Franklin Goose

Labor Pains

 

(emily)

Ah, childbirth. What a fascinating, scary, wonderful, painful event to go through. Or so I’ve heard. I’m not a mother, just an aunt, and when I’ve asked the mothers I know about their labor, their answers haven’t been the most, uh, encouraging.

Although, my mom likes to tell me that once a woman holds her baby she forgets all the pain it took to have the child. I don’t really believe her.

Videos like this don’t necessarily soothe away my fears about pain, but they do make me extremely proud of my gender. I saw this video shared a lot on Facebook among my new-parent friends, and I think it’s fascinating. A TV show in Holland had 2 men experience a simulated pregnancy through the use of electrodes attached to their stomachs.

For 2 hours, these men were given shocks of electricity while they were talked through the labor. The results are painful and hilarious, and both men spoke of their new understanding of what women have to experience.

I know a couple of guys who could do with an hour or two of simulated labor pains.

The video is in Dutch with English subtitles. You might want to take care about where and when you watch it. There’s shouting and a couple of naughty words. (Surprisingly, some words sound the same in Dutch as they do in English. Who’d have thought it?) Overall, however, it’s a rather amusing way to spend 10 minutes. (FG)

The Cost of Cloth Diapering

(emily)

We are big fans of cloth diapering here at Franklin Goose. We love helping people choose the right diaper system for their children. Sometimes cloth diapering can be overwhelming for parents and families, especially at the beginning.

There are a lot of reasons why parents choose to cloth diaper their children, but perhaps one of the most common is that it is an economical choice. Disposable diapers might seem cheaper, but are you really saving money?

 

The Numbers

Let’s say your baby will be in diapers for his first 3 years.

On average, a baby will need 12 diaper changes a day during the first 3 months, which means your child could have 1,092 diaper changes.

After about 3 months, the diaper changes significantly lessen to about 8 changes per day. For the next 2 years and 9 months, your child could have about 8,032 diaper changes.

Thus the total of 9,124 diaper changes for 3 years.

 

That’s a lot of diapers.

 

Disposables

If your baby is 8 lbs. his first month, you could buy a Super Pack of Pampers Baby Dry Diapers in Size 1 for about $24.99 and get 128 diapers at $0.19 each. For 12 changes a day that first month (a total of 360 diapers), you will need to buy at least 3 boxes, totaling to $74.97.

Let’s say your baby fits a size one until halfway through his third month (75 days). For 2.5 months, your average of diaper changes would be 900. You would need to buy at least 7 Super Packs of Pampers Baby Dry Diapers at a total of $174.93. However, your baby isn’t going to make it easy for you to plan. You might buy an eighth box before realizing your child needs a bigger size, leaving you with unused diapers.

Because disposables come in packs and multiple sizes and can only be used once, you run the risk of over purchasing.

 

Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers look expensive up front. Depending on the diaper system you choose to use depends on the cost and amount of items you need, and this can turn people off cloth diapering. They might wonder how economical it actually can be.

Cloth diapering is economical because you are reusing your diapers. Because a disposable is disposable, you’re going to have to purchase more. A cloth diaper can be washed and reused.

So let’s look at an average cloth diaper stash. Let’s say you want to use a few different systems for one child, so you purchase

18 prefolds at $2.80 each ($50.40),

8 covers at $12.73 each ($101.84),

4 fitted diapers $15.72 each ($62.88),

4 all-in-one diapers (AIO) at $19.72 each ($78.88),

4 pocket diapers at $19.70 each ($78.80), and

5 inserts and doublers at $3.30 each ($16.50).

(Note that costs are averaged. For example, some fitted diapers run as low as $7.50 and as high as $29 depending on the brand and the materials used, i.e. organic cotton.)

 

This diaper stash would give you about 20 diapers, which is great if you want to wash every other day. So that’s 20 diapers at a total of $389.30 per child. 

$389.30 for 20 diapers that you can use again and again and again and again.

