Postpartum Weight Loss

Only about one month to go until Baby #7 is born, and I’m beginning to look like I could actually pop. I’m brushing up on how to lose baby weight; it’s good to be prepared!

I’ve written here before about weight loss tips, but I have not shared how I lose weight specifically in the postpartum period. At any other time in life when I want to shed a few pounds, I follow the methods laid out in the book, Mastering Leptin. After having a baby, however, the methods I use are much different. To remind myself of how I lost baby weight before, I’ve been re-reading my other favorite weight loss book, Hello, Baby Good-bye, Baby Fat by Sheldon Levine. Levine’s book has very effectively helped me lose all my pregnancy weight (and then some) after my last four babies.

What I’ve learned

Losing weight after having a baby is completely unlike losing weight at any other time in our lives. During this special time, our bodies are naturally designed to lose weight on their own, and efforts to diet can sabotage this awesome gift of easy and healthy weight loss. Low-calorie dieting during the postpartum phase is dangerous because our bodies need proper nutrition to restore themselves. Not only that, but postpartum dieting dramatically lowers metabolism, and can work to bring weight loss to a halt. Through Levine’s book, I was also fascinated to learn that the postpartum period is an opportunity for new moms to reset their “set point” – that number on the scale that our bodies stubbornly cling to. You read that right: By taking advantage of this short window of time (from baby’s birth until about 6 months; 9 months for overweight, breastfeeding moms), new moms can lower their set point to weigh less than before pregnancy!

Tips

For my own reminder, and for anyone else who is expecting or has recently had a baby, here are a few tip for maximizing postpartum weight loss:

1. Eat protein and carbohydrates together.
   Pardon my overly simplified explanation here… This is especially critical after having a baby, because protein needs carbs in order to create serotonin. Lack of serotonin can cause the baby blues, or worse, fully-blown postpartum depression. It can also make you irritable, cause difficulty sleeping (and new moms need all the sleep they can get) and make you fatigued. Make sure you eat a little protein and carbs at every meal. The rule-of-thumb I’ve used is 50-60% complex carbs, 25% protein, and 20% fat.
2. Drink lots of water.
   I know that we should do this all of the time, but it’s especially important after having a baby. Now, following is only my own little theory, and I haven’t read it in any books. However, my experience has led me to believe that there is a direct link between dehydration and the baby blues. I was excessively weepy for several months after my first child was born. I would cry inconsolably for no apparent reason, often needing to leave the room when guests were over. It would happen sporadically, but it was always at it’s worst when I nursed, so I believe that it was related to hormones. I’ll never forget one afternoon when my second child was a newborn; I was sitting in a rocking chair nursing him, glass of water in hand. Suddenly, I was hit with the realization that with each sip of water, I felt a little better. From that day on, I would go for water and guzzle it down at the first hint of weepiness. It didn’t completely rid the baby blues, but it did help tremendously in curbing the emotions that followed my last five babies.
3. Snacking is good.
   The postpartum period is a time when I do not follow my usual “no-snacking” rule. Levine recommends three snacks a day, one between each meal. I don’t eat quite that many, but after having a baby, I always welcome a mid-afternoon snack between lunch and dinner.
4. No eating after 7pm.
   I follow this rule all the time, pregnant or not, postpartum or not. This rule from Mastering Leptin is also given in Hello Baby! Goodbye Baby Fat.
5. Take good vitamins.
   It’s nearly impossible to get all your RDA of nutrients from food and still shed weight. Unfortunately, most over-the-counter vitamins are rather useless. They may be inexpensive, but they are still a waste of money because most go right through your system undigested. Frugal mom that I try to be, I not only have to consider quality of the product but cost as well. The best multi-vitamins I have found that are reasonably priced are SuperMom Vitamins by Beeyoutiful. Warning – the regular adult vitamins are huge and can be difficult to swallow. They make the same vitamins in a smaller capsule, but those are a little more expensive. Personally, I hold my breath and gulp down the big vitamins with a beverage, thus saving the extra money. However, if you have a lot of trouble swallowing large pills, I’d suggest you go for the smaller ones.  By the way, the company also makes SuperDad and SuperKids vitamins. SuperDad vitamins are the same as SuperMom, but without the iron. Men tend to have too much iron in their systems, while women tend to be iron deficient. My husband does take the SuperDad vitamins and is pleased with them. SuperKids is a liquid supplement that comes in orange and berry flavors. I have never purchased the SuperKids supplement, so I can not vouch for them except to say that we like the other “Super” products.
6. Cut back on caffeine.
   This is important for all new moms, not just for those who breastfeed. Caffeine can upset hormonal balances, causing mood swings, sleep problems, and loss of potassium. One or two cups of tea or coffee a day are fine, but more than that can cause problems.
7. Skip the strenuous exercise.
   For the first three months, Levine does not recommend strenuous exercise. I’m not prone to exercise, so I didn’t have to be told twice! He explains that in the early postpartum period, exercise has no effect on weight loss, and the studies actually showed that more weight was lost by women who did not exercise. After three months, it’s good to introduce some exercise.
8. Cut back on salt.
   Too much salt can cause fatigue and headache for new moms.

