to be doing really well now.
The DC Metro area still does not have many conveniently located storefronts for cloth diapers. Though I am not ready to open a storefront yet, I believe that my home in Bowie (15 minutes from Washington, DC), can possibly fill a gap and provide a convenient option for customers to come check out some diapers.
So, look out for Lilly's Diaper Pad. We're coming back HARD!
Showing posts with label My Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Life. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Sunday, June 26, 2011
My kid's lactose intolerant? Now what?
At about 1 yr old I started introducing cow's milk to Becca because, let's face it, formula is expensive. So I'd give her Carnation with cow's milk and at first we had no problems, she liked the Carnation, and all was well with the world. Until she started getting these horrible diaper rashes. I mean HORRIBLE. And it seemed like they were caused by this runny poop she had going on all the time. I felt like an awful parent. What was I doing wrong? I started to question the washing of my cloth diapers? Were they getting residue build up? They didn't smell of ammonia. They weren't leaking. I just couldn't figure it out. I even tried some Oxy Boost but nothing seemed to work. Then my mom, who lives with us and takes care of Becca in the days, started to think it might be the milk. That her sitting in the runny poop for even the shortest time was causing the rash, and that the runny poop was being caused by the milk. At that time she was drinking most of her meals so it could have been milk overload, I don't know. So, we stopped giving her Carnation and started her on Pediasure
, or the Cottontails equivalent and the frequent runny poop stopped.
After a month or so on the Pediasure/Cottontails, which is lactose-free, she started having the same problem again. While I was pregnant my husband had heard about and read up on goat's milk. Apparently, though it isn't lactose-free, it tends to be more easily digested and some people who suffer from lactose intolerance and milk allergies can still drink goat milk without any problems. It is also a very healthy alternative to cow's milk. He even went out and found some for us to try. I know that might sound rather strange to a lot of people, but hey, goat cheese is delicious so the milk couldn't be all that bad. Plus my mom said she drank goat's milk all the time as a child so I felt pretty comfortable about it.
So I headed out to my local MOMs and bought me a pint of goat's milk. The goat's milk seemed to work. Poop was no longer runny. No rashes. We're loving this goat's milk. Admittedly it's a lot more expensive than cow's milk, and it meant I had to make a special trip to MOMs. I have since also tried Smart Balance lactose free milk which she had no problems with, and I just picked up some Lactaid Whole milk today at the supermarket for her. Now I know as you're reading this you're thinking, why didn't you try soy milk? Well, there have been all sorts of talk about soy milk and estrogen that really got my husband freaked out... which is why he started researching the goat's milk in the first place. I asked my pediatrician's opinion, and she said there was no link to this being an issue in children, and it's not something I should be worried about. But, you know, when in doubt... And since there are so many options out there, we thought why take the risk.
We will try to re-introduce cow's milk in the future. We stopped with the yogurt too, but, I give her a slice of cheese on occasion and she's fine with that. It might be something that will work itself out as she grows. It would suck if she couldn't indulge in a slice of pizza :) It's just really good to know there are options out there, so, if you're looking for a healthy alternative to cow's milk why not give goat's milk a try?
, or the Cottontails equivalent and the frequent runny poop stopped.After a month or so on the Pediasure/Cottontails, which is lactose-free, she started having the same problem again. While I was pregnant my husband had heard about and read up on goat's milk. Apparently, though it isn't lactose-free, it tends to be more easily digested and some people who suffer from lactose intolerance and milk allergies can still drink goat milk without any problems. It is also a very healthy alternative to cow's milk. He even went out and found some for us to try. I know that might sound rather strange to a lot of people, but hey, goat cheese is delicious so the milk couldn't be all that bad. Plus my mom said she drank goat's milk all the time as a child so I felt pretty comfortable about it.
