Babywell in Berkeley

Our dryer just broke the other day so I need to research a washer and dryer that to fit our little space. Till then we are drying our clothes in on a rod in our hot living room and I kind of like it. There's a clothes line out back now but it gets dark so early! I can't wait for the days to get long again but I also don't want baby up grow up any faster. He's already so much bigger than before and I didn't even have time to appreciate his tinyness. He's growing out of his clothes and has a little belly. I thought he'd be in newborn clothes for months! I know I've been discussing all the difficulty I've been having but today I've had a really good multitasking day. 1. I had to poo and baby started fussing and I didn't have time to get a bottle ready so I nursed while I poo'd. 2. My friend held Calvin and I scalded milk, broke down cardboard boxes and folded clothes and cleaned up 3. I learned a new baby wearing (an "advanced...

  November is flying by! I read something a while ago that said that our lives feel short when things are routine. That’s why being a kid feels so long, everything is always changing, we are always growing and learning. On days when John is at work, the day is so busy, it blends into a mush of feeding, pumping, washing, and cooing with Calvin. I have been in awe at how Calvin is growing and changing. He seems so observant, he looks at objects we present (sort of), and he seems to perk up and tune in when he hears someone speaking in Cantonese. When I was dealing with the mastitis and baby not latching I began pumping regularly, slowly building up a “freezer stash.” I couldn’t wait for my breastfeeding journey to end and so I collected milk with the hope of stopping this madness a few months early and still having enough milk to feed Calvin for the recommended year. We didn’t mind using formula if needed, and that made this whole process less stressful. Since then, all the is...

  In an attempt to keep baby awake a bit more during the day, we have been using diaper changes after feedings rather than before, and the changing a diaper with just a tiny pee is so sad, so I busted out the pack of cloth diapers that were gifted to me. Calvin who poos very infrequently, then immediately poops in his first cloth diaper. Cleaning it was not nearly as bad as we feared, so we have dove right into using them during the day time. I bought someone’s stash and have them hang-drying in the backyard. John, who once swore he would never do cloth, is helping me “strip and sanitize”and I’m feeling very Berkeley. I asked another mom friend who is also doing cloth diapers, some advice for cleaning, and she told me that she was going to leave the facebook group cause she wasn’t doing cloth as a hobby. I then realized, I was! Cloth diapering is a hobby, it’s fun, I’m enjoying it, and I marvel at how much less waste I’m producing already. The last month has been one of healing,...