 

Of course, with cloth diapers there are accessories available to purchase like Snappis to hold the prefolds closed, a wet bag to hold your soiled diapers until you can wash them, a diaper sprayer to help clean off waste before you dump them into the washing machine, and detergent. However, even with all of that, by the time your child is potty-trained you will spend $950 to $1,500 on cloth diapers, as opposed to an average of $2,500 on disposable diapers. 

 Plus, another great factor about cloth diapers is that they can be reused again for other children. If you choose to have more children and you’ve kept your cloth diapers in good condition, you will not need to spend as much on your second, third, fourth, etc., child’s diaper needs.

 

Think of it in terms of other ways you budget your life: you might spend a large sum of money once a week at the grocery store, plus time in the kitchen everyday preparing your meals, but would it be economical to take your family out to eat for every meal just because it’s less fuss for you? Probably not.

There are a lot of great reasons to choose cloth diapers over disposables – healthier choice, an environmentally friendly choice, a convenient choice, a fashionable choice, a traditional choice – but the numbers don’t lie. If you choose to cloth diaper your child, rest assure that it will be a great economical benefit for you and your family.  

 

If you have any questions about cloth diapering, please feel free to contact us or stop by our store in Richmond, VA. All of our staff are educated on cloth diaper systems are able to help you. We also offer a Cloth Diapering 101 class once a month. (FG)

Nursery Design: DIY Circus

(emily)

If you’ve had the chance to visit our store in Richmond, you have probably noticed that we’re really into being sustainable and using reclaimed furniture for our displays. So when I shared with my coworkers the nursery that my sister designed, we decided it was too cool not share with all of you.

When it came time to design her nursery, my sister Grace was very clear that she did not want anything too “girly.” She didn’t like the idea of a lot of pink, even though she was having a girl. Grace and her husband Viktor are very fun and original, and they wanted their nursery to reflect their style. They’re also a bi-cultural couple, so many of their design choices are eclectic and culturally diverse.

Grace also became obsessed with elephants during her pregnancy.  

Inspiration

Our great-grandfather Bernie loved the circus so much that when it would come to Waynesboro he would dress up as a clown and perform in the show.

Bernie passed away before either myself or Grace were born, but our great-grandmother Dorothy lived well into her 80’s and was a strong presence in our lives. She passed away when we were in our teens. When Grace decided she wanted to do a circus theme for her nursery, she chose to use those things our family inherited from Bernie and Dorothy.

Cost: $300-$500

Grace chose to make a lot of things herself or to reuse items and furniture already in the house. She’s also a great bargain hunter. The only things that she had to purchase were the crib, rocking chair, and changing table.

Difficulty Level: Easy

The hardest thing to do, Grace confessed, was create the big top ceiling.

The Room

The room was originally a guest room and office. There was a twin bed, mostly for our brother when he comes to visit from college. Grace took out the office furniture but kept the twin bed and a few odd tables and lamps. The bed she pushed against the wall to convert into a daybed.

The Changing Table

Grace took a used changing table and repainted it in a burgundy. The patterned sides were achieved by spray painting blue paint through pieces of lace.

Door Sign

The license plate on the door was our great-grandfather’s. Grace made the garland.

The Walls

The walls of the room are painted white, but a yellow curtain at the window bathes the room in a soft buttery light during the day. Behind the daybed, Grace and Viktor hung up a wall covering from Urban Outfitters, which brings a little of their style to the nursery. Wall decals of circus animal silhouettes are placed strategically throughout the room. Foam letters spell out the baby’s name over the crib.

Grace found the picture of the young girl and elephant online.

To keep all of baby’s headbands and hair clips, Grace took a picture frame, removed the glass and back, and strung ribbons vertically down the back. Hooks were screwed into the bottom, and the frame was decorated in a variety of buttons, including 4 yellow giraffe buttons Grace found in our great-grandmother’s button collection.

The Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. picture is actually an old t-shirt of my mother’s from the early ‘80s. Viktor found it a couple of years ago and often wore it. Grace decided to retire it and cut the picture out for the frame, backing it with patterned paper.