So I headed out to my local MOMs and bought me a pint of goat's milk. The goat's milk seemed to work. Poop was no longer runny. No rashes. We're loving this goat's milk. Admittedly it's a lot more expensive than cow's milk, and it meant I had to make a special trip to MOMs. I have since also tried Smart Balance lactose free milk which she had no problems with, and I just picked up some Lactaid Whole milk today at the supermarket for her. Now I know as you're reading this you're thinking, why didn't you try soy milk? Well, there have been all sorts of talk about soy milk and estrogen that really got my husband freaked out... which is why he started researching the goat's milk in the first place. I asked my pediatrician's opinion, and she said there was no link to this being an issue in children, and it's not something I should be worried about. But, you know, when in doubt... And since there are so many options out there, we thought why take the risk.
We will try to re-introduce cow's milk in the future. We stopped with the yogurt too, but, I give her a slice of cheese on occasion and she's fine with that. It might be something that will work itself out as she grows. It would suck if she couldn't indulge in a slice of pizza :) It's just really good to know there are options out there, so, if you're looking for a healthy alternative to cow's milk why not give goat's milk a try?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
From Baby Food to Table Food
I have spent these past few months a little worried about Becca's eating habits... or lack there of. Her introduction to food started off so well, but with the onset of teething came the slippery slope to picky eating habits. When Becca was about 4 months old I bought Annabel Karmel's book "Top 100 Baby Purees" and started reading up on how to introduce foods to my little one. I have always been a picky eater and really didn't want my daughter to pick up on that. I don't eat fruit, except mangoes, and very few vegetables. I guess it's safe to say I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food. So, I really wanted her to be exposed to as many different things as possible from early.
The book explains basic nutritional requirements for babies, what they can eat and what they shouldn't be eating. It starts off with the basic plain rice cereal, and the recipes evolve as baby grows to incorporate fruit, vegetables, and even meat. The recipes were great and I thoroughly enjoyed making up a batch of pureed veggies for my little one. It really made me feel good to know that I was making my own fresh baby food rather than store bought stuff that quite frankly didn't look nearly as good as mine. A friend of mine bought a couple organic ones for Becks to try out and she hated it! Annabel's book introduced me, and Becca, to a couple of fruits and veggies I had never considered before. She enjoyed it thoroughly and it gave me great joy to see her just loving mommy's home-made food.
But something funny happened... once she started teething (and she did start relatively late), she just wasn't interested anymore. We went though a LONG stretch of just being on breast milk (till about month 8) and then formula. I guess sucking on the nipple soothed her gums, but, the whole thing turned her off from food. She actually started smelling the food, and then turning up her nose at it. She just wasn't interested. And I know every child is different, but, come on, you know you have friends with children the same age and they're talking about how their kid just ate off an entire piece of chicken, meanwhile yours doesn't even want to eat a cookie. It's a little disconcerting.
We kept on trying though, at her own pace. The first thing she started to like was Gerber Puffs, which she initially couldn't stand. And then we got some cereal in her... and then the doctor said to start reducing her formula intake which would make her hungry enough to accept food. Eek. That didn't go over so well. She would throw a tantrum for the formula... and I can't starve my child. She turned 1 yr old and I decided to do away with the formula and start on cow's milk and Carnation Instant breakfast. That went over well initially... More on that here..
Becca's now 18 months, and the funniest thing has happened. In the space of about 2 weeks, she went from not wanting to eat anything, to wanting to eat everything. It's as if a light bulb just went off for her, and once she sees us sitting down to eat, she's all over it. She's even eating meat now (before she would chew and spit it out). I'm really elated that we are over that hump, she's eating from the table, loving fruit, and I'm sure her weight gain will get back on track . Upwards and onwards!
The book explains basic nutritional requirements for babies, what they can eat and what they shouldn't be eating. It starts off with the basic plain rice cereal, and the recipes evolve as baby grows to incorporate fruit, vegetables, and even meat. The recipes were great and I thoroughly enjoyed making up a batch of pureed veggies for my little one. It really made me feel good to know that I was making my own fresh baby food rather than store bought stuff that quite frankly didn't look nearly as good as mine. A friend of mine bought a couple organic ones for Becks to try out and she hated it! Annabel's book introduced me, and Becca, to a couple of fruits and veggies I had never considered before. She enjoyed it thoroughly and it gave me great joy to see her just loving mommy's home-made food.
