Accidental Low-Allergy Cooking: Banana Pancakes and Two Eggless Biscuits

Pancakes that are outrageously simple and also nutritious, dairy- and gluten-free?  These are a breakfast staple in our household, for The Daddy and I as well as the children.

For these Banana Pancakes, per person (approximately three small pancakes), mash a large, ripe banana and beat in one egg.  Add a tablespoon of buckwheat flour, mix to combine.

We usually also add a scant teaspoon of LSA meal, and a good shake of cinnamon as well.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, and cook for a few minutes on both sides until cooked through.  I recommend sticking with small pancakes (around 12cm diameter or smaller), as they are easier to flip that way.  You can also make them with just egg and banana, but the buckwheat adds flavour, body and makes for easier flipping.

I love Bob's Red Mill organic buckwheat flour.  I get it at my local independent supermarket - they carry a dizzying array of specialty flours - but Bob's Red Mill products are also available from lots of healthfood stores and online retailers.

Tabitha and Zachary have their banana pancakes with fresh strawberries or blueberries.  The Daddy and I love them with maple syrup, and bacon on weekends!

The other day, I made two batches of biscuits which were both, by pure coincidence, egg free.  So I thought I'd post the recipes here.  I am not normally a good 'something-free' cook, as most of my recipes contain lots of butter, milk, eggs, flour or all of the aforementioned, but it is handy to have a few such recipes up one's sleeve, as more and more children are allergic to various things these days.

The first recipe is for homemade arrowroot biscuits.  Similar in texture to a shortbread, but much lighter in flavour, these are an incredibly versatile biscuit, perfect for icing and decorating, or for an 'everyday treat' sort of biscuit for small people.  They are also delicious served alongside a cup of tea - three or four small biscuits is just about right.

Little Arrowroot Biscuits

150g plain flour

60g arrowroot flour or tapioca flour

70g icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

50g thickened cream

60g or a little more canola oil

Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl.  Using a fork to mix, slowly add the cream, then the oil.  You will need to mix very firmly and for a reasonably long time.  The mixture should be very crumbly, and only come together when you pinch some together with your fingers.  You may need a little more cream or oil, but first try mixing for longer to make sure the liquids are thoroughly worked through.

Using your hands on a sheet of baking paper, press out about 1/3 of the mixture at a time, to a uniform thickness of around 3-4mm.  Use a small cookie cutter, and cut out shapes, re-pressing down the remaining mixture as required.  You will get around 50 small cookies - my cutters are around 3cm across.  Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper (you can put them close together, as they will not really spread) and bake at 180 degrees for around 8 minutes, or until they are just slightly changing colour.

Let them cool on a wire rack, then store in an airtight tin.  They will happily keep for a good week or so.  They are a good little biscuit to ice, as well.

The second biscuit recipe is one I have posted here before - here - but I am posting the recipe again, for the purposes of having both eggless biscuit recipes together in one place.  These are delicious little chocolate chip cookies made with condensed milk.  They are most delicious when fresh from the oven, but perfectly acceptable for a day or two afterwards as well.

Highlander Biscuits

Cream together 115g softened butter with 55g caster sugar, until light and fluffy.

Beat in 2 tablespoons of condensed milk (note - these are NZ metric tablespoons, so only 15ml each), and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Sift together 170g plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and work into the creamed mixture, along with 60g of milk or dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate).  Once you have a crumbly mass of dough, tip it onto the bench and lightly knead it together into a rough ball.

Roll teaspoonsful of the dough into balls, and place them, spread apart, onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Press each ball down to flatten somewhat with a fork.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes at 180 degrees.  They should be lightly golden on the bottoms, and barely coloured on the tops.

Cool in a rack, and store in an airtight tin.  This makes around 25 - 30 small cookies for me.

One final sweet dish, which contains egg and dairy and gluten, and is incredibly quick and delicious - my golden syrup Hasty Pudding.  Recipe here.  We've been eating it quite often lately, in the cold evenings of Melbourne winter, and it really hits the spot, with plenty of cream or ice cream.  Make it tonight - it's a one-bowl, melt-and-mix kind of affair, perfectly manageable to throw together after dinner on a chilly night.

A new pair of Baby Legs leggings for Zach - these are really handy for babywearing, as you can slip them on and off according the temperature (for example, if you are going in and out of air conditioned places on a hot day) without disturbing or unwrapping baby.  We're off overseas next week (more about that soon) and I think Baby Legs will be brilliant for all the on-off-on plane action.

Also a few mini pots of CJ's Butter - truly the best and most delicious smelling range of nappy cream / all purpose moisturising balm.  I am never without a little pot of it - current favourite scents include Narwhales and Unicorns, Warm Vanilla Cake and Blueberry Crumble.  The little sample pots are the perfect size to throw into a handbag or nappy bag.

Modern Cloth Nappies

Get yourself a cup of tea.  Maybe a piece of cake, too.  Sit down.  This is going to be a big post.

Modern cloth nappies, also known as MCNs. Cloth Diapering, or CD, for the Americans.  They are incredibly cost effective (saving the average user at least $1,500 compared with disposible nappies) and are brilliant for the environment (an estimated 2.1 billion disposible nappies go into landfil in Australia each year, shudder, leaking human waste into the groundwater).  Most people love them because they are cute, coming in a range of colours and prints, and I personally find them fun to use.  They are so soft, squishy and pretty that I look forward to nappy changes!

The main difference, apart from ease of use, between MCNs and old fashioned 'flats', is that most MCNs have a stay-dry inner liner, meaning that the moisture is sucked away into the middle of the nappy, leaving the lining dry against your baby's skin.  Generally, a nappy feels completely dry to touch, however is thoroughly soaked through the absorbent middle layers.  So you can use MCNs and still keep your baby comfortable and dry.

When Tabitha was born, I was recommended the Itti Bitti d'Lish All-in-One nappies.  I tried them, they worked well, I bought a 'full set' of 16, and I used them every day for most of her time in nappies.  My choice was made without too much research, and I never spent much time looking into options, as the first one we tried worked well for us.  We used these nappies almost full time, and I was happy with them, although I must say that now that I've tried several more brands, I wouldn't rate the Itti Bitti AIOs as one of my favourites.

When Zach arrived, I discovered that these particular nappies were not great on him.  The medium ones (which had worked on Tabitha from age 4 months to around 2 years) seemed a little small on him, even as a baby, and seemed to leak from the front and the legs.  The low-cut style, which I had loved on Tabitha, seemed to cut into his hips, and cause leakage out the front of the waistband.  I was disappointed initially, but then I realised I could go and have fun exploring the wide world of MCNs!

So my strategy has been to try a whole bunch of different types, styles and brands, and see what works.  If anything doesn't work for us, it can get passed on to a friend or resold (yes, there is a booming second hand nappy market out there!).  If something works really well, I can buy extras of that particular type.