Mobile

For the mobile over the changing table, Grace was inspired by a craft she found on Pinterest to make her own. The shapes were cut out of cardstock.

Under the Big Top

Grace and Viktor strung red and blue tulle from the ceiling to give the nursery the feeling that one was entering a circus tent. Grace also made pom-poms to hang both from the ceiling and the furniture.

 

I think they did a pretty good job. What do you think?

 

Got an interesting nursery you’d like to share? Snap a picture and submit it on our Facebook page (either here or here) or tag us on Instagram. (We’re @franklingoose.) 

Rockin Baby Giveaway!

We are so excited about our Babywearing class on February 21st! It has been a while since we had a babywearing class. We will be talking about the different styles of carriers and the different companies who make them.

As part of the fun we will also be giving away a Rockin Baby Hero sling! We will do a drawing the night of the class for the attendees.  We are so excited about this! We love Rockin baby slings and we love the mission that the Hero sling stands for.  We felt bad though, for everyone unable to attend the class so Rockin Baby stepped up and offered one for us to giveawy online too, so don't despair if you aren't able to come to Richmond and come to the class. You still have a chance to win a Hero sling from Rockin Baby! 

 

So, here are the details: 

 

Rockin Baby owner, Kathryn Wiley, is an amazing woman! When she started to use her company to improve the world, it was no surprise to those of us who know her. Kathryn started the Mother to Mother mission. For each of her slings sold anywhere in the world she donates a Hero sling to women in Haiti! She travels there herself (yes, I am begging to tag along on one of these trips) and works with an organization to show each woman how to wear the sling and how to use it in their daily lives! The importance of this is unmeasureable. Haiti suffers from one of the highest mortality rates in a third world country. Often times mothers are forced to choose between working to provide food for their families, and leaving their children. The donation of a sling can remove this choice and allow her to keep her child with her and support her family. This can literally save lives! 

Kathryn also felt it was very important to not only provide an extremely high quality sling and pouch but to be able to have them made in America. We are lucky enough that they are made in Richmond, right in our own backyards! This way Rockin Baby can closely monitor the quality of their products and the fulfillment of their Mother to Mother program. 

In our opinion this Rockin Mama has done a great thing with her fantastic products! We are so happy to be working with her for the giveaways this week! 

Here are the technical details: 

The online contest starts Monday February 18th at 9:00 am est and runs through Monday February 25th until midnight est.  To enter you must like us on Facebook and like Rockin Baby Slings on Facebook. Please leave a comment below telling us that you did so and telling us what the Mother to Mother and/or babywearing means to you. 

 

Good luck! We hope to see you at the class on Thursday night February 21st at 6:30 pm!

 

Love Is In The Air

(emily)

That’s right, folks, Valentine’s Day is this Thursday, and we’ve collected a whole bunch of great ideas to share the love with your little valentines.

Valentines From Your Little Ones

I love finger painting. I think it’s so much fun, even if it’s messing. Here are three great Valentine finger painting crafts:

Handprint Valentines

by The Shirleys

Ages: 0+

Mess Level: Medium but with potential

Supplies: white paper, pink and red paint, heart-shaped doilies, paint brush, scissors, glue, markers 

Set up: Cover up any surface you don’t want to get paint on, and make sure children are wearing clothing they can get a little messy in if need be.

Paint one your child’s hands in light pink. Place on white paper and press down to leave a print. Clean off the remaining pink paint.

Paint your child’s other hand red. Place hand at an angle to the previous print so that the palms of the red hand and pink handprint do not overlap but the fingers do. The palms form the curved tops of the heart, and the fingers create the bottom point.

Once dry, cut out the handprints in a heart shape. Glue to heart-shaped doily. Write a valentine message.

