And the winner is.........

Congratulations to Michelle Henson!!!  Out of 37 entries her name was randomly chosen to win the diaper giveaway!  Michelle will get an organic one-size wool-in-two in the print of her choice, yipee!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE who entered and left such sweet comments on the blog and Facebook about our diapers and also to those who pinned to Pinterest!  Your support is GREATLY appreciated! 

I have some new pictures below of the one-size wool-in-two on a newborn baby.  So sweet. :)

Introducing One Love Diaper Co. and a GIVEAWAY!

Recently I was asked to introduce myself on an application and the first thing that came to mind was "Hi, my name is Heather and I am a compulsive maker-of-things."  Yep, that about sums it up.  Some of the things I've been compulsively making lately have been cloth diapers.  I've actually been making diapers on and off for the last 6 years.  Selling them, moving, not selling them, moving, selling them, making other stuff, having more babies, moving.  But no matter what life throws my way, I seem to always come back to....diapers.

My husband and I have been talking for some time about starting up the diaper business again.  Since our 3rd baby was born, last fall, I haven't been doing any doula work or photography because it hasn't been practical for me to work outside our home.  What I have been doing a lot of is sewing.  I started thinking about what was important to me in making and selling diapers and what would be important to the company if we chose to go back down this path.  It is important to me that I use the most natural, organic, and high quality materials I can find.  It is important to me that I give back something to some of the organizations and causes that are near to my heart.  It is important to me that the the diapers be unique in design, super (duper) cute, and that they work REALLY well.  Since Hutcheson was born I have been diapering him in wool covers and organic cotton diapers.  While I was pregnant I sewed all kind of prototypes and used all kinds of fabrics.  I found quickly that I reached first for anything I had made of organic cotton sherpa.  Wool covers also totally blew my mind.  I mean talk about WAY more absorbent, waterproof, and stink-free than the PUL covers and AIO's that I used with the other kids.  I can honestly say I have yet to have a leak or a blow-out or even a diaper rash using wool.  No kidding.  The stuff rocks.  And as far as the extra care required to lanolize and hand wash, well, I actually enjoy that and I've also found that properly prepped fabrics do just fine in the wash.  I think the difference is both the prepping and using the highest quality wool.  I can often use the same cover all day long and just air it out overnight.  It sounds crazy, but I've given many the sniff test and they really do remain clean, dry, and stink-free!

So, now we get to the point.  After a lot of careful designing, sewing, testing, and planning, I have decided to share my new passion with the world.  Our new company is called One Love Diaper Co.  and I am selling my sized and one-size organic wool diaper covers and cotton sherpa soakers.  The materials that go into these products are the highest quality, 100% organic, and 100% sewn by me. :) Every month I am selecting a special print, the profits from which will go to a charity or cause that I am passionate about, such as the Big Push for Midwives, North Carolina Friends of Midwives, ICAN, Garden Harvest and the Farm to Consumer Legal Fund.

To celebrate the opening of this new endeavor I would like to have a GIVEAWAY (YAY!) here on the blog.  The winner will get one 100% Organic One-size Diaper System complete with snap-in soaker and booster in a print of their choice (see image).  You can read all the details about the system HERE.

I have a new obsession with Pinterest (who doesn't) so I think it will be fun to get a little pin happy with this giveaway.

To enter you can:
*Leave a comment on this post
*Pin any image from our website: www.OneLoveDiaperCo.com or any image from this blog post to Pinterest and then leave a comment here to let me know you pinned!

**It has just been brought to my attention that some folks might be having trouble leaving a comment on the blog-if you can't comment for some reason then head on over to my facebook page at www.facebook.com/OneLoveDiaperCo and leave me a post letting me know you want to enter.  If you also want to pin an entry you can do so and let me know on FB as well.**

***I think I have the blog comment issue fixed!!  But please feel free to also enter on the FB page if you want! :)***

Multiple entries are allowed and the giveaway will close on 7/29/12 at midnight.  The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will announce the winner here on the blog on Monday morning!