As part of this research, I recently had the lovely and incredibly knowledgeable Fiona from Darlings Downunder over to my house, to chat MCNs with myself and a bunch of my mummy friends.  Darlings Downunder is a pioneer company for MCN in Australia.  They are currently celebrating their 10th birthday, and are partially responsible for introducing Modern Cloth to Australian mums.  Run by two sisters, the company takes great pride in only stocking top-quality products.  When a nappy says it's organic, you can be sure the women have done the appropriate checks to ensure the organic certification.  If anything goes wrong with a product, they are on hand to help out with warranties, advice and information.

Most of the products I mention are available through Darlings Downunder.  When I first came across the website, I spent a few hours clicking around!  It's worth a visit.  This is not a sponsored post, but I like supporting ethical Australian companies, so please do check out their website.  I've linked to their website a few times in this post, but I've also tried to link to the parent companies of most products I mention, where you can find lots of information.  Other great Aussie MCN retailers include Piggy Tails, Apikali and Fluffy Tails.  I recommend following them all, including Darlings Downunder, on facebook - these retailers all frequently often great offers, giveaways and sales.

In this blog post, I've tried to cover the main differences between the various styles of cloth nappy, as well as some information on cloth wipes and care requirements for MCNs.  I will write another post soon, reviewing some specific MCNs in greater detail (Baby Beehinds, Itti Bitti, Bubblebubs Candies, Rumparooz, Pikapu, BumGenius, Designer Bums, and any others I manage to get my hands on to try!) If anyone has questions about a specific nappy you're interested in, I might even try and grab one to try and review, so let me know.  I'm also keen to try out some Blueberries, GroVia, Close and Oui Bebe.

As a general rule, once you are past the initial newborn phase (the first two months, roughly, when babies seem to poop non-stop) you will only need 6 or so nappies a day (and a night nappy, if you use cloth overnight).  So if you wash every day or two, you would get away with 12 - 18 nappies.  I had about 16 with Tabitha, which worked well.

If you want to use cloth with a newborn, you can go with a cheap system such as Prefolds, which are sort of like an advanced, modern version of the old 'terry flat' nappies.  They are basically a square nappy, with extra padding / absorbency sewn into the needed parts, which fits onto the baby without needing to fold them up (like the old school ones).  They clip on with a Snappi, and then you need a waterproof cover, either PUL or fleece or wool.  They are easy, cheap, and dry quickly.  The perfect option for a newborn, for many people.  Start with these for the first couple of months, then move into a one-size-fits-most MCN, which will take most kids right through to toilet training.  The main disadvantage of Prefolds is that the wet absorbent fabric is against the skin - there isn't a stay-dry lining layer in most.  But this isn't generally a big problem, as newborns have their nappy changed every couple of hours anyway, so they aren't sitting in a wet nappy.

For newborns, you can also get a 'sized' newborn nappy.  Many MCNs come in various sizes (newborn and / or small, then medium, large and sometimes extra large).  This is opposed to the incredibly, and increasingly, popular one-size-fits-most (OSFM or OSFA) nappies, which easily adjust to fit babies right from birth or a little older (3kg, usually) through to toilet training (15 - 18kg depending on the build of the child, and the nappy).

If you go the sized route, you would generally start with a Small, then go onto a Medium.  Some children (slim ones) will toilet train out of the Medium size, meaning you would never need a Large.  If you use disposables (or prefolds) for the first couple of months, you might get lucky and be able to use Mediums for the entirety of your baby's nappy wearing days (like we did with Tabitha).

It is my personal opinion that buying Small sized nappies is a bit of a waste.  They get used for such a short amount of time (Zach would barely have fitted into them for the first few weeks), and most babies can go into mediums from a few months old anyway (or into OSFM from a couple of months).  But if you are expecting a tiny baby, perhaps they will be more useful for you!

So should you buy sized nappies, or OSFM?  With Tabitha, we bought Mediums, and she fitted in them until 2.  I think we got lucky.  Certainly, Zach had grown out of the Medium Itti Bitti d'Lish style by the time he was only a couple of months old.  OSFM are generally seen as the most cost-effective option, since they will likely be the only ones you need to buy.  I am also told by Fiona, co-owner of Darlings Downunder, that OSFM nappies are by far the most popular, and are continuing even to gain in popularity.  I think she mentioned they outsell sized nappies at a ratio of around 5:1.

Now that I've had experience with both the sized nappies and the OSFM, I would recommend the OSFM, and that is certainly now what makes up the bulk of my nappy 'stash'.  I do like to have a couple of sized nappies, though, as they can be a little less bulky (though this isn't an absolute - depends on brand and style).  Of my current stash of 20 nappies, only 5 are sized (3 mediums, and 2 larges which are put away for later).

How do OSFM nappies work?  You simply use press-studs (known as 'snaps' in the MCN world) to shorten the front of the nappy (the 'rise'), depending on the size of your baby.  Most nappies have around 3 rows of snaps, roughly correlating to a small, medium, large and extra large size (with extra large being left unsnapped).  Because some of the fabric is gathered up at the front when using OSFM nappies on small babies, these nappies can be quite bulky on little babes (which is why some people prefer sized nappies on newborns), however by the time the child is on the Medium setting or higher, they aren't very bulky at all.

Now, we have talked about Prefolds.  We have talked about Sized nappies vs OSFM.  What is next?  The other three main questions you need to ask yourself are:

• Do I want Velcro or Snaps?
• Do I want All-in-One nappies, Pocket nappies, or All-in-Two nappies (also called Snap-Ins)?
• What brand do I want?

MCNs fasten around the waist using either velcro or 1-2 rows of snaps.  Velcro is easier (and arguably more user-friendly, particularly for grandparents, childcare workers, maybe even partners who don't change the baby as frequently as the main carer).  It is more similar to disposable nappies in the way it goes on and off.  It is also more adjustable, meaning you can get a perfect fit around the waist, whereas with snaps, you might find your child's waist is between two snap sizes, meaning it is slightly too loose or too tight (we are only talking 1cm, tops).

The main disadvantages to velcro are that they wear out a little quicker (although they can be replaced fairly easily by anyone who can sew, whereas snaps are hard to replace by yourself).  They should still last at least the life of the nappy for one child, though.  They can also be undone by some sneaky toddlers (although so can disposables, and some toddlers can open snaps).  The snaps are also a bit nicer looking, although this is really subjective.

I personally prefer velcro for 'everyday' nappies, and find them quick and easy to get a perfect fit, even on a very wriggly baby (I've had two of these, now!).  I prefer snaps on 'pretty' nappies - that is, patterned or fancier ones, which I sometimes use as 'pants', without any pants over the top, in warm weather.

