7 Quick Takes (volume 10)

-1-

We have had milestones right and left these past couple of weeks. The first was really more a milestone for me--I left my baby for 10 hours! Not on his own, of course, and with every intention of coming back to him. I went to a friend's hen do the other weekend and left Jon and Gus to have a boys' day together. A good time was had by all, and I think I was the most stressed of the three of us! I always think I should leave Jon and Gus to have an hour or two alone at the weekends, but I find that there isn't all that much I feel like doing by myself--I would rather spend the time with my family.  So it was a good opportunity for them to spend some time together and good for me to have a break. Next time, it doesn't need to be quite so long, though!

-2-

The day after the hen do, I was playing on the floor in the living room with Gus when he noticed an empty bottle under a chair (it was way too much to ask Jon to have Gus all day--for the first time--and keep the house tidy as well, especially when I don't do a very good job of tidying, and I have practice every day!). Anyway, Gus was really excited to see that bottle. Of course, I just wanted to shout, "I'm right here! What do you want a bottle for?"  Poor mama :)

-3-

As for milestones number 2 and 3, Gus started crawling and pulled himself up to stand for the first time on the same day. Where has my little baby gone?!  He had been army-crawling and bum-scootching for maybe 2 weeks already, but this Tuesday, he was up on his hands and knees and there was no stopping him. I, of course, am getting even less done than normal around the house. I feel like I need to watch him all the time. We have tried to baby-proof the main areas where he goes, but he keeps finding things that aren't really suitable for him that I didn't even think of. Constant vigilance!   

-4-

Our trip to visit the American family is getting close now--yay!  I am so excited. We haven't seen everybody since Christmas, and Gus has grown and changed so much since then, I can't wait to show him off ;)  The one thing I am not excited about is the flight. Gus and I will be going out first, with Jon joining us a few days later. Anyone have any suggestions for ways to keep a newly-crawling 7 month old entertained for an 8 hour flight? Please??

-5-

Do you know what I hate? Scented laundry detergent. Ugh. It is so awful. Laundry detergent is the most difficult part about cloth diapering. I use Ecover for my regular clothes, but apparently that is not very good for cloth diapers because it doesn't rinse out properly. Or something. So last time I bought the Tots Bots Potion, specifically designed for washing diapers at lower temperatures. But I didn't really think it was worth the price tag (not least because nowhere on the packaging does it tell you how much to use!), so I thought I would just go for some standard biological detergent. In the UK, they have two types of detergent, bio and non-bio. I do not know what the difference is (something to do with enzymes?), but I normally use non-bio. I read that bio works better on the diapers, so I thought I would try it. But I could not find any unscented bio detergent in the shop. Isn't that weird? They only have non-bio unscented. I bought one that said "with essential oils", hoping that it would mean the scent wasn't too awful. But it is. I just took the clothes out of the wash, and my head still hurts, just from hanging them up. Yuck yuck yuck. I don't think I can use that again. I might try the Rockin Green next time. What do you use for your nappies?

-6-

Gus is asleep in the bed next to me as I write this. He keeps moving. A lot. I don't notice it in the night when I am asleep, but today during his nap, he was practically up on his hands and knees at one point, before lying back down, completely asleep! He's obviously very excited about his newfound crawling abilities!

-7-

All week, I kept thinking of things I might put in my quick takes today. And now I can't remember any more of them. Oh well! Hope you all have a lovely weekend. And happy second birthday tomorrow to my nephew Ben! (That's way better than the card that I haven't yet put in the mail, right?)

Don't forget to head over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes fun!