It’s all so simple, but without the knowledge of how our bodies are designed to shed weight after giving birth, we can easily sabotage our bodies’ efforts by pursuing fad diets, low-calorie menus, and untimely strenuous exercise. My tips above only scratch the surface, so if you are interested in implementing this, I highly recommend that you read Levine’s book for yourself. Levine explains the guidelines on what you should be doing differently during each of the postpartum trimesters, provides complete menu plans for two weeks worth of meals, shares recipes to go along with them, and gives specific exercises to do. Truly, this is a great book for any new mom who wants to lose weight.

 

Non-Toxic, Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Back in May, I posted a dishwasher detergent recipe that I tried after completely running out of Cascade. Initially, the recipe worked very well, so I decided to continue using it. Unfortunately, the great results only lasted for about a week. After that, a slight white coating began to develop on my dishes, so I discontinued using it. The idea of making my own dishwasher soap didn’t end there, though. Recognizing the potential cost savings, I kept the idea in the back of my mind. Additionally, having become aware of the toxicity of Borax, and disliking the use of bleach that is so commonly used in commercial detergents, I wondered if I might be able to find a recipe with non-toxic ingredients. I found what I was looking for at Passionate Homemaking.

The recipe worked beautifully. I considered sharing it here on the blog right away, but decided to wait a while to see if the beautiful results continued, or if it would prove to disappoint as the other recipe had. I am happy to report that after about two weeks of usage, my dishes are still coming out sparkly. I love the fact that there is no chemical, bleachy odor emitting from the dishwasher or my dishes… just the smell of totally clean dishes. I can safely share the recipe without any reservations.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

• 1 cup Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 6 drops tea tree oil
• 1 1/2 cup white vinegar

Combine all ingredients. Use 1 Tablespoon of mixture per load.

A few notes:

• An old mason jar (pickle jars, jam jars, etc.) is an excellent place to keep the detergent.
• Store a measuring tablespoon right in the jar with the mixture.
• Use a Sharpie marker to write the recipe directly on the jar, so that it will be handy when you need to make it again.
• As given on Passionate Homemaking, the recipe would use only 1 cup of vinegar. I changed the amount because I found that the water in my home required a lower ratio of Sal Suds and a higher need for a rinsing agent. The extra vinegar worked much better for me. Experiment with the amounts of Sal Suds, water and vinegar to find the ratio that works best with the hardness of your water.
• While I love all of Dr. Bronner’s castille soaps and use them for most of  my household cleaning and personal care, Sal Suds is really the key product here. His other castille soaps will not do the job sufficiently.
• Remember, it is a natural product and not as abrasive as bleach and other chemicals that go into store-bought detergents. A good rinse of the dishes, and maybe even a little scrub, is essential prior to loading the machine. It is a small amount of work which I feel is worth the cost savings and the peace of mind to know that I’m not exposing my family to toxic chemicals.
• The purpose of the tea tree oil is to give a nice aroma to the detergent. It does not add to the cleaning ability of the recipe, so it can be omitted.
• Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking estimates the cost of detergent to be 5-6 cents per load. I haven’t done the math myself, but I trust her!

 

About potty training

Could it be that we may actually be a diaper-free household for a week or two before baby #7 arrives?