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY (cloth) DIAPERING!! XOXO


Website: www.onelovediaperco.com
Etsy: www.onelovediaperco.etsy.com
Big Cartel: www.onelovediaperco.bigcartel.com

Blog: www.onelovediaperco.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OneLoveDiaperCo

Prints by BORA: Bees, Sunflowers, Mushrooms, Fishies, Happy Fruit, Circus Stripes, Flowers, Bathtime with Elley, Ice Cream

Feeding Hutcheson: Egg Yolk for Baby

As some of you know I gave birth to our third child at home last November (his birth story is here).  In what literally feels like the blink of an eye he is now 7 months old.  I don't know if it is part of being born at home, I'd like to think that maybe it is, but he is the calmest, happiest little guy.  Last month he had his first taste of something other than breastmilk.  I had decided I would introduce his first "solid" at 6 months but I'll admit I approached this milestone with some trepidation.  There is a lot of conflicting information out there about what first foods are the best and what order to introduce them in.  I wanted to make the right decision about what his first food should be.  I wanted something pure and natural.  I wanted it to be nutritious, something that would support his growing brain and body much as my milk has.  I knew that breastmilk would still be the bulk of his diet, but I wanted his one non-breastmilk meal of the day to be full of awesomeness. :)  Inspiration came in the form of a passage from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon:

"A wise supplement for all babies-whether breast or bottle fed-is an egg yolk per day, beginning at four months.  Egg yolk supplies cholesterol needed for mental development as well as important sulpher-containing amino acids.  Egg yolks from pasture-fed hens or hens raised on flax meal, fish meal or insects are also rich in the omega-3 long-chain fatty acids found in mother's milk but which may be lacking in cow's milk.  These fatty acids are essential for the development of the brain.  Parents who institute the practice of feeding egg yolk to baby will be rewarded with children who speak and take directions at an early age."

Brilliant!  I have three beautiful free-ranging, insect-eating hens right in my backyard!  So we decided on soft-boiled egg yolk for Hutch's first food.  It just made perfect sense, it's organic, it's an animal protein, it's easy to digest, it's chalk full of beneficial enzymes, it's what baby chick's eat!  Now I know a lot of folks are really uptight about fully cooking things like eggs, but if you fully cook the yolk instead of soft-boiling you destroy the enzymes in the yolk, so that's something to keep in mind.

How to do it:

Boil 1 organic egg in water for 3 and a half minutes
Remove, peel and pour YOLK ONLY into a bowl
Sprinkle with a pinch of natural sea salt (helps with brain development)

After the first few weeks Hutcheson suddenly decided he wasn't a fan of the flavor of the yolk so I started adding a bit of mashed, organic or un-gassed banana to his egg yolk.  Banana is very easy on a baby's immature digestive system and Hutch loves the flavor.

Here are a few pictures from our first food experience!

Fourth of July Lemonade Pie

Nothing better than a frozen and festive treat in the middle of a North Carolina heat wave!  Yesterday was so busy for us that I made this super-easy no-bake lemonade pie instead of one of my usual I-made-this-from-scratch-the-hard-way recipes. :)  I really do love slow days where I can do things like shell peanuts and grind my own peanut butter BUT some days call for a quickie recipe.  So here you go, lemonade pie, the easy way.


Adapted from this recipe.

• 1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk
• 2 (3.4-oz.) packages lemon instant pudding mix
• 2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (12-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 1 (9-inch) ready-made graham cracker piecrust
• Strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, and lemon zest to garnish

1. Whisk together evaporated milk and instant pudding until thickened.  I use my stand mixer for this, goes much faster!

2. Add cream cheese and vanilla extract and beat until smooth

3. Add lemonade concentrate and blend again until smooth

4. Pour filling into piecrust

5. Pop in your freezer for 8 hours

6. Garnish with strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream*, and lemon zest

*Note: Just whip some heavy cream up in a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, no need to sweeten it because this pie is already super sweet!

Handmade Waldorf Dolls

Sharing a few pictures of my most recent handmades-organic waldorf dolls: Skylark Morning and Ruby Rainbow.  I made these for my daughter's 5th birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks.  Both dolls are made from 100% organic cotton knit and are stuffed with organic wool, organic brown rice, organic buckwheat hull, and organic lavender.  Their hair is made from wool felt.  These were so much fun to make!  I have searched everywhere for a waldorf-style doll that is an actual baby doll, the same size as a real baby, and weighted like a real baby.  I couldn't find what I wanted, so as is my usual solution I decided to make it myself!  I drew the pattern for the dolls by hand and I am working on getting a tutorial up very soon!