Apparently, women tend to prefer snaps, and men tend to prefer velcro.  I like my mix!

What is an All-in-One nappy?  How about a Pocket nappy, or a All-in-Two?  Without going too deeply into the nitty gritty details, an AIO is a nappy where all the parts (the waterproof outer, the absorbent layers, and the stay-dry lining layer) are all sewn together.  They are incredibly simple (fool-proof) to use.  The main disadvantage is that they take a little longer to dry, since all the parts are layered together.  This isn't really a big problem if you have a nice large stash, and / or good drying conditions.  Most AIO nappies have a 'flap', where the top layer of absorbent materials, and the stay-dry layer, are sewn together into a flap which sits out from the main nappy when drying, improving drying times.  This also means you can lay a small 'booster' pad of absorbent material underneath this flap, if your baby or toddler is a particularly heavy wetter.

A Pocket nappy is a waterproof outer shell, with a stay-dry lining sewn with a 'pocket' in between the lining and the shell.  Into this pocket, you stuff 1-4 absorbent pads / boosters, depending on how heavy a wetter your baby or child is (I find a single booster to be ample for Zach, lasting a good 3-4 hours easily).  The advantage of the Pocket system is that a) you can adjust the absorbency level easily, depending on how much you stuff the pocket and b) you can dry the pieces separately - the shells generally dry in just an hour or two, while the boosters / pads can be dried in the drier, or you can buy extra boosters to use, with the shells, while some of the boosters are drying.

Finally, a AI2 (Snap-in-One) nappy is a waterproof outer shell, with the absorbent layers and the stay-dry lining as separate pieces, which snap together into the shell.  The main advantage of these is that when the baby wets the nappy, you can, in theory, remove the 'snap in' layers, and put in fresh ones, while still using the same shell (which is generally unsoiled).  In theory, this means less nappy to carry around with you, and a cost-effective option, as you can buy fewer shells, and simply more sets of the inners ('booster sets' or 'soaker sets').  Again, as with the Pocket nappies, the shells dry much quicker without all the boosters stitched in (AIOs).

The absorbent layers of a MCN (whether it is sewn inside, like an AIO, stuffed inside, like a Pocket nappy, or snapped in place, like an AI2) can be made of a variety of highly absorbent materials (or a combination).  Bamboo, cotton, hemp and microfibre are the most common.  Each have their advantages and disadvantages.  Bamboo is incredibly absorbent, yet can take a long time to dry (up to a couple of days).  Microfibre dries so quickly (some nappies, like the Pikapus, will dry in 4 hours!), however it doesn't hold quite as much liquid, and it doesn't 'hold' the liquid quite as well, meaning it can suffer from 'compression leaks', for example, if a child is sitting in the car on a long trip with a full nappy, the weight of the child may squeeze liquid back out of the microfibre.  This is something of a theoretical risk - I find, personally, as long as you change the nappies regularly, this shouldn't be a problem.

I like a combination, myself.  For example, in a quick-drying Pikapu, made of mostly microfibre, I will lay down a bamboo 'booster' (an absorbent pad) under the stay-dry layer, which provides additional absorbency, yet you can dry it separately from the main nappy (in the drier on warm, even).  You can buy separate boosters, made of whatever material you prefer, from most of the major brands.  You do not need to use the 'matching' brand of booster in your nappy.

So...

You have decided you will use disposables (or prefolds and covers) for the first couple of months.   You then plan on moving to OSFM.  You want velcro (or snaps, or a combination).  You think you might try a couple of AIOs, and a couple of Pocket nappies (and maybe a couple of AI2s / SIOs).

Great!  Sounds good!  So why don't you go out and buy a mixture of these?  Try them out.  See what you like to use, what fits your baby well.  Whatever you don't like, you can easily sell (through a facebook group such as Buy and Sell Your MCNs), or pass on to a friend.  Whatever you love, buy a couple more of.  If you want to ease yourself into it, start by just using MCNs for 2-3 nappies each day.  But if you are like most people I know, you'll be using them full time (or full time during the day) in no time.

Maybe try a couple of quick-drying, chic-looking Pikapus, some super cute and trim-fitting BumGenius, some squishy soft Baby Beehinds (the sized Magic-Alls AIO with velcro or snaps are nice), some Rumparooz (famous for being completely leak-proof for even the runniest poos).  How about some clever Bubblebubs Candies (which are a nifty OSFM nappy which does not need to be adjusted at the front)?

If you really want to tread gently, I recommend buying one BumGenius AIO, one Pikapu AIO, one Bubblebubs Candies AI2 and one Rumparooz Pocket nappy.  I promise you will love at least one, if not all, of those.

It is important to remember - while all this might seem overwhelming, most nappies will suit most babies just fine!  If you grab a OSFM AIO or Pocket nappy, with velcro or snaps, it will probably be just great on your baby (once they have outgrown the skinny legs newborn stage).  So grab a few, dive in, and go from there!  Don't let the wide range and fear of making the 'wrong choice' paralyse you to the point you avoid MCNs altogether!  Just buy a couple, try them.  Buy a couple more.  You'll love them, you'll find the perfect ones for you!

How do you wash your nappies?  With a mild clothes detergent (e.g. a natural one, anything that is grey-water safe, nothing with optical brighteners, something like Earth Choice), on cold or warm (30-40 degrees is recommended, the odd 60 degree wash is fine, and if you use cold water, you will probably need more detergent).  Never use bleach or Napisan, and avoid vinegar, as it can damage the elastics and / or outer waterproof PUL layer.  Most people like to do an extra 1-2 rinse cycles, to ensure the detergent is thoroughly rinsed out.  Some people like to wash their nappies without detergent, just using warm water and a few extra rinse cycles (I've done this for some time, it worked brilliantly, my nappies were always perfectly clean and never smelt).

You can also buy MCN-specific detergents, such as Rockin' Green, though I personally haven't loved them.

You don't need to soak the nappies.  It is recommended to 'dry pail' the nappies - that is, store them in a dry bucket or wetbag for 1-2 days, until you are ready to wash them.  If you have a poo nappy, or a very acidic wee (sometimes wees can be more acidic during teething, hence the teething nappy rash some children get), you can give the nappy a quick rinse in cold water before dry pailing it.  Try to wash every 1-2, or 3 at most, days, as urine can damage the nappies if left to soak into them for too long.

What about poo?  Breastmilk poo is so runny and mild that it can be treated as a liquid - that is, just put the nappies straight into the washing machine, or rinse briefly then dry pail if you're not planning on washing that day.  Once the poos start to get more solid, it is easiest to use a flushable nappy liner.  These are generally made of bamboo, and are biodegradable.  You just remove them from the nappy, containing the poo, and flush them down the toilet.  Note - you are not supposed to put poo into the bin.  Not even in a disposable nappy.  If you use disposable nappies, you are still supposed to remove the solid poo and flush it down the toilet.  It tells you this on the box, normally!  If you don't want to use a liner, you can get a high-powered hose thingy that attaches to your toilet, for spraying the poos into your toilet.  This sounds a bit messy to me.  I like a liner!  At any rate, you don't need to worry until your baby is older, and the poos are harder.  And even then, often they just plop off the nappy into the toilet, even without a liner.