George is quite a unique little boy. He just turned two a month ago, and he has been using the potty at least once a day for the last few weeks. This may not sound unusual, except for one thing… I haven’t been training him! He frequently removes his own diaper, seats himself on his potty, and actually uses it correctly… all on his own. Sometimes I’m not even around, and one of his big siblings will enthusiastically share the news of his potty usage with me, asking if they can give him his “potty candy.” What makes this even more unique is that most of his other siblings were not fully potty-trained until close to, or after, their third birthday. Polly was the only one who trained before age two, and I attribute that to the fact that she was our firstborn – and a girl.

I have become pretty relaxed about potty training as we have had more and more children, especially in the early stages. Here is the “method” that I’ve used with the last few children.

1. Keep a potty on each floor of the house. My favorite potty chairs are made by Baby Bjorn. The design is so simple, comfortable for little bottoms to sit on, and we rarely have any “spillage.” We have both a Baby Bjorn big potty and little potty. If you use the links I provided, be aware that the prices do vary depending on color, so scroll over the different colors to see the price of each.
2. First thing in the morning, when you are changing the diaper, is a great time to ask, “Do you want to go sit on the potty?” If there is no interest, let it go for a while and try again in a few weeks. If your little one decides to try, realize that for the first few times, or maybe the first many times, he will probably just sit there and not produce anything. That’s okay! Show the same enthusiasm for his effort that you would if he had peed.
3. Potty candy. My kids will do anything for candy! Early in the process, potty candy is given just for sitting on the potty and trying to go. Anything that your child loves and doesn’t often get is highly motivational. Chocolate chips or mnm candies are great for this. Last week, we had no candy in the house that George could eat, so we gave him a small bowl of kettle corn. He went four times that day.
4. Lots of enthusiasm, clapping and “Hoorays!” In our house, a big sibling will usually announce the event, and kids will come running from all directions to share in the excitement. We have even called Daddy at work to share the news!
5. Although enthusiasm is wonderful, save it for after the potty moment is complete. A bathroom-full of excited siblings can hinder a little one from relaxing enough to go. While he’s actually making his effort, show your happiness, but keep it private and toned down until he’s done.

It sounds almost too simple, but that is really about all we do in these early stages. No, this method won’t toilet-train your child in a day, or even a week. But I’m happy to say that this laid-back, low-stress approach does eventually result in a fully potty-trained child!

 

Dad Dollars

Recently in the waiting room of my doctor’s office, I picked up a Family Fun magazine. (Great magazine, by the way! If I would ever decide to subscribe to another magazine, this would be the one!) Anyhow, I read a wonderful idea, and put it to good use last week.

The idea is:

1. Put Dad’s face on a dollar bill (Do this for free by clicking here).
2. Print out a whole bunch of them (We made ours closer to the size of Monopoly money than real money).
3. Use them as a rewards system for the kids.

We have used various rewards systems for several years, to grow the kids in responsibility and good character. At one time, we used dried beans in a jar. For a while, we used homemade “treasure cards.” Now, it’s the new and improved… Dad Dollars!

Each morning on the kitchen counter, I set out an envelope for each child, and place three Dad Dollars on top of each one. A child can collect their Dad Dollars when they finish their morning chore pack. However, they only have until 10:00am to complete their chores and collect their dollars. At 10:00, any dollars remaining on the counter go back into my envelope. Sounds mean, I know, but the idea is to promote diligence and promptness. I’d rather they learn it now, while they have only a few Dad Dollars to lose, rather than when they are fully-grown adults and their employment is on the line.

Nearby is a list of rewards that the kids can purchase, and their cost in Dad Dollars. Our rewards include:

• Little candy (lollipop, etc) ~ $1
• Big candy (candy bar, etc) ~ $5
• Trip to a local play place (similar to Chuck E. Cheese) ~ $20
• 1/2 hour of video game time ~ $5
• Video ~ $6
• Camp out ~ $20
• 1 US Dollar and trip to the Dollar Store ~ $10
• Stay up 1/2 hour late ~ $6
• Ice Cream ~ $10
• New art supply ~ $15
• 1 US dime ~ $1

Notice that most of the rewards are things that are no-cost or low-cost to mom and dad. This is deliberate, because we really couldn’t afford to maintain a system like this long-term if it wasn’t frugal! I also don’t want the kids to become materialistic. I want them to appreciate little things like a candy snack or video game time, rather than taking them for granted.

