Evenflo Symphony LX Carseat Review - Pretty awesome if you ask me!

When researching car seats, what are the most important features to you? Safety rating, style, size, accessories, longevity of use?

Wouldn't it make sense if stores offered a "try before you buy" program?  After all, as a new mom you rarely know what exactly it is you're looking at when shopping for and you have to buy it before baby is born. Between children #1 and #2 I can definitely say that what I look for as changed a lot!

For Penny we bought an infant car seat and stroller combination that worked out really well for us because Penny was such a wee, slow growing little girl. We transitioned her out of the infant seat when she was probably 14 months old and somewhere in the vicinity of 19 lbs. It was absolutely essential to us to keep her rear facing as long as possible so our toddler seat is able to go both ways. At 26 months and 23 lbs she is still rear facing. It is the safest direction for her as research shows that toddlers do not have the strength to control their head during an impact and can suffer devastating injuries even in low impact accidents when facing forward.

But it's amazing to me as to how siblings can be so different. Ruby at 9 weeks old is already almost 13 lbs and I know that she will not last in her infant seat as long as her sister did. Theres almost been  no similarity in sizing between these two girls (cloth diapers, clothes, babywearing and  now car seats). This had me researching other options and I learned about the Evenflo Symphony™ LX.

The Evenflo Symphony™ LX is a car seat that accommodates babies from 5-110 lbs. That literally sounds like a car seat that grows with the child! With 2 kids (and definitely more in our future) its a priority for me to keep it simple by limiting multiples or surplus items. So having a car seat that Ruby will use until she is big enough to safely ride without one is awesome!

What sets the Evenflo Symphony LX apart from other car seats?

• Outlast technology (developed by NASA) for heat distribution. You don't have to live in a hot climate to know about how uncomfortable a poorly ventilated seat can be. a few weeks ago I had Ruby in a loaner car seat and was shocked to find her sweaty and uncomfortable...but it was a mild Pacific Northwest day. The fabric used on the Symphony DLX battles this problem by distributing the heat evenly across the seat to help keep baby at a comfortable even temperature. The picture to the right is comparing a child after 30 minutes in a car seat with Outlast vs 30 minutes without Outlast.
• Robust supports for side impact protection and exceeding the federal crash  requirements for car seat safety standards.
• Ease of use features like buckle pockets to keep clips from getting too hot, no retreading needed as your child grows and cup holders.

My favorite part about this car seat is how easy it is to install and use. Evenflo prides itself on having a 60 second installation and I put it to the test. I was able to install it into my Suburban in about 73 seconds (first try). That's pretty impressive for anyone, but pretty much a feat of awesomeness for me! The latch system also comes out of the bottom of the seat like a seat belt (retracts like one too), rather than the stupid tighten / adjust system that other car seats use. So the fit is perfect every time. 

The Evenflo Symphony DLX is part of Evenflo’s new platinum protection collection and is available at Babies R Us. 

If you're looking for a single car seat that will grow with your child, this is the one. I've paid more for our other car seats and the quality really doens't compare. 

Disclosure: I participated in this sponsored campaign on behalf of One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own, but I wouldn't share about it if I didn't like it!

Under Construction: #ThrowbackThursday Our First Renovation (Update)

Don't want to miss out on any of our renovation shenanagins? 

Click here for a full list of my posts on it!

Last week I shared some of the highlights lowlights from our first renovation, so here's what it all looked like when we were done!

 Our finished kitchen! Oh, how I miss it.

All of these cabinets were installed by my extraordinarily handy and handsome husband.

An overview of the counter tops // my favorite wall featuring the best oven of all time and my wine bar // an over the cook top faucet (perfect for filling my huge pot!) // a pop up stand for my KitchenAid mixer so that it doesn't have to sit on top of the counter all the time.

 Our formal sitting room - with the couch that no one was allowed to sit on ;)

The opposite view of the formal sitting room - where that mysterious stain was previously. Updated to all hardwood and added wainscoting for a very formal look.

The master bath got an update with new tile flooring and counter tops - this was towards the end of our renovation and we already knew we were moving so it was pretty much a last minute project that we knew we needed to do but weren't going to put the same amount of investment as we had throughout the rest of the house.

Throwback Thursday has a way of bringing tears to my eyes. We have so many memories of this home - it was where we transitioned from newly weds to home owners to parents. We kept a log of our hours worked and a very conservative tally was 1300 hours between the two of us. Now that we're knee deep into our second renovation, we've gone through so many projects much faster and know where it's worth it to spend the extra money and where to cut back a little bit. I can't wait to share some before and after photos of our current home with you all!

Oh, and this is 8 week old Penny and I. Blast from the past!

9 Items to Survive the 4th Trimester

With my "4th trimester" quickly coming to a close, I've been reflecting on truly what has been my biggest go-tos in recovering from natural birth and transitioning to two under two.