But something funny happened... once she started teething (and she did start relatively late), she just wasn't interested anymore. We went though a LONG stretch of just being on breast milk (till about month 8) and then formula. I guess sucking on the nipple soothed her gums, but, the whole thing turned her off from food. She actually started smelling the food, and then turning up her nose at it. She just wasn't interested. And I know every child is different, but, come on, you know you have friends with children the same age and they're talking about how their kid just ate off an entire piece of chicken, meanwhile yours doesn't even want to eat a cookie. It's a little disconcerting.
We kept on trying though, at her own pace. The first thing she started to like was Gerber Puffs, which she initially couldn't stand. And then we got some cereal in her... and then the doctor said to start reducing her formula intake which would make her hungry enough to accept food. Eek. That didn't go over so well. She would throw a tantrum for the formula... and I can't starve my child. She turned 1 yr old and I decided to do away with the formula and start on cow's milk and Carnation Instant breakfast. That went over well initially... More on that here..
Becca's now 18 months, and the funniest thing has happened. In the space of about 2 weeks, she went from not wanting to eat anything, to wanting to eat everything. It's as if a light bulb just went off for her, and once she sees us sitting down to eat, she's all over it. She's even eating meat now (before she would chew and spit it out). I'm really elated that we are over that hump, she's eating from the table, loving fruit, and I'm sure her weight gain will get back on track . Upwards and onwards!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Infant & Toddler Program in MD
I'm always talking about diapers and products on here, and I figured, maybe I should talk a little more about me. Let people know what's going on in the life of the mommy behind Eco Babies. So here goes.
About 3 months ago or so when we tried introducing solid foods (not purees, she's been doing that since about month 4 or so) but real "eat from the table" food, my daughter wasn't really interested. I mentioned this at a scheduled pediatrician visit and my doctor recommended having Becca evaluated by the Infant & Toddler program of PG County. I had never heard of them before, and my mom was pretty skeptical (note, my mom is a conspiracy theorist so I should have taken her words with a ton of salt :)) But, after going to one of the many play groups that they host during the week here in the Bowie area, I decided to have them come over.
The play groups, by the way, wasn't what I had expected. I was looking for somewhere to take Becca to play and socialize with other children her age since she isn't in daycare - she stays at home with my mom. The playgroup was so much more. It was structured play time facilitated by child educators geared at developing certain skills for children under 3 years of age. They had 5 stations set up with about 10 minutes per station, each station dealing with a developmental ability, such as imitation, gross and fine motor skills.
The day of the evaluation two women came to my home and spent about an hour and a half interviewing me, my mother and evaluating Becca through play. They asked her to do some specific things while looking for responses that would indicate her proficiency in certain tasks. To qualify for the program the child has to be at a proficiency 25% less than that of her current age. So, Becca being 17 months at the time would mean that if she exhibited capabilities of a 13 month old or younger, then she qualified. She did qualify due to a couple of skill sets. Nothing alarming - I'm just glad I was able to catch it early. As a first time mom sometimes you really don't know where your child should be developmentally... what you should or shouldn't be doing. Eg., I hadn't introduced crayons to her playtime, so when they tested her with that, she scored low. I hadn't even thought about crayons. Didn't think she was old enough, but I was wrong.
So what does being in the program mean? It means that they will send a teacher to your home twice/month to play with Becca to enhance those skill sets she is weak in. They will show you how to play with her to do those things on a daily basis. They re-evaluate every 6 months to see her progress and determine if she still needs the assistance. If your child is in daycare or pre-school, they will send the teacher to the facility for the service.
Did I mention that this is all FREE? State funded assistance to get your child up to speed when it matters so they are ready for school and able to reach their full potential. I was thoroughly impressed, learned so much, and am so happy that I decided to do the evaluation. So, if you feel like your child needs some assistance, don't delay. Find out what programs there are in your neck of the woods and get the help you need. Thank you PG County Infant & Toddler program. I'm looking forward to the progress... and I'll let you all know how it goes!