 

 

Heart Tree

by Putti's World

Ages: 2+

Mess Level: High

Supplies: White paper; paints; smocks; easel; newspaper or a shower curtain to catch any falling paint; heart-shaped sponges

Set Up: Secure the white paper to the easel and cover the surrounding floor and area to keep paint stains at a minimum.

Paint your child’s palm and arm in either green or brown. Place against the paper and press down, leaving a print with your child’s handprint up at the top, fingers spread out. This is the trunk and branches of your tree.

Clean up your child’s hand and arm, or you might just get handprints all over your house.

With your heart-shaped sponges, dip into paint and press around the fingerprints to create the leaves of the tree. You can use greens for the leaves, Valentine’s Day colors, or whatever colors your child wants.

Heart-shaped sponges can be purchased at your local craft stores, or you can make your own by cutting a standard kitchen sponge. You can also bend a cardboard toilet paper roll into a heart shape and use that as a stamp.

Let your child’s art dry and then hang up in your house.

Flower Bouquet

by Toddler Approved

Ages: 2+

Mess Level: Chernobyl

Supplies: Sheets of white paper; cardstock; construction paper; finger paints in Valentine’s Day colors or whatever colors you’d like; green marker; heart-shaped sponges; scissors; glue; smocks; newspaper, plastic mats, or old shower curtain to maintain mess; paper plates

Set Up: Cover up your workspace. Put a smock on your baby or strip him down to his diaper because this is going to get messy.

Get a sheet of plain white paper, a paper plate, and one color of paint. Pour paint onto plate. Have your child cover the sheet of paper in his handprints. He can be as messy as he wants, we just want a lot of paint on that paper and for him to have fun.

Once he’s done, switch out the paper and paint for a clean sheet and a new color. Continue until you have as many colors as you want.

Tip: Do one color at a time and clean up in between each one. This helps limit mess and also keeps the colors from mixing.

Give your child a final sheet of white paper and a green marker. Let him scribble to his heart’s content. While he’s occupied, take his masterpieces and cut out hearts of various sizes.

When his scribbling is complete, cut out long, thin strips of the green. 

With your little one’s help, glue strips to your cardstock. Preferably vertical, as these strips are the stems of your bouquet. (You can either fold your cardstock to make a card or leave flat to make a poster.)

Next glue the hearts to the tops of the stems. These are your flowers.

Cut out a vase shape from the construction paper and glue over the bottoms of the stems.

You can either add a Valentine’s Day message or leave it as it is.

 

Aren't these fun? Don't you wish you could spend some time crafting? Well, you're in luck, parents. I’ve also found some great valentines you can give your children:

 

Heart Attack

by Happy Home Fairy

Age: 5+

Mess Level: Low

Supplies: Construction paper, markers, scissors, tape

Cut out as many hearts as you want. Write little love notes to your children about why you love them or what you love about them. Then stick up one on your child’s door every day from February 1 to the 14 as a Valentine’s Day advent calendar. Or you can wait until the morning of Valentine’s day to cover their door. Heart attack indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret Admirer

by Better Homes and Gardens

Age: 4+

Mess Level: Medium with potential

Supplies: White paper, white crayons, watercolors, paintbrushes, scissors, newspaper or an old shower curtain to maintain mess.

Cut out white paper hearts. Write love messages to your children in white crayon. Place valentines throughout the house and send your children on a scavenger hunt. Once all the hearts are collected, head to the kitchen.

At the table, pass out paintbrushes and watercolors to your kids. Let them paint over their valentines and reveal your messages.

Once dry, hang up around your house.

 

 

Be sure to check our Valentine's Board on Pinterest for more ideas! 

 

 

Apple & Bee Giveaway

 

We fell madly in love with this little coin purse from Apple & Bee.  So how better to share our love for Valentine's Day than to give one of these adorable coin purses away.

To enter to win simply post a photo of your little valentine(s) in one of the following ways:

on one of our facebook pages (the store or the website)

on twitter using @franklingoose #valentinegiveaway,

you can email us at [email protected]

on sInstagram using the hashtags #franklingoose and #valentinesgiveaway. (By submitting your photo you are giving us permission to use it on any of these sites or our website. Please only submit once.)