The cost of most rewards are per each child who wants them. For group rewards, such as the play place or camp out, the kids can pull their resources to pay, or one child can treat everyone and experience the joy of giving to their siblings.

If a child seems to be accumulating too many Dad Dollars – enough that their envelope is stuffed, or I am running out of dollars to give their siblings – they will be required to cash some of them in. We pay out 10 cents per Dad Dollar.

Most of the rewards cost more than the children typically earn in a single day. They can earn extra Dad Dollars by doing extra chores, or they can save up for what they want. Either way, there are important lessons to be learned about saving, and about making wise choices about how they spend a limited supply of money – a lesson that everyone would do well to learn!

 

Updates! The Blanket Boy and the Playroom

Blanket Boy

As I mentioned in the comments regarding the “friend” that I made out of Fred’s old, beloved blanket, I decided to leave my mad, unskilled creation as-is. Fred is wonderfully oblivious to my lack of craftiness. Here is how he has responded to the Blanket Boy:

He LOVES it. He originally named his new friend “John,” but later decided that “Cyril” would be a better name for him. As it turns out, the older kids recently read a book with a character named Cyril, and Fred thinks it’s a rather intriguing name! Fred and Cyril are now inseparable friends. I just hope that Cyril doesn’t fall apart too fast. If he does, he may find himself taking the form of a pillow.

Playroom

We are also 90% finished with the new basement playroom. The transformation is nothing short of remarkable. We still need to do open a few heating ducts and add some finishing touches on our new door to the laundry room, but the room is now functional! We finished painting last night, moved all the toys in this afternoon, and the kids celebrated the “Grand Opening” of their new favorite room in the house.

A few pictures

Iron Man topped the magnetic primer with some paint left over from the children’s bedrooms. It is a lovely lemony-white color (“Lemon Meringue” from Sherwin Williams) that gave the perfect soft and sunny look to the room.

Check it out: the magnetic paint actually works!

This is probably the last time it will ever be this clean. I am realizing that we have way too many toys!

I don’t know who is more excited about the room – the kids or me! I can not imagine a nicer playroom for our children. The basement is truly unrecognizable compared to the dark, cold and dreary appearance of only a few weeks ago. The effect can be felt in the rest of the house as well; the relocation of all the toys has really opened up the rooms that formerly held the toys!

 

Van Emergency Box

Inspired by Raising Olives (as I often am), I decided to finally put together an emergency box for the van. Not “emergency” in the usual sense – I don’t mean breakdowns or flat tires. By “emergency,” I am referring to kid-related emergencies. Things like bladder accidents in the grocery store, a unexpectedly sick child, an unexpected chill in the air while we are out somewhere, a bee sting or allergy attack, a sudden mess (the possible causes are endless), or just a pack of hungry or thirsty kids on the road. Sure, we could stuff the diaper bag full of all kinds of possible necessities, but by and large, we typically reach for the diaper bag only when we need… well… diapers. It seems to be a big waste of energy to lug around a diaper bag stuffed full of things we probably won’t need, when our van is usually located near to the vicinity of our children. We can lighten the load of the diaper bag, and easily keep many of those emergency items in the van, fetching them in the rare instances when they are wanted.

With that in mind, I spent the morning putting together our van emergency box. Here is what we have inside:

• Paper Towels (for messes, clothing protection while eating in the van, and wiping up afterward)
• Plastic Cups
• Plastic Grocery Bags (for sick kids or for garbage – you never know!)
• Bag with Sunscreen, Stain Spray, Insect Repellent and Hand Wipes
• Bottled Water
• Bag with Paper Plates, Baby Cup, Plastic Ware and Bibs
• Bag with Cutting Board and Strong Butter Knife
• First Aid Kit (Bandaids, ointments, allergy meds, etc.)
• Jackets (in all current kid sizes)
• Change of Clothing (for younger children who are likely to have accidents)
• Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Disposal Bags
• Toilet Paper

Also included is a list of the box’s contents. I put the list inside a plastic page protector and taped it to the outside of the box. This is a good reminder of what we need to replace when something in the box is used or dirty. It will also help us to remember what in the world is in there, since most of the items will not be used very often, and we are likely to forget.

