Rock n Play Recall

My favorite baby purchase this go round has by far been my Fisher Price Rock n Play (RNP). Carter had reflux issues early on in addition to intolerance to what I was eating. Our pediatrician recommended propping his mattress at a 45 degree angle to help with reflux. That turned out to be impossible. He would turn himself sideways and slide right down the mattress when it was propped. Then we found the rock n play and our pedi agreed it would be perfect. Carter has slept in it ever since. His first night in it, he slept the longest stretch to date and I was completely amazed!

The RNP folds up nicely and is easy to pack up for travel. The top soft cover comes off easily for washing but underneath that is a plasticy layer with a hard plastic seat piece sewn inside. That piece does not come off for washing. Earlier this week, I took the washable cover off for routine cleaning. Underneath it on the plasticy piece was mildew!! Of course I tried to clean it but mildew doesn't exactly come off. I warned my mom friends to check theirs and started googling. I found a few others who had similar issues posting online. I emailed Fisher Price but their return email said it could take 48hrs for a response. That same night FP recalled these for inspection due to mildew/mold. They posted cleaning instructions but it is a pretty poor fix for bad design. The cover tends to wick moisture underneath it and trap it there. The cover itself feels and looks clean all the while underneath it is nastiness.

Over 2 weeks ago Carter went in to the doctor for crazy congestion and chest issues. He was gagging, spitting up, and choking in the night. He'd be awake for 2hr stretches in my arms because he could not breathe. During the day he was congested but nothing horrible and each night it got worse. At our first appt. the doctor though it was a routine cold on its way out. It just got worse from then on. After an especially bad night, I recorded him at night and took the video in to the doctor.

Seeing what happened each night, they had us do an albuterol treatment in office and swabbed him for RSV and the Flu. After one treatment, his chest went from retracting but sounding okay to sounding horrible. It loosed the mucus and let us hear what was happening. His chest was retracting with each breath and he had mucus plugs in his chest that were so solid the doctor couldn't tell he was wheezing. We went home with a prescription and more treatments. This week the morning before I found the mildew he went in to the doctor for a recheck. He was better while on albuterol but by no means clear yet (at this point it was 2.5wks from when it started). They talked about testing for pertussis but since he had received one vaccine and was now at least somewhat better they didn't think it was likely he'd test positive even if he had it previously.

We were sent home and told to do more breathing treatments. Later that day when I saw the mildew and realized how bad mold and mildew can be for lungs, I called back in to our doctor and mentioned the new found issue. They immediately said that could very well be the cause of all of his issues and would explain why he was not getting as well as we thought he should be given our treatment. Our RNP is all packed up and heading back to Fisher Price. A new one is on it's way but I'm not really sure if we'll use it. I was washing the cover regularly and this happened so I'm not sure how to stop it from happening again immediately! Carter has been sleeping in his bassinet for the past few nights. I was scared of this transition since the RNP helped him sleep so much better . Recently though, he has been sleeping so poorly that transitioning to the bassinet and flat on his back sleeping again isn't much different in terms of his restlessness. I hope my little man is back 100% healthy very soon!!!

After his first albuterol treatment sleeping peacefully in my arms!

Updates!!

It's been entirely too long since I've blogged but life has been busy. Christmas has come and gone and things are starting to settle down. Hubby took a new job and is now home with us everyday. He works out of our home office so it's not like he's out playing and socializing but he is here if needed. His commute is down from 40 min. each way to a one minute walk out of the office. It's great for all of us!

First Coast Fluff is doing well. I'm just trying to get the word out and spread my love of cloth to others. I'm not gonna lie it's hard to find new customers but once people locate us they seem to love the products! I put together some basic packages for those looking to start cloth diapering affordably. I also attended two holiday bazaars. The second of these I organized and ran myself. It was a huge undertaking from finding a venue, booking other vendors, an getting people in the door. Overall I think it was a success!

My little man is getting bigger everyday. After some weight issues (surprise, surprise) he's up to 12#5oz and two feet long! He can roll front to back and gets almost over from back to front now. Time is flying way too fast and I have to remind myself to cherish every baby moment. Nolan is still an amazing big brother and loves little C.

First Coast Fluff

I did it!! I started a small business. Yep it's legit, registered, licensed, and everything. I'm selling cloth diapers and baby accessories. I'm not making them myself as just running the business is time consuming enough besides hand crafting all the products. Plus, I've never found a handmade work at home mom diaper that held up as well as my commercial ones.