It is generally recommended to line-dry nappies in the sunshine as often as possible.  UV helps remove any stains (truly, it works), and to keep things nice and sanitary.  Next best is drying indoors on an airing rack.  Finally, you can dry nappies in the dryer on low heat - it will mean a slightly shorter lifespan on the elastics, apparently, but in America and cold countries, many people use the drier for all their nappies, with no ill effects.  Using the drier also keeps the nappies soft and fluffy.  I personally love using the drier (on low) for my nappies, mostly for the way it keeps them soft and cosy.

Finally, with washing, it is recommended that you do a 'strip wash' a couple of times a year or so, to get rid of any detergent buildup.  To do this, do a hot wash (60 degrees) with no clothes detergent, but with a teaspoon of plain (cheap and cheerful, no moisturisers) dishwashing liquid.  Add a few extra rinse cycles (until the water runs clear, no bubbles).

Let's have a chat about accessories.  I should mention that you are not supposed to use barrier-style nappy creams with MCNs.  Creams like Zinc, Sudocream and the like are greasy, and can coat the fabric fibres of the MCN, damaging absorbency and repelling liquid.  Instead, you can buy MCN-safe nappy creams, such as CJ's Butter (I love this product!) or GroVia Magic Sticks.

While we're on the topic of creams, and I've already written about flushable liners, I might mention other MCN accessories - wetbags and cloth wipes.  Wetbags are zipping, waterproof bags - they typically fit about 3-4 nappies inside, and are used for transporting used nappies when out and about.  They can also be used at home as your 'dry pail' system - that is, for storing nappies waiting to be washed - and you can certainly buy larger sized ones which are perfect for this.  You can get wet/dry bags, which include two separate zipped compartments - one for clean nappies, one for dirty.  I have one of these.  Most people (including myself) using cloth nappies full time or part time use at least two wet bags, and possibly more.  I tend to wash wetbags at least once a week - it's easy to just toss them in with the nappies you are washing.

Many people who use MCNs use disposable wipes, however this can be a pain as you have to go and put the wipes in the bin anyway - it can be easier to just pop the wipes into the dry pail or wet bag with your dirty nappy.  There are even some great systems out there (like the Cheeky Wipes All-In-One Kit) which make using cloth wipes virtually mess-free - the used wipes go straight into a sealed box, inside a mesh bag, and the bag then goes straight into the wash.  So you don't need to touch the soiled wipes at all!  Cloth wipes are really lovely to use - much softer on baby's bottom, and thicker and 'gripper' which means you can get a really good clean with just water (or water with added essential oils or wipes solutions to keep them smelling lovely - you can google to find some nice homemade recipes).  Water does a perfect job of cleaning up even messy nappies - there really is no need for the chemicals in baby wipes, for daily nappy changes.  I find it alarming that even our 'sensitive skin' baby wipes can remove texta from handbags - there must be some strong chemicals in them!

You can either wet a wipe (or two) each time you change a nappy - easy enough if your changing area is near a sink - or you can store the wipes wet (for example, in the systems mentioned above, or just in an old Huggies wipes container, with enough water or wipes solution to keep them moist).  Some people even just use a small spray bottle of plain water (or cooled chamomile tea!), spraying the baby's bottom well, then using a dry wipe.  This is handy for when you're out and about.

You can buy brilliant cloth wipes, though they are incredibly simple to make.  All you need to do is cut up a few old thin towels, or flannel sheets, into squares (or you can buy some flannel or terry fabric).  If possible, then join two wipes together and overlock the edges to prevent them from fraying - though you can go without this step, it just means that your wipes won't last as long.

If you feel squeamish about the really poopy wipes going into the wash, you could use disposable wipes for the really dirty nappies, and use cloth for the rest of the changes.  I found that we went through so many disposable wipes when Tabitha was a baby, and at $20 or so for a box, you will find it much cheaper to go with a stash of soft cloth wipes instead.

Finally - I should point out, there are other types of MCN.  There are fitted nappies, which are like AIOs, except that they do not have a waterproof outer layer, and require a separate fleece, wool or PUL cover (like the Prefolds).  These are commonly used for night nappies, though some people use them during the day.  I don't know a lot about them, and I don't know anyone who uses them.  I might try and grab one to review?

I wanted to mention, too, that some local councils around Australia have MCNs available to borrow through their local libraries (or other networks), in a bid to encourage their residents to use MCNs instead of disposable nappies.  There are other non-government nappy lending options in Australia, too, so it's worth having a google if you're interested in trying some out before purchasing.  Many companies (including retailers like Darlings Downunder) also offer mixed trial packs to purchase at a reduced cost.

So - did you stick it out to the end?  Are you still here?  Do you have any questions, or requests for reviews?

Chocolate Banana Cake

I baked this chocolate marble banana cake, recipe from Donna Hay via the fabulous Miss Kitty-Cat Goes To Town blog.  Miss Kitty-Cat always bakes delicious things, so I knew this would be a winner.  Easily the best banana cake I've had - but isn't everything better with chocolate?  I won't bother reproducing the recipe here, Miss Kitty-Cat has done so perfectly here.

The chocolate part of the batter, raw, is one of the most decadent things I've eaten lately.  I licked that bowl completely clean.  The chocolate part is quite rich, but it works beautifully when marbled like this, which prevents it from being overwhelming.

I had friends over while the cake was in the oven - the whole house smelt incredible, chocolate / banana / spices.

As always when baking a delicious cake for visitors, it can be hard to snap a photo of it sliced before, poof, it is all gone!

Zachary will start solids - Baby Led Weaning (BLW) of course, same as Tabitha - in about 4 weeks.  Meanwhile, we pop him into a high chair at the table while we eat, and he chomps on his toys while we eat.  He is certainly interested in food, and watches me like a hawk while I eat, but he hasn't been as eager as Tabitha, who was literally snatching food out of my hands, intercepting spoons and forks en route to my mouth, and trying to stuff them into her mouth.  Zach, I think, will be more than happy to wait until the recommended 6 months.

Takeaway sushi from our excellent local sushi bar, owned and run by a Japanese couple:

I am obsessed with tamagoyaki.  Have been all my life.  I think it's time to buy a tamagoyaki pan and get cooking!