Besides emergency-preparedness, I am seeing other benefits to this as well. There will be less running and gathering at the last minute before outings, because a lot of the items (such as jackets) will be permanently packed. If we ever run out of diapers in the diaper bag, we will always have a back-up stock handy. We won’t be limited to fast food when we are on the road with hungry kids. It will also take a number of items off of our packing lists when we travel! So what am I forgetting? Hopefully nothing large, as the box is already rather full, but we can squeeze in a few more things that are likely to be helpful in a kid-emergency!

 

The New Playroom!

I’m a bad blogger.

A good blogger anticipates that when you do a new household project, you’ll eventually blog about it. A good blogger will take “before” pictures, “during” pictures, and “after” pictures, so that her readers can experience the whole thing with her.

Not a bad blogger. A bad blogger will remember to take pictures as she nears completion. Hi, hello, yes – that’s me (waving)!

But I will do my best to allow you to experience it all over with me.

We have a lovely, good-sized, 4 bedroom home. I say this not boastfully, but with gratitude. It really is a lovely home, and I am ever thankful to the Lord for providing it, and to my husband who works hard so that we can keep it. When we bought it, our third child was only 5 months old. It was really more space than we needed, but we figured that our family would grow into it.

And we did.

We’ve continually re-evaluated our use of space over the years, made little changes here and there, knocking out small walls, re-doing closets, etc. One thing that we always aimed to keep was a playroom. Every time we have tried to house toys in the kids’ bedrooms, we have found our house overrun by the toys. Really. Toys seem to have a mind of their own, and they take over. So, we have made it a general guideline that bedrooms are for sleeping, dressing, and reading. Toys are generally kept in the play room, and a few in the family room. As such, the four bedrooms have been utilized as follows:

• Bedroom 1: Parents’ Room
• Bedroom 2: Girls’ Room (accommodating 3 girls)
• Bedroom 3: Boys’ Room (accommodating 3 boys)
• Bedroom 4: Play Room (accommodating 2,738,492 toys, or so it seems!)

Now that Baby #7 / Boy #4 is coming along in a few months, we decided that we could really use that fourth bedroom as… well… a bedroom.

Therein lay the problem. I was reluctant to give up the playroom to become a bedroom, knowing the mass chaos and destruction that would soon follow.

A few possibilities were thrown around. Just to name a few:

1. Finish the basement
2. Add on a room to the back of our house
3. Put the dining room set in storage, and turn the dining room into a play room
4. Turn the living room into a play room and use our large-ish family room as our new living room
5. Just stick the toys in the kids’ room and deal with it

Well, adding a room was too expensive. Our dining room? That actually does get used pretty frequently. The living room? That would present some issues for our small group meetings which accommodate 9 adults and 17 children on a regular basis. Putting the toys in the kids’ room? Well… that’s already been mentioned. Remember? “Mass chaos and destruction.”

So option #1, finishing the basement, looked like our best choice. However, there were a few areas that needed to be addressed:

1. The mess. Our home does not have a lot of storage space, so the basement had become a drop-spot for a lot of junk stuff.
2. The plain, painted-wood stairs. We’ve been completely satisfied with these thus far, but the thought of children using them a great deal more frequently rendered them unsafe slipping hazards.
3. The floor, which was hard concrete, unsafe, and well… ugly.
4. The heat. We knew we’d be fine through the summer, but in winter (the time during which it would be used most frequently) it would be far too cold.

The Mess

The mess was addressed simply enough. The first step was cleaning it out, and purging a large amount of junk stuff through Craigslist, donations, and the garbage. The next step was purging a lot of junk stuff from other storage areas of our home, making room for the good junk the basement stuff that we decided to keep. This is the part that makes me happy to be a bad blogger, because I really would not want to share those pictures with you. The next step, which will be ongoing, will be the discipline to drop our future junk stuff in the designated storage areas as needed, instead of dropping them at the bottom of the basement stairs.

The Stairs

Then came the stairs. This was addressed quite easily as well. A trip to Trader Horn equipped us with a set of stair treads for about $10.