I know some of you are thinking - uhm, 4th trimester? Is Bianca completely off her rocker? The 12 weeks following birth are affectionately called the "4th trimester" because both mama and baby still have big (and I mean BIG) changes that they go through. Not too many people stop to think about how suddenly being in a whole new world is for babies - they have to learn how to do everything. Breathe, eat, poop, fart, focus their eyes, smile, coordinate their arms and fingers. It doesn't happen by magic, people! That little person has a lot of learning coming their way, and sometimes new parents get caught up in it all and stress when things aren't going as well as they'd hoped...when it's all normal. Mamas change too- whether you're a seasoned or first time mama.  Physical and emotional changes abound for these first 12 weeks and it's important to be aware of these changes for yourself and baby.

So I bestow upon you an abbreviated list of 9 things that I have found helpful during my 4th trimesters - the two that I've had in two years.

1. A fluffy robe is simply a MUST. Why? It's soft and cuddly for mama, soft and cuddly for baby to snuggle up on, easy access for nursing and pretty much a huge towel to catch all that spit up that is bound to make its way out of your little bundle's ever so precious mouth. Invest in several.

2.  The NuRoo Pocket. I've written about how much I love this shirt for babywearing and kangaroo mother care.  This is another item that keeps baby close and easy access for nursing. The NuRoo Pocket has a generous size adjustment so that it can accommodate to your changing body and growing baby during the 4th trimester and beyond.

3. If this isn't your first baby, you probably spent a considerable amount of time during this pregnancy wondering how you're going to juggle a newborn and your older child. Heck, I'm only a few months into this journey and I still wonder how I'm going to do it! With my kids being just about 2 years apart, my older daughter Penny is just now getting into independent play - which means its a 70/30 chance that she's going to get into some sort of trouble if left to her own devices for too long. The girl loves painting but when I'm tied up with the newborn she can't play with her colors. So that's when we pull out our Melissa and Doug Water Wow. This is a packet with stiff cardboard pages with illustrations that magically turn to color when painted with water. As they dry the color disappears and can be reused roughly a bazillion times! Our oldest packet is about 6 months old and was heavily used for 4 of those months and still works great. They're affordable, fun, clean and perfect for road trips or while waiting at the doctor's office for Little Sister's well child appointments.


4. I'm all about comfort, especially during the 4th trimester. Whether you're nursing your first little or 5th, breastfeeding a newborn is not always easy. Even after nursing Penny for 20 months and through 5 months of my second pregnancy, nursing Ruby still took some getting used to. She had a mild tongue tie and just like any other baby she was learning how to nurse (it's a very coordinated muscle effort!), which meant my boobs were very sore and tender. The small luxury I can give myself (in addition to a hot shower) is to make sure that whatever touches my boobs is soft. And when it comes to nursing pads, Bamboobies has no equal. The boob side of the pad is bamboo velour and the other side is waterproof PUL for no leaking spots!! Yay!

5. Then there's the milestone that pretty much every new mom dreads after birth...going to the bathroom. For many of us, #1 and #2 are not the most pleasant and the healing process of the postpartum period can take upwards of two weeks. If you're not a family cloth gal, the next best thing you can do for your lady bits is Cottonelle Freshcare cleansing cloths (which are flushable!). They're like baby wipes for grown ups, leaving you fresh and clean. When you're ready for real paper again try Cottonelle Cleancare toilet paper too - it's wider than most toilet paper rolls. Click here for a $1.50 off CVS coupon for the Cottonelle wet+dry combo!

6. Mama cloth - if you want the full details on reusable menstrual pads during postpartum, check it out here. Otherwise, again - do yourself a favor and require that anything that touches your sensitive parts to be soft and not scratchy. Soak these in witch hazel and freeze before your birth so that you've got some awesome "padsicles" to help with the healing and some pain relief when you get home.

7. Sitz baths are another 'down there care' requirement. There's tons of recipes out there for Sitz baths, but for both of my natural birth recoveries I've kept several bags of Deerfoot Herbs Sitz baths on hand. Made from hand picked, locally sourced herbs,;steep this in a huge pot and keep it in the bathroom. Buy a Sitz bath to put over the toilet or just take a bath. Keep a little extra to use in a peribottle when you pee. That cleansing cloth I talked about in point #5 is also a nice way to finish up.

8. Breastfeeding moms know that a healthy diet is a must for keeping your energy up while your body uses extra calories in making milk for your little one. Galactogogues (foods and herbs that help increase breast milk production) are also an important part of your diet. But eating oatmeal or drinking tons of mama's milk tea is not the only way to increase your milk supply! It's pretty much every nursing mom's dream come true when we learn about lactation cookies - and Milk Makers Cookies are one of my favorite!  {Stay tuned for a review & giveaway!}

9. My final recommendation for the 4th Trimester involves getting your support system in place. Every new mom, again if it's your first or 5th, needs a little bit of extra help in the beginning. Even though I had an uncomplicated natural birth, I still experienced a unique tear that required me to be diligent about bed rest for 2 weeks. That's not easy in the slightest when you have a family to take care of! So in addition to the amazing help that we got from our families on the weekends, we were blessed by meals from our church and friends. A friend set up a 'meal train' through Takethemameal.com and it was the easiest way to coordinate when someone would be bringing dinner. You just set up what days you'd like meals, make notes on what you like and don't like, and the rest of taken care of. The friend gets a reminder email a few days before their date so that you don't have to. It was a huge weight off my shoulders and an easy way for people to get to see the baby too!