Zach thinks his dolly is pretty yummy:

Oh and I have been finding our Itti Bitti d'List All-in-One nappies (which I adored with Tabitha) to be a bit leaky with Zach.  They seem to leak out the top front.  I don't know if it's because he's a boy, or because he is constantly on his belly (just started crawling this week - just on 5 months, crazy!) or if I need to try the Larges already.  Meanwhile, I've bought a Pikapu to try out - I'll let you know how they go.

Any other recommendations for good MCNs for boys?  I don't like pockets and multiple parts, I like the all-in-one sort.

Overseas Trip Thoughts - Part One

I promised to write up some of my thoughts about travelling overseas with Tabitha.  Of course, I am no expert, and each baby and family is different - what works well for us will not necessarily work for another family, and vice versa.  That said, I think that sharing our experiences is useful!

First up, let me say this:  the holiday was fantastic!!!  The Daddy and I both agree, wholeheartedly, that we absolutely recommend travelling with a baby of Tabitha's age.  We would do it again in a heartbeat.  Many people tried to tell us we were 'crazy, mad or just naive' when we mentioned that we were taking our 11 month old daughter on a month-long trip to the US.  But honestly, it was far easier, and more enjoyable, than we'd hoped.  We tried not to rush or cram too much into our days - we generally went for a morning walk, grabbing breakfast and a coffee, and giving Tabitha some play time in a park or garden, then came home for her morning nap.  We then went out for lunch and an afternoon of activity.  We either stayed out and had an early dinner, getting her home by 7:30 for bed, or else came home for a little rest before setting out for dinner (sometimes getting home a little late, but almost always by 8pm).  So the pace was quite relaxed, and while she had her morning naps, we had time to tidy up, plan our day, or even lie back and read a book.  Overall, the holiday felt more relaxed than other overseas trips we've taken, not less.

With regard to hotels, I recommend staying at full-service type hotels.  We've always loved little boutique places and bed-and-breakfasts, in the past, however these are not ideal with a baby or toddler.  Too many knickknacks (vases, old books, pretty ornaments, exposed electrical cables, non-secured televisions and furniture, curtains which can be pulled down etc), and sometimes unsafe features such as staircases, opening windows on high stories etc.  We stayed at an apartment in the West Village (not a traditional, hotel-style serviced apartment, but more like a bed-and-breakfast type setup), and a bed-and-breakfast in Lancaster County.  While we completely adored the B&B in LC, falling in love with the property, its hosts and their amazing breakfasts, it was tiring being in our cottage - we had a flight of stairs (which Tabby can climb, but not get back down safely), as well as about a billion little delicate decorator touches and knickknacks.

For most of our trip, we stayed in traditional, full-service hotels.  With room service, pillow options, spare blankets and sheets, toiletries supplied, laundry services and the like.  The rooms were spotlessly clean, there were minimal delicate items.  Everything was in good working order.  There were small fridges.  Ahhhh this made life easy!  I have never appreciated good hotels like I do now!  Being able to call downstairs for a meal if Tabitha crashed out asleep early.  Being able to call downstairs for extra towels when Tabby had a bout of stomach flu. And plenty of space with soft carpet for our little monkey to play.  Having a concierge was also most useful with a baby - calling ahead to check the availability of high chairs, advise on good local parks, directions to a 24-hour chemist.

When travelling, it is useful to take a mini-child-proofing kit with you.  Some outlet covers for electrical points, and possibly some blackout fabric and tape, for windows in case the curtains aren't sufficient.  I also recommend taking a big role of masking tape and gaffer tape!  It's amazing how useful these tapes can me - for keeping draws and cupboards closed, for keeping toilet lids closed, for securing furniture.  Good gaffer tape is nice and strong, and not easily peeled back by a baby or toddler!

When we arrived at each hotel (we spent about a week at each), we made the effort to properly unpack.  Everything went into draws, cupboards or in neat piles on desks.  Rummaging through suitcases for clean baby singlets, bibs or spare wipes is not efficient.  Taking half an hour to unpack properly saves time overall, and means that everything remains neat and folded, making re-packing a breeze.  At each hotel, I set up a little 'nappy changing station' with nappies, wipes, change mat, disposal bags, barrier cream and spare PJs on the desk, so all the bits and pieces were handy.

Most hotels offer laundry service, however it is generally ridiculously overpriced - $12 for a top, $20 for a pair of pants?  No thanks.  Before we arrived, I checked in advance to find laundromats near each of our hotels, and we did one or two trips to the laundry each week.  Doing two loads of laundry at once (darks and lights) and then a load of drying (on low heat to avoid shrinkage) didn't take more than an hour and a half, and we took it in turns to sit and read, while the other took Tabitha for a walk, play or lunch.  The lovely AKA serviced apartments we stayed at in Upper Midtown, NY, had free laundry facilities in the basement for guests.  This is a brilliant feature if you are travelling with children - well worth seeking out when booking accommodation.

Most American hotels offer free WiFi, which is brilliant - we took our laptop and used it a lot for planning our days, email, google maps and the like.

While planning our trip, I made note of the closest supermarkets to each hotel.  Wholefoods is by far my preferred US supermarket - in fact, I will admit that I get quite sad and grumpy that we don't have a similar supermarket in Australia.  I could happily spend hours in Wholefoods!  In Boston, Shaw's is an excellent supermarket too.  As soon as we arrived, I went and bought oatmeal, organic milk, some fresh fruit and vegetables, some wholegrain bread and some snacks (dried fruit, organic dry cereal such as puffed corn and rice etc).  This meant we always had the ability to whip up a meal for Tabitha, even without a kitchen (for example, mashed banana or avocado sandwich, porridge, cut up fruit and vegetable sticks).

When out and about, it was useful to take some snack foods - dry cereal, dried fruit, as well as cut up fresh fruit and vegetables.  Often, I would get a snack of a bagel or hot dog, and I didn't want Tabitha snacking on endless white carbs or hot dogs (hypocritical, I agree!).  So it was good to always have something nutritious to give her to munch on.  Also, if there was a wait at a restaurant for our meals, having snacks was good distraction.  If you get caught in a restaurant without a snack, most are more than happy to bring your baby some oyster crackers or bread.

The Wholefoods hot food and salad buffets were excellent - babies like to eat lots of little bits and pieces, so grabbing a container to fill with a piece of capsicum, some stewed chicken, some pasta, a bit of tuna, some cucumber and a little naan bread was perfect, if we wanted to sit and have a picnic in the park, or if we were tired and wanted to sit in our room and give her lunch.

Eating out - I am pleased to report that, after a full month in America, Tabby has still never tried a chip or french fry.  When eating out, it was generally fairly easy to find food for Tabitha to eat.  Most restaurants offer sides of vegetables (Americans tend to add butter and oil to steamed veggies, so if you'd prefer them plain, it's worth specifying).  Some veggies, a little bread, some steak or other meat from our meals and there is a complete meal for Tabitha.  She really loves seafood, and throughout the East Coast, the famous lobster rolls are everywhere.  I love them too, so I often ordered a lobster roll and gave Tabitha plenty of lobster meat, along with some steamed veggies.

