Is something on your mind? Have a question for me? Every Monday I take a reader submission, and ask my other readers for their input as well.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Rebecca says::
Hi Maria,
Here’s a Mailbox Monday Question. What do people do with their other children when put on bedrest? I’m scared I may end up on bedrest as my BP is increasing and I have a toddler to take care of. We don’t have family around who can help during the day either and I feel bad relying on other people alot.
Hi Rebecca! I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly and that you are not put on bed rest! Unfortunately, if you are, I think you’re going to have to rely a lot on other people.
You can ask your husband/partner help you prepare pre-bagged snacks and lunches for yourself and your little one, along with pre-filled sippy cups. Depending on your child’s age, s/he might enjoy helping you by getting things for you or him/herself.
Get tote bags of activities you can do together while you’re lying down, such as coloring books with washable crayons, books and so forth. I don’t see anything wrong with cuddling up and watching some Sesame Street with your little one too!
It will also really depend on how strict your bed rest is and your child’s age. Sometimes changing a diaper is easier than helping a child use the potty, or cleaning up an accident.
If neighbors and/or people in your community are able to bring you a meal, or come empty your dishwasher for you, let them! As hard as it is to accept the help, it’s what’s best for you and your baby. Of course, if you are financially able to hire someone to help with your toddler and/or the cleaning, that would be a dream come true!
Has anyone been on bed rest while you had other small children? How did you handle it?
My Brest Friend has tons of fabulous products, but they are probably most well known for their original nursing pillow. If you have ever watched a certain TLC show about a mega-sized family, you have probably seen one! 🙂 (Do note that My Brest Friend does not recommend using the pillow while walking around like you will see on this show!) Anyhoo, My Brest Friend sent me a ton of fabulous products to try, and you have the chance to win some too.
The 3-in-1 body pillow ($55.95 retail) is a streamlined pregnancy body pillow designed to provide maximum support without hogging all the bed space!
It has a built in wedge for your belly and a comfy spot to rest your head.
It also has a removable cover so you can keep the pillow clean!
The pillow will help keep your head, belly and knees/hips supported and keep you comfy all night!
If you don’t want the whole body pillow, consider the pregnancy wedge instead!
The pregnancy wedge can be used behind your lower back for lumbar support, or at bedtime under your belly for or between your legs for better hip, leg and back alignment at night. The 100% cotton cover zips off for easy cleaning. The wedge retails for $15.95.
The extra large burp cloths sell for $19.95/3 pack, and are available in pink, blue and mixed colors.
They are super absorbent, 100% cotton and are far larger than the leading burp cloths!
The pillow is available in loads of different slipcover colors/patterns, and retails for $44. The pillow is firm and flat, and adjust to fit any mom or Dad. The “big name” u-shaped nursing pillow doesn’t work for me because the ends hit the couch back and leave a huge gap between by belly and the pillow. That, combined with the squishy, lumpi-ness of the pillow leads to the baby rolling into the gap! Not so with the My Brest Friend. My husband and even my 6 1/2 year old daughter can use it.
The wrap around design gives you back support and ensures the pillow supports you and baby without shifting. The buckle is a quiet release, and the pillow even has a pocket (for the remote, your phone, a bottle of water etc.) and removable cover!
Even at 9 months pregnant, I was able to get the pillow to fit with plenty of room!
My Brest Friend’s All Natural Nipple Cream is a brand new product made with all natural and organic ingredients, with no preservatives or additives!
It is lanolin free, non-greasy, and doesn’t need to be removed prior to feeding.
The MSRP of a tube of the nipple cream is $14.95.
The above products are what is up for grabs in the giveaway! My Brest Friend is SO AWESOME, that they sent me a Twins Plus Pillow for my BFF, who is expecting twins in May (baby #3 was a surprise which turned out to be double the surprise. 😉 ) I asked on my Facebook page what twin moms suggested I could do/get for her, and the My Brest Friend twins plus pillow was mentioned more than once. I chatted with MBF about it and they sent one for her! She was really excited since she didn’t know how the “other pillow” could possibly work with twins. You will see a real review in June-ish (whenever she gets the time!) but I played with it myself so I could show you a bit about it now!
I just want to say that this pillow is super awesome, whether or not you have twins. Don’t let the name make you think it’s not for you. Though it’s a little pricey at $78, and only available in 2 colors, it is really nice, and I honestly don’t think it would be overkill for a singleton if you want maximum support & comfort!
The Twins Pillow has a lot of the same features as the original like the quiet buckle and storage pocket.
It also has customizable back support.
You can also adjust both sides of the Twins Plus Pillow.
It’s perfectly shaped for the best comfort and support.
I was amazed by how darn comfy it was. I was able to “nurse twins” and still have support for my arms!
There’s simply no contest between the Twins Plus and “the other pillow.”
This is absolutely the best pillow for twins!!
Here’s how the Twins Plus stacks up to the original:
While I’m not giving away a twins pillow, I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about it! Come back in about 6 months to see/hear what my BFF thinks of it!
Giveaway: One reader will receive an awesome My Brest Friend prize package worth over $150! Includes: 3-in-1 body pillow (ARV $55.95), pregnancy wedge (ARV $15.95), 3-pack burp cloths (ARV $19.95), original nursing pillow (ARV $44.00) and nipple cream (ARV $14.95.) Combined ARV $150.80.
Disclosure: This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, nor associated with Facebook. By entering, you release Facebook from any responsibility and understand that the information entered on this form will not be disclosed to Facebook.
FTC compliance: Although I received products at no charge for review purposes, I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.