About 3 months ago or so when we tried introducing solid foods (not purees, she's been doing that since about month 4 or so) but real "eat from the table" food, my daughter wasn't really interested. I mentioned this at a scheduled pediatrician visit and my doctor recommended having Becca evaluated by the Infant & Toddler program of PG County. I had never heard of them before, and my mom was pretty skeptical (note, my mom is a conspiracy theorist so I should have taken her words with a ton of salt :)) But, after going to one of the many play groups that they host during the week here in the Bowie area, I decided to have them come over.
The play groups, by the way, wasn't what I had expected. I was looking for somewhere to take Becca to play and socialize with other children her age since she isn't in daycare - she stays at home with my mom. The playgroup was so much more. It was structured play time facilitated by child educators geared at developing certain skills for children under 3 years of age. They had 5 stations set up with about 10 minutes per station, each station dealing with a developmental ability, such as imitation, gross and fine motor skills.
The day of the evaluation two women came to my home and spent about an hour and a half interviewing me, my mother and evaluating Becca through play. They asked her to do some specific things while looking for responses that would indicate her proficiency in certain tasks. To qualify for the program the child has to be at a proficiency 25% less than that of her current age. So, Becca being 17 months at the time would mean that if she exhibited capabilities of a 13 month old or younger, then she qualified. She did qualify due to a couple of skill sets. Nothing alarming - I'm just glad I was able to catch it early. As a first time mom sometimes you really don't know where your child should be developmentally... what you should or shouldn't be doing. Eg., I hadn't introduced crayons to her playtime, so when they tested her with that, she scored low. I hadn't even thought about crayons. Didn't think she was old enough, but I was wrong.
So what does being in the program mean? It means that they will send a teacher to your home twice/month to play with Becca to enhance those skill sets she is weak in. They will show you how to play with her to do those things on a daily basis. They re-evaluate every 6 months to see her progress and determine if she still needs the assistance. If your child is in daycare or pre-school, they will send the teacher to the facility for the service.
Did I mention that this is all FREE? State funded assistance to get your child up to speed when it matters so they are ready for school and able to reach their full potential. I was thoroughly impressed, learned so much, and am so happy that I decided to do the evaluation. So, if you feel like your child needs some assistance, don't delay. Find out what programs there are in your neck of the woods and get the help you need. Thank you PG County Infant & Toddler program. I'm looking forward to the progress... and I'll let you all know how it goes!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Busy Busy Busy
When I started this business, I didn't realize just how busy I'd be with expos, and trade shows, and all kinds of baby events. I just figured I'd get a great website going, and people would just flock to it. How wrong I was. But, I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying meeting new people and extolling the greatness of cloth diapering. And I REALLY enjoy when I meet cloth diapering mommies who are excited to talk about their cloth diapering journey, or to see some product I have that they hadn't seen yet. The more and more I'm doing this, the more I realize that this thing is like an underground movement... the cloth diapering movement. And I'm glad to be a part of it, and to spread the word.
So, just what have I been up to? Well, my website launched on August 15, 2010. Since then I had a vendor's table in September at the Baby Bargains book signing at Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg, MD, which was great because I got to meet Alan Fields, the author of "Baby Bargains" - very cooool! Like meeting a celebrity. Thanks Rachel from DC Baby Planners!. Then in October I did a consignment sale for the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples (NVPOM). Man, that was an early morning... but worth it because I met some folks who were cloth diapering mommies, who had seen my website and came out to the sale just because of it. So how cool was that?!
Then, I went to the largest industry trade show in Las Vegas. And boy, was that HUGE. I still haven't gotten a chance to let you all in on the cool new stuff I'm adding to the store here in the next couple of weeks. VERY exciting stuff. You already know about Rockin' Green detergent, the Apple Park Pals, and the natural sunscreen from Episencials, but, there are soooo many more cool things coming down the pipeline.