The Floors

The next step was the floor. I wanted it to be safe and… well… not ugly. The thought of sending the children to play in the no-natural-light basement seemed rather dark and dreary to me, akin to “banishing them to the dungeon.” I didn’t want to spend a fortune, but I did want it to be a cheerful, bright place where they could play together. As for safety, I had visions of our precious offspring developing concussions from falling onto the hard concrete floor. And what if they took a tumble off of the stairs? Shudder.

At this point I need to make note that while I am a bad blogger, I am not too bad of one, because I went to take a picture of our laundry room floor just so that you can get an idea of what our basement floor looked like beforehand. See? I’m smaht like that (tapping my temple).

There you have it. Dark, dreary, cold, and full of a host of hazards.

Anyhow, we started where most people start. We looked into getting carpet. Carpeting is expensive both to purchase and install. This was one area that we did not trust ourselves in a DIY project, due to the carpet needing stretched, etc. This was not something we were experienced with nor equipped for, and not something we were particularly interested in learning to become experts in. Unsure of whether we wanted to spend a good portion of our housing budget on carpet, we continued to explore other options.

I next learned about an interesting product called “carpet tile.” The upside to carpet tile was the ability to install it ourselves. The downside was the still-hefty price, at least to get a nice quality tile. Still, it looked like a good possibility.

Then one day while shopping at SAMS Club, we happened upon some packages of Util-A-Mat, which are foamy-rubbery-type floor mats that hook together like puzzle pieces. One side of the mats are made in bright, primary colors, and they can also be flipped over to be used in a charcoal gray color. They are frequently used in preschools, or even in garages to protect tools from breaking when they fall on the floor.  It took about five minutes for us to decide to buy them. In my  purse, I just happened to have our handy-dandy basement diagram, complete with carefully calculated dimensions, so we tossed a few packages of Util-A-Mat into our cart, and were on our way. For less than $200 we were able to cover our entire basement floor, providing our children with exactly what I had hoped for: a fun, cheerful, bright, wonderfully-padded place to play.

The Heat

Here things got a little more tricky. We looked at a number of heating options: electrical space heaters, woodstoves, baseboard heaters, etc. The answer to this issue was made very clear last week when our A/C died. As I mentioned in that earlier post, both our A/C and furnace were original to our house, about 27 years old, and on their last legs. When the A/C went, we made the decision to purchase both appliances together. The new furnace is much stronger and more efficient than our old one, and has the ability to handle the heating of an additional room. At this point, we need only to open up a few ducts in our basement to make our playroom ready for our kids to use when the cold weather sets in. Not exactly a “frugal” choice, but when you consider that it was necessary anyhow, it was not a frivolous one either.

A few more pictures:

See this wall? This will soon be covered with a few coats of magnetic primer, topped once again with white paint, then used as a fun way to display the children’s artwork with magnets. And the big doorway opening into the laundry room? This will soon be covered with either a door, a baby gate, or a temporary sheet.

Below is a video projector that we got for FREE a few years ago when Iron Man’s company was getting rid of it. They were actually going to throw it in the trash (what were they thinking???) until Iron Man asked if he could have it. Up until now, we have projected movies and video games onto the wall shown above (the soon-to-be-magnetic-wall). Now that said wall will be blocked with toy shelves and children’s artwork, we needed a new area to project onto.

Voila! Look above the steps at the curtain-like fabric draped across the ceiling. What you see here are two old sheets, one behind another for thickness, stapled to the ceiling, and being held up by clothesline rope. When we need to use the screen, we just have to untie the rope to release the sheets! This has been tested and used several times already.

This picture was taken from the laundry room. You have a good view of our lockers, which were found on Craigslist a few years ago. My mother purchased these for us as a sanity-saving gift when I was pregnant with George, and these lockers are truly a large family’s dream! You can also see the wooden shelf in the corner, which houses a number of kids’ videos and a video game system. Finally, you can see the children’s seating arrangements: large, round floor pillows, found on Overstock.com. They are wonderful! Each has a nice, thick, duck-cloth cover, which can be unzipped and removed for washing. I love the bright and cheery look and feel of them.

I think the kids do too!

