This girl!

Gloria Katherine (after her grandma) came on the scene at 1:37PM on May 30. Easiest labor yet for me- after a morning chiropractor visit and a quick stop for a cheeseburger, we got to the birth center and she was born within the hour. We have been soaking up all the baby sweetness ever since! She has been pretty easy so far- milk/sleep/repeat, please.

Our friend Meredith of Meredith Eileen Photography came to take a few lifestyle shots of us at home when Gloria was just about two weeks old. I love all of her captures! There are tons of great ones, but these are some of my favorites.

I would like to say “I’m back, new post coming any day now!” but you guys know me better than that. I’m not sure when I’ll get back in my groove. Maybe soon, maybe never.. I’m still trying to figure out where the blog falls on my list of priorities now that we’re a family of five.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading and keeping up during this unpredictable season of life. We are in a constant state of flux with three small ones. Rest assured, I am spending plenty of time in the kitchen and daydreaming about blog-posting (among other things) while nursing the baby. I have so many grand ideas for Oven Love- they may never see the light of day, but know that I still cherish this space and everyone who finds their way here.

Just thought I might pop in to fill you in on what nonsense we’ve been up to. I know it’s been awhile. But, I still love you guys and I am 30-40% sure you love me/care about my whereabouts. So, let the over-sharing begin!

Fun Fact: As I so casually alluded to in my title, I am pregnant with baby #3! Surprise, world! (Surprise also, self and husband!) We have known for a while, but as these pregnancies keep coming, I am getting lazier and lazier with announcing them. Not that we’re not excited, just lazy. I am 14-15ish weeks right now, due at the end of May.. so probably June if my other well-baked babies are any indication. Here’s a crazy/awkward/very flattering photo I sent to a friend after I found out (no bump yet to show you) and the 10 week ultrasound photo:

Enough of that? Yes. In other news,

Though I have all but quit writing here, I have still be writing at Modern Parents Messy Kids. I just posted up a fun ice cream sandwich bar for the holidays (shown above). I love the idea- totally switches things up from your typical holiday cookie spread. Check out the post at MPMK for more details and recipes. I also shared my list of holiday baking essentials that I keep on hand this time of year.

My evening sickness (I typically do better in the mornings, I am a weirdo) has been crippling at times (over-dramatic much?), I am still managing to turn meals out of the kitchen. Dishes are going days without being washed… but everyone is still well fed. Can’t say the meals have all been paleo or GAPS or even gluten-free, but they’ve been meals and I’m thankful they made it to the table. Some phone pictures of our escapades:

top: my grandma’s recipe mac & cheese, a sweet potato with BBQ chicken and avocado, my kid carbing up. middle: swedish meatball recipe i wish i would have written down, sweet potato totchos for Halloween, cranberry sauce explosion. bottom: kids downing some green juice, Thanksgiving-ish salad, early Thanksgiving spread from last week.

I feel like I have lots more to say, but this is all I can handle right now, you guys. Baby steps! Maybe I will share some foodie gift ideas with you soon? My head is swimming with holiday ideas but I can’t seem to get it all on paper yet. I’ve been keeping up with Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to follow me there if you want to keep up with me while I am an otherwise delinquent blogger. Slow blogging for the win!

And of course, enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday! We all have so much to be thankful for.

I know we usually talk about food around here, but today I want to talk about babies. More specifically, baby bottoms. Just a little segway from our normal topics of conversation.. no big deal.

You probably know this (or maybe you’d just guess it from my other granola-mom-type interests), but my babies wear cloth diapers. I’m not really sure why we started using them in the first place- probably something to do with the environment or being too cheap to buy disposables all the time or something. Whatever it was that started it all, we have had a great experience with them on both our kids. (BumGenius 4.0 is our favorite, if you’re wondering.)

One of the things about babies, though, whether you cloth diaper or not, is that they get diaper rash. Fact of life. And for my kids, it gets worse when they sit in their cloth diapers. Granted, part of the reason is that they’re sitting in their own pee, but the other part is that they’re not always protected with diaper cream. Most diaper creams are not cloth-diaper-friendly since their job is to repel moisture (meaning when the cream is absorbed into a cloth diaper, it will repel the moisture that it’s supposed to absorb), so we skip them and stick them in disposables until the rash passes.

At one point, I found a cloth-diaper-friendly balm that I liked-Angel Baby Bottom Balm– but I was not going to keep spending that much money for two measly ounces of diaper cream, so I set out to make some at home. This was my first homemade beauty-type item, you guys! It’s pretty easy if you can get all the ingredients you need.

The coconut and olive oil were already in my cabinet, but the cocoa butter, beeswax and shea butter took a little effort to find in their natural form. I ended up finding those ingredients easily at Whole Foods, so if you have one near you, you’re golden. If you don’t, get busy with your search engine and you’re sure to find them on the interwebs. Just make sure they are all natural and have no additives.

All of the ingredients have natural healing properties- antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory- you name it, this balm helps to fight it. The essential oils are just my own blend- you can feel free to substitute other oils if you like and add more or less depending on your baby’s sensitivity.

This is also a great healing moisturizer for dry skin, cuts, scrapes, burns, eczema, razor burn, bug bites, cradle cap, and more- healing for the whole family in one small jar. But what’s most important are those baby bottoms. Happy bottom, happy baby.

4.0 from 1 reviews

Homemade Diaper Balm (Cloth Diaper Safe)

 

Print

 

adapted and updated from Between the Kids- http://www.betweenthekids.com/2011/08/cloth-diaper-safe-diaper-rash-cream-recipe/

Author: Oven Love

Ingredients

• 1 ounce olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chamomile flowers, dried
• 1 ounce coconut oil
• 1 ounce shea butter
• 1 ounce cocoa butter (chop if necessary)
• ½ ounce beeswax (chop if necessary)
• 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
• 2-3 drops Lavender essential oil
• 2-3 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
• 2-3 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
• 2-3 Grapefruit essential oil

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil on low heat in a small saucepan- do not bring to a boil- for about 10 minutes. Add chamomile flowers and stir for 10 more minutes, then take off the heat and let steep for an hour or two.
2. After an hour or two has passed, strain the chamomile oil into the bowl of a double boiler. Add coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax until melted. Remove from the heat and move the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer or a container safe for mixing with a stick blender. Let the mixture cool.
3. When the mixture is at room temperature (bottom of the bowl is no longer warm), add your essential oils.
4. Using a standmixer or stick blender, mix on high until the mixture is completely cool and turns from clear liquid to a white solid. If this is not happening- if the mixture is too runny or doesn’t turn- place the bowl in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl and try again. If that still does not work, add more beeswax or cocoa butter (these are solid at room temp) until you reach the desired consistency.
5. Scoop into a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool, dry place.
6. Use within one year.

#version#