Even if you are eating somewhere which may initially seem challenging, such as a burrito chain (delicious!), you can generally manage to come up with something.  For example, while we ate burritos, I picked out little pieces of steak and Carnitas, smeared some guacamole on some tortilla for her, and gave her a little pile of beans to eat - which was not only nutritious, but kept her occupied for a while, picking up the individual beans.

If you are stuck in a not-so-nutritious restaurant (for example, Denny's or IHOP or another chain, on the road), it's always easy to order something like a children's cheeseburger (meat, bread and cheese!) or chicken strips with a side of fruit or veggies.  Hey, it's not ideal, but it will certainly suffice for a single meal.  Remember - nutritionists always advise looking at someone's diet over a week, never just based on a single meal or even day.  So if you have a day full of less-than-perfect food, don't worry too much.  One thing I was impressed with was that many of the US chains (for example, Denny's) serve fruit as a side by default for all children's meals - if you want fries, you need to request them.  I hope that Aussie restaurants follow suit in the future.

In places like Boston and DC, in fact, most of America, high chairs are readily available in all sorts of restaurants - even bakery chains such as Au Bon Pain have high chairs.  However, in New York City, where space is a premium commodity (even square foot is another potential paying customer), high chairs are far less common.  Generally, you can use your pram as a high chair - we did this a lot.  Just sit the pram upright at the table, and try to make sure that the handles aren't sticking out into the pathways of waiters or patrons.  High chairs that DO exist are often inadequate for a climbing, wriggling baby or toddler - many, many US restaurants seem to have a sort of boxy high chair without a harness, and sometimes without even a waist strap!  Within seconds, Tabitha is up and out of these high chairs, climbing onto the table.  We learnt quickly, and started taking a couple of long scarves out with us, to fashion a little harness or waist belt for her, keeping her in the high chair.

Some restaurants, despite not having high chairs, also do not allow prams!  Serendipity 3, I'm looking at YOU!  In these cases, it is worth getting creative.  You can use a wrap, such as my Vatanai, to strap the baby to a regular chair, wrapping it gently but firmly around their legs and torso, in a sort of harness, and tying it to the seat and back of a chair!  This is even better if you have a booster seat (which some non-high-chair places do have) to work with, which will elevate the baby to table-height.

Now, we do have a travel high-chair.  It's the HandySitt, and we love it.  We use it a lot in Australia, but decided it was too bulky to take overseas, and to lug around with the pram.  Having our time again, we would probably take it with us - or another similar type of thing.

Other restaurants (such as my beloved Bubby's) offer high chairs, but do not allow prams.  You are expected to leave your pram outside on the street.  If you know this in advance (call ahead and check), you can take the baby in a carrier and leave the pram at home, however it is generally seen as quite safe to leave a pram (with nothing in it) outside.  In theory, I suppose you could take a bicycle chain and secure it to something!

Streamlined the 'nappy bag' for each day - even if we were going to be out all day, all that we needed was 2 bibs, wipes, a couple of nappies, snackball with some dried fruit and snacks, drink bottle (luckily, Tabby can drink from a regular bottle, or her mummy, if we didn't bring the drink bottle).  Everything we needed, including the camera and my phone/wallet, could easily fit in my Longchamp totes (which I used instead of a handbags overseas) or in the Ergo / pram.

For carrying the baby, we took both the pram (our Bugaboo Cameleon) and a couple of carriers (our Ergo and my Vatanai woven wrap).  The Daddy wasn't keen to take the pram, initially - he thought we could manage just fine with the Ergo, and thought that taking the pram, in its massive Travel Case, was overkill.  Indeed, it is bulky to take - the pram in its case needs to be checked in at the 'oversized luggage' section at the airport.  But the travel case has room to stuff HEAPS of stuff in, around the pram - we fitted in a month's worth of disposable nappies, a few pairs of shoes, and other random bits and pieces.  Plus, airlines generally do not weigh the pram case, so it's a good place to sneak in heavy items.  But ultimately, we were really glad we took the pram - when you are out all day, it is nice to have a break from carrying the baby, and Tabitha enjoyed sitting in her pram, waving at everyone who passed by (Americans, being ga-ga for children, all obligingly wave back - even harried businessmen).  Many places do not have highchairs, so the pram was useful for feeding her in.  And if we were out shopping, being able to stow packages under the pram is helpful.  In theory, you could buy a cheaper umbrella-style stroller when you arrive on your trip.  But it won't be as comfortable for your child as a regular pram, and isn't as useful for shopping.  But it's certainly an option.

While we used the pram a fair amount, at least ever couple of days, the Ergo got a real workout.  For quick trips, for morning walks, or for longer trips where she might get fussy (such as museums and galleries), the Ergo was perfect.  It's easy to put her in and out (great when you have a mobile, crawling or walking baby who frequently needs to get down and let off some steam), and great for crowds when you don't want your baby face-to-bottom with strangers.  I also used the Vatanai woven wrap, though not as much as the Ergo.  In DC and Lancaster County, where the weather was hot, the Vatanai was good.  But it's certainly not as useful for getting your baby in and out - better if you are going for a walk or something, and are not likely to need to stop for a meal.

When out and about, we found that changing nappies was straightforward.  Because we had chosen to use disposable nappies for our trip (laundry facilities were not always available, we didn't have access to good drying space, and they are bulky to pack), nappy changes were a little more flexible - with cloth, you generally need to change every 3 or so hours, however you can get away with stretching this out a little with good quality disposables.  So, if we were out, we could normally wait until we got home OR until we were somewhere with a change-table (department stores, some restaurants, most Starbucks, hotel lobbies).  To compensate for being in her nappies a little longer, we used plenty of barrier cream at each change, to protect her skin.

We took enough nappies to last us for nearly the entire trip.  We ran out during the last week - so we went to Target in Lancaster County to buy some Huggies.  Interestingly, there were several kinds of Huggies - sensitive skin Huggies, active baby Huggies, and others I can't remember.  We bought the only one which came in a 32-pack in Tabitha's size (I think the active ones) and actually found them to be pretty ordinary.  They leaked more easily than the Huggies I have from Australia, and were not differentiated between boys' and girls'.  Based on my experience, I would recommend taking your own nappies with you - if you know what works, best to stick with it.  There were, however, nice sensitive skin wipes available in the US - lots of types, and much cheaper than in Australia.  Same for disposable breastpads.

If you need to buy commercial babyfood (unlikely if you are doing Baby-Led Weaning), there is plenty of variety in the US - lots of good organic ranges, with all the normal flavours and varieties.  The one thing I didn't seem to see was the instant baby cereals we have here - Bellamy's and the like, for example banana rice cereal.  There was plain rice cereal, but not organic and not of the quality we have in Australia.