I haven't had the chance to fill you in because I've been sooooo busy with the biggest event I've done - Green Festivals DC 2010. Talk about intimidating. A small, new business like myself in the big leagues... and it was GREAT! I met sooooo many cool people, who loved the gorgeous organic toys from Dandelion and Apple Park, and so open-minded about the cloth diapers and excited to learn more. I really had a great time, and appreciated the positive response we received while there. Special thanks to my old college classmate, Patrick A. who told me about the festival and to my friends Tiffany M. and Malika S. who volunteered their time on Saturday and Sunday to help me out at the booth. I definitely couldn't have done it without them. And to my wonderful husband who helped me load up everything, bring it to the Convention Center, unload eveyrthing, and do it all in reverse on Sunday night. He is THE MAN :)
So the question is, where do we go from here? Well, I have some workshops coming up in November, and December, so if you're interested register soon as space is limited. I will be at the Fairfax County Moms of Multiples event next Thursday night. Thanks again to Rachel! I'll be at the Holy Cross Baby Fair on Nov 7 and the La Leche League Expo on Nov 13. Whew. I'm tired just reading this :)
To keep up with me, follow me on facebook or twitter, or join my mailing list for monthly updates. And I look forward to meeting some of you guys on my journey :)
So, just what have I been up to? Well, my website launched on August 15, 2010. Since then I had a vendor's table in September at the Baby Bargains book signing at Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg, MD, which was great because I got to meet Alan Fields, the author of "Baby Bargains" - very cooool! Like meeting a celebrity. Thanks Rachel from DC Baby Planners!. Then in October I did a consignment sale for the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples (NVPOM). Man, that was an early morning... but worth it because I met some folks who were cloth diapering mommies, who had seen my website and came out to the sale just because of it. So how cool was that?!
Then, I went to the largest industry trade show in Las Vegas. And boy, was that HUGE. I still haven't gotten a chance to let you all in on the cool new stuff I'm adding to the store here in the next couple of weeks. VERY exciting stuff. You already know about Rockin' Green detergent, the Apple Park Pals, and the natural sunscreen from Episencials, but, there are soooo many more cool things coming down the pipeline.
I haven't had the chance to fill you in because I've been sooooo busy with the biggest event I've done - Green Festivals DC 2010. Talk about intimidating. A small, new business like myself in the big leagues... and it was GREAT! I met sooooo many cool people, who loved the gorgeous organic toys from Dandelion and Apple Park, and so open-minded about the cloth diapers and excited to learn more. I really had a great time, and appreciated the positive response we received while there. Special thanks to my old college classmate, Patrick A. who told me about the festival and to my friends Tiffany M. and Malika S. who volunteered their time on Saturday and Sunday to help me out at the booth. I definitely couldn't have done it without them. And to my wonderful husband who helped me load up everything, bring it to the Convention Center, unload eveyrthing, and do it all in reverse on Sunday night. He is THE MAN :)
So the question is, where do we go from here? Well, I have some workshops coming up in November, and December, so if you're interested register soon as space is limited. I will be at the Fairfax County Moms of Multiples event next Thursday night. Thanks again to Rachel! I'll be at the Holy Cross Baby Fair on Nov 7 and the La Leche League Expo on Nov 13. Whew. I'm tired just reading this :)
To keep up with me, follow me on facebook or twitter, or join my mailing list for monthly updates. And I look forward to meeting some of you guys on my journey :)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
A little something about the lady behind Eco Babies
I am currently an engineer with a large construction company here in the
DC metro area, but I hail from the beautiful island of Jamaica. My cloth
diapering journey all began with a visit to the home of a colleague of
mine a couple of years ago who was pregnant with her first child. She
told me proudly of how she planned to cloth diaper her child. I had no
idea people still used cloth diapers. My mother cloth-diapered both my
brother and I some 30+ years ago, and back then the diapers looked like
handkerchiefs. I was impressed and intrigued by her zeal and when I
became pregnant in 2009 I decided to do some research into the matter for
myself. The driving force behind my decision to cloth diaper was two-fold:
the environmental impacts and the cost savings. "Green" is the buzz word
in my industry and I enjoy learning more about how we can each do our part
for a better environment. My daughter is now 10 months old and I have
been cloth diapering her since she was about 2 weeks old. I decided to
open up my own natural baby store to share with others the cool healthy
and green products out there. At this time Eco Babies focuses on cloth
diapers, but I also carry natural and organic skin care items, as well as
organic plush toys. In time, as my business grows, I will be introducing
more exciting green products.
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