What would you add to your 4th trimester must have list?

Disclosure: Thank you Cottonelle for sponsoring today's post. Please help me in supporting this Pierogie Mama sponsor by checking out Cottonelle on the CVS website (more clicks = more sponsors for me!). This post contains affiliate links.

Under Construction: #Throwback Thursday Our first renovation

Don't want to miss out on any of our renovation shenanagins? 

Click here for a full list of my posts on it!

As many of you know, Adam and I are project people. Our first renovation was truly a labor of love and it set the stage for how we purchase houses in the future and what we know we can handle in terms of what kinds of projects we can tackle and what level of construction we can handle living in on a daily basis. I mention our first renovation on here every now and again, but on this #ThrowbackThursday I wanted to share some of the pictures of what exactly we started with. Then come back NEXT Thursday for what happened!

We bought the house as a short sale and went into it knowing that we'd take every aspect of that house and change it. We did a full kitchen renovation, updated bathrooms, all new hardwood flooring and carpets and painted every room. The yard was a total mess and in the 2 years we owned the home we completely turned it around and made a great profit, even though it wasn't intended to be a "flip."

This was our dining room upon purchase of the home. It looked like someone changed the oil of a motorcycle in that room! We had asked the previous owner about it and he said it was a water stain but even I wasn't born yesterday ;) All the carpet and flooring was promptly ripped out.

This was the original kitchen. Not that bad to the naked eye - but open any one of those cabinets and it would have been completely rotted out and filled with all kinds of nasties! Those were also promptly ripped out upon move in..

And that is how our downstairs started out on our first day of owning this home. It was about 9 months of working full time on weekends and after work to get the kitchen into it's final stage, which I can't wait to share with you how it looked when we were all done!

This was the backyard. Over 50% of it was overgrown with very mature bamboo, which is a b*tch to remove, let me tell ya! It took the entire two years to cut it down and push it back into a small manageable corner of the lot. Parts of me really wanted to contact the local zoo to see if I can rent a panda for a day...

Click here for the final reveal!

Newborn Fitted Cloth Diaper Hen and Chick

Cloth diapering can seem like a big pool of unknown to jump into; but newborn diapering? That seems even harder! 

As we began preparing for the arrival of our second baby, Ruby, I knew that I would definitely want to continue with our investment of cloth diapering our children. I had started Penny in cloth at about 3 weeks using a cloth diaper service. But this time around, as a seasoned cloth mama, I knew that we can handle the newborn phase too. But finding the perfect fit is an extremely difficult task, and the best I could do was guess on sizing based on what we experienced with Penny - which was an extremely small tush.

I contacted Heather from Heather's Green Home Goods about her very unique style of fitted diapers (which come in all sizes, but I specifically saw a great possibility with her preemie/newborn line) and waited patiently for my diapers to arrive :)

A "fitted" cloth diaper means that it requires the use of a cover. They can be a specific size; such as small, medium, large or by approximate weight range, or the currently very popular "one size" option that most cloth diaper manufacturers offer. The benefit of a sized cloth diaper is that it is more closely tailored to the size of diaper that your child currently needs; which is extremely important in the newborn phase, especially if your babies run small.

Hen and Chick fitted cloth diapers have a unique feature because of their foldable wings. They add that extra absorbent layer that an insert would provide in a pocket diaper, but are attached so it makes for a very easy wash, dry and prep for the next use. This has been a lifesaver for me! As you can imagine, the life of a mama with a newborn is already running on steam (and coffee), and when you add in that this specific mama has two under two then efficiency requirements skyrocket! Not having to really "prep" these diapers for their next use has been of great benefit to us.

The diapers are made from 2 layers of flannel, but with the wings folded in you now have 6 layers. To some this might seem like not that much; but remember - you've got a newborn. They need diaper changes like every 15 minutes because of how quickly they are processing breastmilk. You don't need a super fluffy diaper for the little ones and having a quick drying diaper in the early stages is so important. One way to add additional absorbency is to add another layer, such as a newborn microfiber insert that typically comes with Bum Genius diapers.

Ruby fit in these from birth (7 lbs 15 oz) to 9 weeks (12 lbs 10 oz) - so they fit a great range of weights for newborns.

These diapers do require a diaper cover, as they don't have a waterproof layer. We tried them out with a Thirsties cover, Blueberry and Buttons cover. Our favorite fit for Ruby has been the Blueberry Weehuggers cover. 

Heather also loves to customize her Hen and Chick cloth diapers! I opted for teal serging with a candy red snap - this kept it gender neutral but also pretty fun. Her Etsy shoppe features a ton of other options, such as prints instead of plain white and over 20 color options for thread or snaps.

Want to try some of your own? 

Check out Hen and Chick Cloth on Etsy to see all of what Heather has to offer - including nursing pads, wet bags, baby dresses and so much more!

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links.