Drug stores (chemists) in the US are really brilliant.  Not only do they have all the regular pharmacy items (and then some!) such as painkillers, first aid, baby care etc., but also incredibly extensive aisles of beauty products, haircare, household cleaning products (including my beloved Method products), magazines, food (cereal, biscuits, snacks, frozen foods, milk, fruit etc) and things like CDs, stationary and the like.  Most large drug stores are more like mini supermarkets.  Go have a wander in one for fun!

Over the coming week, I will write another post - focusing on evaluating our packing list (what worked, what didn't), our choice of airline and experiences with air travel, discussing breastfeeding in America (Americans overall are slightly more conservative than Aussies), and the pros and cons of taking your own car seat (we did not).

I hope that some of this might be useful to someone, one day...

Snippets

My aunt and two little cousins came to visit Tabitha on Saturday - they had been unable to make her party, so dropped in to wish her a happy birthday.  Tabitha is much smaller than my young cousin, who is years older than her, however she still tried to boss her and climb into her lap in the little car (which sadly has to go back to the toy library.  Tabitha will miss it a lot!).  Can you sense the alarm in poor cousin G's little face?  She is afraid she will be squashed by 9kg of baby!

The cousins brought gifts for Tabitha - including a cute pink corduroy cat - and some beautiful yellow tulips for me.  They are sitting, in their pot, on my windowsil, adding cheer to the kitchen:

Look at all of Tabitha's lovely birthday cards!  She is such a lucky girl, and loves her cards - in fact, I am having to work to stop her climbing up the bookshelf to pluck down some cards to play with.

When Tabitha was born, we recieved more cards than you can imagine - well over 100.  I bundled them up with some ribbon, and they sit on her shelves.  I hope that one day she will enjoy looking at them.  I have done the same with her Christening cards, her first Christmas cards, and will also with her birthday cards.  I can't bear to throw them out - people have written such nice, kind things.

Here are her birthday cards, and behind them in a frame, a gorgeous postcard of a young ballerina sent from Paris from her honorary great-aunt Penelope (who I used to call Pelepone, and the name has stuck):

For her birthday, Tabitha recieved lots of beautiful, special gifts, including some of her very own jewellery - a pearl bracelet from The Daddy and I, a silver 'Little Lamb' fawn bangle from my parents, and a divine little ladybird charm for her Pandora bracelet, given to her by her Godmother Sophie.  She also received beautiful soft toys, fun games and puzzles, lovely books, pretty dresses and shoes and even a song, written - music and lyrics - and recorded for her by her talented 14 year old Godfather Noah!

Here are some of her new toys - at the back, a gorgeous wooden cart with the nicest little handmade animal 'bowling pins' and a wooden bowling ball, as well as several handmade felt and wooden farm animals for playing with:

She received two pairs of shoes for her birthday - some stunning metallic pink ballet shoes (in the box) and some super-cute Marc Jacobs 'mousie' shoes, back right, with pale pink leather 'ears' and little spiky whiskers.  With over ten pairs of shoes, Tabby has more nice pairs than her mummy!

My favorite shoe brand for baby shoes is Bobux.  They are designed in New Zealand, and the quality is superb.

You are not supposed to put MCNs (modern cloth nappies) such as our Itti Bitti nappies in the dryer - the heat degrades the waterproof fabric and the elastic.  You are allowed to dry them on 'low heat' however I generally line-dry them to save power.  But since our cats destroyed our indoor clothes airer (naughty cats!) I put her nappies into the dryer (on low).  WOW!  They are so, so soft!  I don't know if I can go back to line drying...  I will, I know I will, but I will be sure to give them a turn in the dryer every now and again to soften them up.

In Tabitha's nursery, she has a large wall unit of shelves - the top shelves house books, the middle shelves house delicate things (such as porcelain money box, jewellery, small toys, photos and the like), and the bottom shelves house basket storage, and also toys she enjoys playing with.  Often, I hear her go into her bedroom on her own, and start playing her little xylophones!  I snuck in a took a couple of photos - here she is enjoying making some music:

In feel-good news, I received a package in the mail today.  A woman who I had donated breastmilk to had posted back my containers, and had so generously included brilliant Peter Rabbit 'buggy book' and a kind card.  What a lovely surprise!  But - why oh why does the postman always press the buzzer (for about a minute!) when Tabitha is asleep?!

Well, it seems that Tabitha has officially transitioned to one nap per day.  She hasn't yet decided exactly what time she would like to sleep - she has been going down between 10:30am and 3pm, depending on the day - but overall, we are trending towards a nap from roughly 12pm - 1:30pm or 2pm.

She has also really stepped up a level with her monkey climbing skills - not only can she now climb up onto the sofa, bookshelf and our bed (dragging something like a tissue box or a boot to stand on, if required), she can now climb up her high chair and onto the dining table!  Goodness!  Dangerous and alarming.  I cannot take my eyes off her anymore!  Apparently at the same age, my mother caught me half way up a ladder against the side of the house.  I cannot imagine what a fright that must have given her.

Today is a lovely day.  Sun is shining, house is clean, baby is giggly.  I have been laying on the sofa reflecting on how much I adore being a full time mother - I can honestly say that I am completely fulfilled by our days together.  At so many moments through the day, I find myself getting almost teary with the complete love and adoration I feel for my sweet, funny girl.  The overwhelming 'motherly love' is almost like a drug, rushing through my entire body.  I know that things will get harder, no doubt, when more children come along, but being a mother is simply the most wonderful thing I could have imagined.  Not a day passes when I don't feel this way, even when I am tired.  I cannot tell you how lucky I feel.

Saving Money with a Baby

In some ways, new babies do seem to eat money.  The good news is that babies don't really need much - a few grosuits, some nappies, a breast, a few homemade toys will do.  Of course, most of us aren't that frugal, and the temptation to buy loads of cute baby pieces can be strong.

Personally, I sat somewhere in the middle - I bought a fair amount of clothes (and was gifted lots), and I bought a fair few 'premium' products such as organic baby washes and creams, lovely organic bedlinen, a top-of-the-line car seat and pram, a number of excellent baby carriers, wraps and slings.

I also made a fair amount of stuff (all of the blankets are hand-knits, plus some coats, jackets and hats).

I completely avoided buying much baby 'stuff' - no fancy musical rocking chairs, walkers, jolly jumpers, no special baths, musical mobiles, baby monitors, special rocking feeding chair, infant swing, sleep positioners, wipe warmers, or lots of other stuff that some lists include as 'essentials'! Yes, all those things are common new baby items!  I think they would all add up to over a thousand dollars, easily, and we did without any of them.  Some are useful, for some people, but certainly I cannot imagine that any baby would need most of them.