The giveaway runs from February 8th-12th. The winner will be chosen at random by random.org.

Happy Valentines Day!

Checking In

All right, ladies, it’s time. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?

Amanda: Going really well! I’m more than 2/3 of my way to hitting my goal weight. I’ve also been reading more and trying to slow down!

What about you, Mandy? You had a lot you shared!

Mandy: Let me think. I haven’t exercised. Period. I have been doing crock pot-ish meals. I haven’t taken my son rock climbing. I went to the library and got 8 books. Or was it 9? And haven’t read 1.

You also mentioned you were going to bake your son healthier treats. How’s that been going?

Mandy: I baked him a really healthy cookie, but then I shoved an Oreo in the middle of it. But it was healthy originally!

Mandy's (Almost) Healthy Cookie!

Maryjo, you said you wanted to spoil your grandson and kids more. You also said you didn’t want to spoil your grandson. So how’s it been?

Maryjo: Two steps forward, one back!

And you Emily?

Emily: I haven’t written every day, but I have written every week. Some weeks I’ve managed to block a whole day off to only write. As for exercising, I worked out. Once.  Does pinning exercise routines and tips count? Because I've done that a lot. 

No. 

Sheri, have you been cycling and reading?

Sheri: Yes and no. I’m on my third book of the month. I haven’t been cycling because of the weather and health, but I am exercising at home.

All right, and last but not least—Heather, how are you doing?

Heather: Good.

Sheri: Yeah, she’s done really well with the new products.

Heather: And I’ve gone to the gym every week.

Well done, ladies. 

Royally Announced

(emily)

Royal & Modern

Breaking traditions seems to be Britain’s future Royal’s MO: not only will Prince William and Kate Middleton’s child be directly in line to the throne after daddy William, but even the baby’s birth announcement was a modern change.

Like most aspects of royal life, there is a protocol for announcing a baby. Typically, Prince William and Kate Middleton would have first informed the Queen. After 12 weeks, an official announcement would be posted on the gates of Buckingham Palace.

A world with 24/7 news coverage and Twitter, though, made keeping quite about the Duchess of Cambridge’s condition a bit of a headache. When Kate ended up in the hospital for severe morning sickness last year, it was decided that it was better just to confirm the tabloids’ suspicions rather than covering it up. An announcement was made, and it seems like the Queen found out with the rest of us commoners.

It seems a shame that Will and Kate had to break the news early, but as with any new parents’ announcement, we’re sure they were still pretty excited. Most parents do, and while not all parents can announce they’re expecting on the gates of a palace, that hasn’t stopped them from getting creative:

Expiration Date

Sonagram

What's in your belly?

Welcome Home

Aren’t these fantastic? We’ve got a whole bunch more over on Pinterest that we love.

High Praise

After the news broke, several high British officials tweeted their congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Now, we can’t guarantee tweets from world leaders for your baby, but we do have a really cool option from the White House.

How awesome is this? If you send a birth announcement to the White House Greetings Office, you can get a congratulatory note from the President and First Lady! So cool! They also do birthday cards and anniversary cards.

There is a wait – it is Washington, after all – and it can take a few months for your cards to arrive, so be sure to allow yourself plenty of time. (At least 6 weeks.) My sister sent her birth announcement in October after my niece was born, and her card came just this past January.

Nom nom nom! (Photo by V. Khoma)

Just send an announcement to the White House and be sure to include

-       the baby’s name and date of birth,

-       the names of the parents,

-       and the address where you would like the greeting to be sent.

 

Mail it to

 

White House Greetings Office



Room 39



Washington, DC 20500

 

or fax it: 202-456-2461.

And you're all set!

We’re curious, how did you announce your baby to the world? Or what are you thinking about doing? Let us know in the comments, or post it to our Facebook page. You can tag us on Instagram, too! Just use the hashtag #franklingoose.