I'm selling Tender Tushies diapers which aren't widely known here in the states. My friend in Canada became a reseller as her friend started the company. I purchased some diapers from her and loved the look (cute prints) and loved the price even more. I just wished I had found them when Nolan was in diapers still. I'm sure he's jealous of his brother's cute diapers!!

I carry one-size pocket diapers, heavy wetters, and newborn all-in-ones. Solid colors and prints are vibrant and fashionable. For me, one of the key improvements to other diapers we already own is the hip snap and the cross over snaps. It means Carter could wear them much earlier!!

So if you're reading this please like my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FirstCoastFluff). Even if your kids are out of diapers it helps spread the word. I'm offering local free pickup and even do baby shower events and house parties. Fun times!

Happy Halloween!

Here are the highlights from our fun last night! Enjoy the pics!!

Nursery theme

Since it's now ten weeks after he was born, I figured I should finally get around to posting pictures of Carter's nursery. I chose a pirate theme and fell in love with the idea before I tried to find accessories to go with what I pictured. This meant I had to end up making almost everything!! I pinned a pattern for crib sheets but luckily found a red pin stripe one that is perfect and a few backup pirate themes ones to match. I skipped the bumper and other bedding pieces because last go round they were never used!

Side view of the sail and mobile.

Pirate fabric framed with his name.

Ribbon bed skirt, pirate mobile, and sail complete with mast and cuckoo's nest.

Detailed mobile view.

Updated artwork post here.

Super Third Birthday

Nolan's super third birthday party was this past weekend. He had such a great time and is talking about it every day. This year I did a superhero theme. It was lots of work for both me and Tim but so worth it to see the look on our little boy's face.

Tim smoked the meat ahead of time so we had amazing BBQ (chicken and pork). I made 80 cupcakes with some help from visiting family. That was a last minute addition since the birthday boy insisted. I planned to only do an ice cream sundae bar complete with lots of toppings. However, whenever I asked Nolan what he wanted for his birthday he told me cake, balloons, and yellow presents. He talked about cake all the time so I couldn't not have cake for him. Gluten free cupcakes (for him) and funfetti ones for everyone else to the rescue!

All the children including the 4 newborns present got their own custom superhero cape to join in the play!

I planned a few fun games. Shoot the bad guys with silly string, pin the badge on Super Nolan, and deactivate the bombs. The kids LOVED wearing the blindfold I made and trying to stick the post it notes to Nolan's large picture. Everyone wanted to play it more than once. The bomb game was hilarious. Tim and our buddy Ben dropped 45 black balloons for the kids to pop. Our grass had other plans and immediately started randomly popping them. The kids were running around in a frenzy thinking they were actually popping the balloons. Adorable! Then since they are so young and helpful they made a game out of cleaning up the yard!

Shoot the villains (with silly string)

Pin the superhero badge on Nolan

Deactivate the bombs!!

Stash Update

New baby means new diapers, right? Well, sort of. I haven't been able to rein myself in entirely but for the most part we are able to completely use the diapers I bought for Nolan. Just one of the many reasons cloth is so great.

I did just recently try out a brand new diaper. My friend sells them and they are called Tender Tushies (TT). She has skinny kiddos too so it was great to see how they worked on her little ones ahead of time. I got my first three in the mail last week and they already fit Carter. He's able to fit into most of my one size diapers now but they still tend to wick or leak at the legs because they don't quite go tiny enough there. Not the case with the Tender Tushies. The TT's have an extra thigh area snap that helps keep them snug fitting where he needs it the most, around his skinny chicken legs! They also have crossover snaps at the top which let you tighten much smaller around the waist. of course I haven't yet mentioned the best part! They come is super cute prints. Right now Carter has trucks, sports them, plus soccer balls he can wear to cheer on his brother when he starts munchkin soccer in a month.

So here is my updated current diaper stash. This doesn't, of course, count the numerous dozens of prefolds and their covers I have too.

22 BumGenius One Size (3.0 and 4.0)
3 Happy Heineys
3 WAHM (work at home mom diapers)
7 Kawaii GoodNights
2 Kawaii
2 BabyKicks
1 Grovia AIO (all in one)
1 Itty Bitty Tutto
4 BumGenius Flip Covers and many inserts
3 Tender Tushies
4 Fuzzi Buns

Yay! Love our cloth and so happy to see it getting used again!