Some things I bought as we needed them, rather than all at the beginning - this saves space (as you pack some things away, there is room for new things) and also spreads out the cost.  A playmat (with overhead toys and rails), some interactive toys, GroBags, these things waited until we needed them.

One area you can save loads of money is consumables - anything that you can buy disposible, you can buy reusable.  Reusable products save significant money, and are also generally much better for the environment (and often lower on chemicals, which is important to me for products against my and baby's skin).

• Cloth nappies instead of disposables.  Depending on where you buy them, good quality (non-leaking) disposable nappies can cost between 30c - 52c per nappy.  For a young baby, this can mean between $20 - $45 a week in nappies!  A set of top quality MCNs (modern cloth nappies) will cost you around $300 - $400, depending on whether you buy sized (e.g. small, medium and large) or one-size-fits-all.  OSFA nappies are more expensive to start, but will last the baby until it is toilet trained (up to 4 years).  We chose sized nappies - we started using MCNs when Tabitha was 4 months, and she went straight into Mediums.  Many slim babies toilet train straight out of Mediums.  So our entire nappy cost (from 4 months to maybe 3 years) might be only $380!  We do use disposables at night (around $110 a year) but many people use MCNs at night too.
  This really is a massive cost saving - if you're not convinced about MCNs, try buying one or two Itti Bitti d'Lish All-in-Ones.  I think you'll be sold!

• Cloth wipes - baby wipes are handy at times, but simple cloth wipes (cut up an old flannelette sheet or a couple of old towels) are soft, washable, and easy to use - either wet them with some warm water, or keep a spray bottle of water to spray on baby's bottom, then wipe.

• Reusable breast pads.  You can buy lovely, colourful, soft breastpads with a waterproof backing.  If you have a strong flow, like I do, you will need to continue to use breastpads well beyond the early days - I still can't go without, and Tabitha is 10 months old.

• Lunette cup instead of disposable tampons and pads.  Once you have passed the 6-week initial bleed, you can use a menstrual cup.  These pay for themselves after half a dozen periods, maximum, and are so much better for your body and the environment.

Of course, breastfeeding is a massive cost saver! Years of formula, bottles and teats, and steam steriliser units can add up to an enormous cost.  Spend $65 on an Australian Breastfeeding Association subscription (comes with the best breastfeeding book around, plus unlimited free breastfeeding counselling and support), and you could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  Having good support can be really crucial for breastfeeding - it can truly make the difference between being able to continue or giving up.  Breastfeeding is the ultimate eco-friendly, no-cost baby option.

It is certainly worthwhile buying a small collection of toys - some teethers, some baby rattles/moving/shaking objects, some blocks, some musical instruments.  Beyond this, however, you may find that joining your local Toy Library does the trick.  Most toy libraries are free or low-cost to join (many require you to volunteer just a couple of hours of your time in return) and you get access to LOADS of great toys - from puzzles and small block sets through to large things like slide sets and cubby houses.  I find Tabitha gets sick of most toys pretty quickly, so this is a great way to rotate the selection, and upgrade to age-appropriate toys regularly, with no cost outlay, and no need to store things!  Here is a link to the Victorian Toy Libraries, but similar things are found all over Australia and indeed the world.

Following that train of thought, the regular local library is brilliant.  I must admit that I am Library Obsessed!  I walk to our local library (5 minutes away) at least once a week - I have to walk, in order to limit the amount of books I can drag home!  Otherwise I end up with eight novels, three massive hardcover cookbooks, two oversized architecture books and a stack of DVDs and magazines...  I recommend the library for parenting books (they seem to all have great collections - and remember, if there is a book you want to read, and your local library does not have it, you can request for them to purchase it).  But most of all, the library is excellent for baby and children's books - there are hundreds and hundreds of great picture books, and my library has a few massive tubs of board books.  Each week, I borrow a few 'touch and feel' type books and a couple of other board books.

Baby Led Weaning is a cost saver.  No need for pre-made babyfood (almost every woman I know who feeds their baby purees uses some of the pre-made, fancy organic ones, even those who claim to prepare and blend everything themselves).  Those pre-made baby foods are expensive!  Even if you do make all your own purees, it must be a little time consuming.  Just feed the baby whatever you're eating, I say!

I don't like to use chemical-laden cleaning products.  They give me eczema, I hate the smells, and they leave a chemical residue all over your house - not great anyway, but with a baby who licks everything, even worse.  I use a combination of natural cleaners (bicarbonate of soda, boiling water, lemon juice and white vinegar) and Enjo products.  Enjo can cost a bit to start, but I find their products dramatically superior to the cheaper copies, and I find that they actually clean the house better than chemical products.  After the initial cost outlay with Enjo products, all you use is water, so you will certainly save money in the long term.  But even without Enjo, you can easily get by with just bicarb, vinegar and boiling water.

Try babywearing instead of the gym - it sounds a little trite, but I am slimmer and in better shape than I was before I had the baby.  With a good quality, well-fitting baby carrier (such as an Ergo or woven wrap), your back can comfortably support even a heavy baby or toddler.  I often walk 2 - 3 hours a day with my 10kg baby attached to me.  This means 2-3 hours of walking with a 10kg weight - great for fitness, legs and core muscles.  My arms get enough of a workout, lifting Tabitha up and down constantly during the day.

Although I spend a fair amount of money on food, I save money in some areas.  While I buy a lot of organic products, and things like imported bronze-extruded pasta, as well as Fair Trade ingredients, I save money by shopping in season (boring, I know, but true) and at Farmers' Markets.

More importantly, I have dozens of meals that I can cook large amounts, cheaply, then freeze.  I also have lots of meals that are quick and low-cost, feeding 2-4 people for well under $5 a serve, sometimes under $2.50 a serve.  Thick and rich lentil or bean soups, slow-cooked stews, meals made with cheaper (but tastier) cuts of meat like chicken thighs and drumsticks, chuck steak, and neck or shoulder of lamb.

Smart research will always save you money.  Jumping online to compare prices for nappies, toys, clothing, prams etc.  Buying on eBay.  Buying from overseas can save you loads of money, even considering international shipping costs!  THIS Dutch website sells Bugaboos, the accessories, and Tripp Trapp high chairs, for far lower prices than anywhere in Australia.  We bought our Tripp Trapp, its accessories, and a handful of accessories for our Bugaboo Cameleon (travel bag, sunshade, footmuff, sun canopy, cup holder, rain cover etc.), and even with international shipping of over $100, we saved over $300.  The saving would have been much more if we'd bought the actual pram from them as well (our pram was a gift from my parents).

Those are some of my tips.  I don't pretend to be a budget bargain queen (search out websites like Hillbilly Housewife for that!), but like most people, I like to save money where I can, so I can spend the money on fun things!