Given the fact that I’m in my thirties, 35ish+ weeks along with my third child, and have taken biology, you’d think this would be old hat to me by now. But it’s not. I still find human reproduction to be wacky and amazing. Whether you believe in evolution or intelligent design (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) you have to admit, it’s pretty darn miraculous.
Two “cooks,” two “ingredients,” one “oven” and 40 weeks (give or take) and you’ve baked an actual, honest to goodness, bona fide human person. From scratch.
I swear I’m not completely stupid. I had ultrasounds with my first two, so I was actually able to see them moving all around in my uterus. All 3 have had hiccups, done somersaults, and caused alien-like ripples and weird corners on my abdomen. Towards the end of my pregnancy with my son, I could feel his rhythmic practice “breathing.”
Still, the enormity didn’t hit me until I was holding my babies in my arms. In fact, I think my first thought after giving birth the first two times was “holy sh&^, I had a baby.” You’d think yeah well, duh. What exactly did you think was happening? I don’t know, I really don’t. I guess the reality just didn’t hit me until then!
I still look at my kids sometimes in wonder & amazement. I can’t imagine my life without them, yet just a few short years ago, I didn’t know who they were. I know how much of our traits are “nature” vs. “nurture” is debatable, but so far my children were born with their own, distinct personalities.
Sometimes I put my hand on my belly and I wonder who this little baby is? Are you a boy or a girl? Will you look like your brother & sister? Will you like your spaghetti with sauce, or without?
I know I’m a crazy, hormonal pregnant lady but I’m just so humbled and awestruck. So grateful for two healthy children. So honored to be called their Mommy.
My husband has suffered from awful acid reflux for years. It was actually an allergist that discovered that his constant coughing was largely caused by acid irritating his throat (combined with post nasal drip.) He had tried all of the over-the counter remedies like Tums, Rolaids, Zantac, Prilosec, Prevacid etc. Zantac took the edge off a little, but the only thing that really worked was prescription Nexium. With all of the OTC alternatives available, our insurance at the time refused to cover it. At $150 for 30 pills, he only took that for a month!!
Anyhoo, when I was pregnant with my son, I had horrible, horrible acid reflux that gave me new found sympathy for my husband. I have no idea how he ever lived with that. He has found that when he’s not as overweight, eating a healthier diet, exercising and avoiding alcohol (ha, like that happens) it isn’t as bad. Unfortunately for me, the only thing that “fixed” it was giving birth!
The acid isn’t quite as bad this time. With my son, I was trying to sleep sitting up, since the acid was too terrible if I was reclined, but then my neck ended up all scrunched up and I woke myself up snoring. As you recall, I went to an OB and gave birth to him in the hospital. The OB told me to take 150 mg of Zantac 2x daily preventatively, and it was combined with 40 mg of prescription Prilosec when that wasn’t enough towards the end. Even then, it wasn’t enough to make it go away; it was just enough to make me able to get through the day. Anything & everything exacerbated it, no matter what I did or didn’t eat or drink. I was absolutely assured that it was 100% safe, only to recently discover that Prilosec is associated with fetal heart defects (I saw that on one of those junky TV/internet class action lawsuit commercials, so I don’t know how valid it is.)
It’s not as constant this time, but at times I feel like (TMI) I have acid right in my throat that I will vomit at any moment. Heaven forbid I have to bend over to get something, I feel like I will leave a puddle of acid on the floor.
So as my hubby has watched me suffer, he keeps saying “I’m telling you, just use my trick and it will be gone.” His trick is about 1/2 of a tablespoon of baking soda dissolved in a little bit of water. He told me it was nasty, but you’d let out a big belch and feel all better within a few minutes. Uhm, no.
Eventually, I was having such a miserable, acid-filled evening, that I gave in. He was right, it was disgusting. I dissolved the baking soda in just enough water, downed it, and had another glass of water ready to chug. It tasted like a mouth full of ocean water. (note: given that a teaspoon of baking soda has 51% the RDA of sodium, I seriously doubt this is a good/healthy thing to be doing regularly, LOL.)
We sat down on the couch and every time I shifted, he looked at me expectantly. I told him that if I bubbled over like an elementary school volcano science experiment, it was his fault and he was cleaning it up! Eventually a burp snuck up on me and the acid was somewhat relieved, but it was by no means gone. I’ll not be doing that again, LOL.
Has anyone ever told you a bizarre or unusual home remedy (for heartburn or whatever else) that they swore by?
I thought it would be fun to see if you think I’m having a boy or a girl. As you know, we’re expecting baby #3 in December. All 3 have been "surprises." With my daughter, everyone on my husband’s side thought I was having a boy, since there were 5 grand sons and 4 great-grandsons on that side (now there are 7 great-grandsons…my daughter is the only girl!) My side thought it was a girl since they "don’t make boys."
With my son, my sister thought it was a boy, and strangers thought it was a boy, but no one else really knew! We went to a Chinese restaurant and the owner said definitively "It’s a boy." Not "do you know what you’re having?" She was sure, and said it was because I was "all out front." She was right!
This pregnancy hasn’t really been similar enough to either of my pregnancies for me to really know either way. The picture above was taken last week, at 31 weeks, and I think I’m even more "out front" than I was with my son! I initially thought it was a girl, largely because of the timing/charting/whatever that thing is that says XX live longer than XY, but now I’m thinking boy.
It really doesn’t matter either way. I’d love another little boy, but my daughter really wants a sister. If it’s a boy I don’t think any of the baby clothes will work (opposite seasons) and we can’t come up with a boy name!!
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Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
