Theo was a great sleeper from the start, and he loved being swaddled until 8 weeks or so.  Then he would bust out of the swaddle every night and end up waking himself up.  So, we took him out of the swaddle, did some sleep training (post to come) and let him use a light, crocheted blanket at night.  We would tuck the blanket around his body and legs and leave his arms free.  It worked great until he got good at moving his limbs and making mommy nervous, so we needed a new sleep answer.

What he really needed was a blanket that would wrap around him and not come off during his night kicking fits - hello baby deedee sleep nest!

There are other sleep sacks on the market, and I did my best to research them to find what would fit our needs best.  I settled on a baby deedee sleep nest because of it's design with the snaps at the shoulders, the front zipper, and the quilted warmth.  I was a bit hesitant because of the price tag ($41.00 for the medium size) but let me tell you, we LOVE this adorable baby sleeping bag!  The biggest difference from other sleep sacks (in my opinion) is the thickness and warmth of the fabric.  This item is truly a little sleeping bag.

The fabric is soft and keeps Theo warm during these winter nights.   We set our thermostat to 63F overnight and Theo never seems cold in the mornings, nor does he seem overheated.  The medium size is recommended for 6-18 months and I've found this to be true for us so far.  It's plenty long for Theo (who is currently only 4.5 months and in the 40ish percentile for length) and has lots of room for him to grow.   Right now, he wears a long sleeve footed sleeper (fleece or cotton) under the sleep sack and wakes up comfortable.  His hands occasionally are chilly to the touch, but his torso and legs are plenty warm.  I am planning on using the sleep nest through the spring and summer but changing what he wears underneath (probably just a short sleeve onesie if its warm in his room). 

I love the zipper on the front and the fact that zips from his neck to his feet.  Although we rarely need to do a diaper change at night anymore, this design would make it very easy to just unzip to his waist, change his diaper, and zip him back up.



Also, the snaps at the shoulders really help getting him in and out of the sleep nest.  We don't have to bend arms and try to stuff him in!  We just unsnap and unzip, lay him on the sleep nest, and then snap over his shoulders and zip it up!

Some of the other sleep bags I researched had options for bags that could be worn in a car seat.  While I understand the value of that, it's not something we needed.  When Theo is asleep in his car seat and we have to take him out to put him in the crib, he wakes up EVERY time.  So, having him already in the sleep sack wouldn't save us from potentially waking him up trying to put him in it.  If your baby doesn't wake up when transferred from car seat to crib, then I doubt very much that the ease of putting on the baby deedee would wake him/her up either.



The sleep nest comes in a variety of fun color combinations, sizes, and even thicknesses.

I have washed the sleep nest many times following the recommendations (washed cold, inside out, tumble dry low) and even dried it on high a couple of times (had to have it ready for bedtime!) and everything has held up well.  The zipper and snaps are fine, the colors are the same, and the fabric is actually softer than before.

Theo in his sleep nest, 4.5 months old.

(I was not compensated or asked to do this review, I just love this product!)

I made my first batch of laundry detergent around September 2012 and loved it.  It lasted us a little more than a year.  When it came time to make the second batch (November 2013) I knew I was pregnant and we would be cloth diapering.  I wanted to be sure that the detergent would be safe for the cloth diapers because I've read a lot about how certain detergents and soaps can cause build up and lead to less-absorbent diapers.  (Note: now that I'm 4 months into cloth diapering I've learned that this is mostly a myth and you can really just use Tide or whatever you want on diapers.  Regardless, I enjoy making my own detergent so I've chosen to continue!)

So, I made my third batch last night the same as I did with the second.

My original detergent included 6 ingredients: Borax, Washing Soda, Baking Soda, Oxi Clean, Bar soap, and Purex crystals.  In order to make this "cloth diaper" safe and easier, I eliminated half of the ingredients. 

I use this detergent on diapers, little human clothes, big human clothes, and all other things that go through the wash.  For really dirty loads (non-diaper) I add a couple squirts of Dr. Bronner's liquid pure-castile soap (I use the unscented variety).  All ingredients are safe for use in a front-loading HE washer.

Here's what I used (I was able to find everything at my local grocery store in the laundry detergent aisle):

-2 tubs of Oxi Clean Free (3 lb. each)

First and foremost - I really want to thank Brittany over at Simply Adapting for helping with the design of the blog and getting things running.  I'll do my best to keep things looking great! ;)


I'm excited to get a blog going, mostly for keeping life events in order and written down but also to share handy ideas and information that others may find useful.  (Ok, and sometimes it will be to complain or praise or have no direction at all! Bear with me!)  I might post 3 times a day or once a month, we'll see!