Updated pictures will come soon, when our magnetic wall is finished, and when the toys are moved into the room!

Update: Want to see the final results? Read the update here!

 

You Might Have a Lot of Kids if, Part III

You might have a lot of kids if…

You buy your toothbrushes by the pound.

Just kidding. No one sells them by the pound. If they did, you’d buy them that way.

As it is, you do the next best thing. You go to the Dollar Store every couple months and buy out all of their toothbrushes. Well, maybe not all their toothbrushes. There are a few rules:

1. You only buy the big packs.
2. You only buy the ones clearly labelled “soft bristle.”
3. And of course, you only buy one of each type and color, because having a lot of kids also means that you don’t want any two children to ever have identical toothbrushes at the same time, as to avoid confusion.

In case you are counting, there are 36 toothbrushes in the picture. Those ought to last a while.

While we are on the topic of toothbrushes, let’s talk about Sharpie markers. Having lots of kids also means you might keep a Sharpie marker near the kids’ bathroom, so that you can write each child’s name on their toothbrush and label other miscellaneous, easily-misidentified items.

Want more? Check out 20 Ways to Know You Have a Lot of Kids,
or You Might Have a Lot of Kids, Part II

 

Dishwasher Soap Revisited

A week ago, I was raving about the homemade dishwasher detergent made from Borax and baking soda. However, after using it for a week or two, I’ve run into a little issue with it. The mix worked perfectly for a while, and then my glassware started to look cloudy.  I am not sure what the problem is. The dishes on the bottom rack of the dishwasher look, feel, and smell as clean as ever. I’ve tried to brainstorm some possible causes. Maybe the ingredients go bad quickly when you mix them together. Maybe the blend has a tendency to build up on the dishes. Maybe there’s something wrong with my dishwasher, being that it only seems to affect the dishes on the top rack. Maybe it actually is affecting all the dishes, but I only see it on the glassware because it is transparent. I’m planning to pick up some regular detergent from the grocery store today and see if that clears up the problem.

Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any advice?

Update:

Thanks for the comments, gals! I am glad to know that I’m not the only person who experienced this – especially since it means that I don’t have a broken dishwasher!

I did not have a chance to go out to the store for dishwasher detergent today, and won’t be able to go until at least tomorrow evening. In the meantime, I did a little internet-research and found out that this is a very common problem. I found one particularly helpful website here.  After the main article, a number of people left comments about their experiences, what worked, and what didn’t. As Vicki mentioned, there were several others who recommended using a small amount of regular store-bought detergent with the homemade recipe, which is supposed to work well and will stretch the dollar a bit. I may try that.

For today, I was anxious to get the residue off, so I tried a tip given by one of the commenters on the aforementioned site.  I loaded the top rack with all the cloudy (but already cleaned) glassware. Then I filled a measuring cup with 2 cups of vinegar. I set the cup of vinegar on the top rack, right side up so that the vinegar stayed in the cup. I ran the dishwasher on a “quick wash” cycle, and it worked like a charm. The glasses came out sparkly and clear.

As Edna mentioned, it is great to know that the recipe can be used in a pinch, just not long-term!

 

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Update: The recipe shared below worked great for only about a week, and then I began to see a white cloudy residue on my glassware. I have since begun using another recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent that works very well and is non-toxic!

At our last grocery trip, I was completely oblivious to the fact that we were nearly out of dishwasher detergent. Upon discovering this, I was not wanting to load up 6 kids to go out just for this one item, but likewise feeling too lazy to wash all of our dishes by hand. So, I went online and found a recipe for a homemade version. It worked wonderfully! So well, in fact, that I plan to continue using it. The dishes came just as clean as ever, no residue at all, and without the chemical smell that I can’t stand. Here’s how to do it:

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In other words, mix equal amounts of Borax and Baking Soda. Use 2 tablespoons of mix in the dishwasher. That’s it!

Alternately, you could just put 1 tablespoon each of Borax and Baking Soda into the dishwasher. But I’m a “mix” kind of gal, and I like the simpicity of keeping just one container of detergent under my kitchen sink.

And yes, that actually is a 12 pound container of baking soda you’re looking at! We don’t do anything small around here. We cook for an army and clean for one too!