Mel in a Nutshell

Free Online Training Pants Patterns & Tutorials

2009-07-15T12:16:00.013+10:00

Free Patterns:
* Wee Weka Knickers
* Wee Weka Side Snap Training Pants (this is actually for a side snapped nappy but can be modified for training pants) S/M Size - M/L Size
* Ditto Daddy - Trainer Pattern 1
* Ditto Daddy - Trainer Pattern 2
* Easter Bunz Trainer Pattern
* Goodness Gracious Pocket Training Pants (Front Piece / Back Piece)
* There used to be another one HERE but it seems to have gone, still stuck the link in in case it comes back.
* Wool-in-two Training Pants

Tutorials Only:
* Mama or Minx
* Chloe Toes - Pocket style training pants

Paid Patterns:
* Ditto Daddy - lots of different styles to purchase
* Stellar Transitions
* Darling Diapers - Potty Dance Pants
* Fern & Faries T-shirt Trainers Pattern (uses old t-shirts!)
* New Conceptions Training Pants
* Bumbles Training Pants

if you know of any more please let me know & ill add them to the list :)

My first cable project!!!

2009-07-15T09:56:00.004+10:00

I just made my first cabled project!!! Its a Nakiska headband. It was great fun!

here's some pics:

I cant wait to try some more challenging cables now, maybe ill brave the owl baby vest pattern next - Ive had my eye on it for a while but wasn't brave enough!

Jets First (full) Day of Preschool

2009-07-10T17:28:00.005+10:00

A few weeks ago we decided to start jet in Pre-school one day a week, mainly to increase his social time with other kids. He plays really well by himself or with older children but not so well with kids his age...when i say not so well i mean i spend the ENTIRE time breaking up fights that he started, just usual toddler behaviour: refuses to share anything, hitting, pushing, grabbing etc but very frustrating for me ;)

So anyway, last week was the first time i left him there by himself (the week before we attempted it but we got there & he threw up all over the car park - rocky bought home a spew bug from work!) we had been in to visit a few times together before that. He only lasted till nap time then absolutely cracked it!!! so i had to pick him up early, but this week he did really well. he was a bit upset when i left & when i picked him up but he is in a fantastic mood tonight & is talking about all the things he did there so he must have had a good time, he said he wants to go back too which is good! One of the loverly ladies there made him a poster of his day with pictures of things he did (mainly just to prove to me that he was happy at some stage i think!):

& heres a painting he did me, he did rocky one too:

Ive just spent the whole arvo on line looking for iron-on labels to do all his clothes so we dont loose them all, this is the cheapest place i could find:

& if you google their name with "promotional code" youll find a bunch of places that can give you a code for a discount :) it only ended up costing me about $13 for 60 iron on labels - free postage too!!!

we are also starting to toilet train jet (not good timing doing them both together i know!) so thats fun! He is actually doing really well at it though which is great, he has known what to do on the potty for ages but just wouldnt do it & he just looks way to big to be in nappy's now (plus his poos are sooooo messy to clean up by the time he lets you change his nappy) so i cracked it & told him there were no more nappy's when we were at home during the day. we are still using them at night & when we are out at the moment - not sure what to do about that??? any tips?

THANK YOU!!!

2009-05-31T12:09:00.003+10:00

I just wanted to say a long overdue thank you to two loverly ladies.

First off, April - thank you soooooo much for the beautiful star blanket you knitted Bae!!! we LOVE it, its fantastic to use in his hammock over him at night because its round it tucks right into the pillow, the perfect shape, & its nice & warm too! it must have taken you hours & hours & hours to make & we really appreciate all the love & care that went into it!

April made this blanket for Bae when she found out i was pregnant as part of a pay it forward thing, which no one ever responded to on my blog (there are two comments there but they are from people that loved the idea but didn't want to take part) - so if you want to then the post is here, i will warn you though you wont be getting anything as spectacular as the blanket April knitted me, i just don't have the patience for blankets!!!

Secondly i want to thank Hayley. Hayley very kindly gave me a whole stack of newborn cloth nappies which have made our cloth journey soooooo much easier than with jet (we just used terrys for him in the newborn stage). lots of them are her creations & they are just fantastic! he's wearing one in the pic below, if i was smart i would have taken a pic of all of them before he was born (but I'm not!), now most of them are either waiting to be washed, being warn or waiting to be put back together so i didn't have many to take a group pic of (slack arse i know!).

so..... A HUGE THANK YOU TO HAYLEY & APRIL!!!!

sorry its taken me so long!

Bae's Birth Story

2009-05-20T13:09:00.003+10:00

Bae Theo Wolters

Birth Details
Born on the 18/5/09 at 11.10am Gosford Hospital.
Weight: 3.6 kilos/8.15 pounds
Length: 51cm
Head Circumference: 35.5cm

Why we chose his name
Bae – a Korean name meaning inspiration (Pronounced like Bay)
Theo – One of Rocky's (many many) uncles, who he stayed with in Holland when he was 19. He means a great deal to Rocky & shares Bae’s birthday so it seemed fitting to use his name as Bae’s middle name.

Birth Story
On Saturday the 16th I had a bit of a show at around 3pm, followed by some light contractions through the night (most of which I slept through). Once I got up in the morning they subsided & I only had a couple of very light contractions throughout the day. That didn’t stop Rocky from cleaning the whole house & running around with a huge smile on his face in anticipation of the big event.

I had another show Sunday afternoon & then more contractions Sunday night. They were a bit stronger, about 1 every hour or so but I still managed to get allot of sleep. I got up at about 6.30am on Monday & had a shower, the contractions quickly started to come quite regularly & grew more intense. I called our wonderful midwife (& family friend) Bernadette at around 7.20am, not really sure if I was in labour since the contractions felt different to the ones I experienced with Jet.

We left for the hospital at about 8.10am, luckily for me my contractions died down in the car, I think I only got 3 in the 30 minute trip! We arrived at the hospital at about 8:40am. I was a bit concerned that I wasn’t in labour because the contractions had subsided in the car (even though they started up again once it got out), but at about 9am Bernadette checked me out & said I was already 7cm dilated.

I spent the next hour or two going in between the shower & the bath, then settled into the bath & moved into the last phase of labour. I think I only had about 10 big contractions & then out he came (over about 15 or 20 mins). His head came out in one contraction & he was posterior so we could see his little face all scrunched up in the water, then he giggled himself around & with daddy’s help managed to wiggle his shoulders out with my next contraction & that was it – he was out! He cried straight away & fed within about 10 mins of the birth. Rocky was very excited that he got to deliver him & cut his umbilical cord.

I settled down onto the bed with our new little son while we decided on a name (after consulting his astrology chart!) & called the grandparents to congratulate them on the arrival of their second grandson! My mum was looking after Jet (who desperately wanted to come with us when we left) & as soon as soon as he heard we were on the phone he started pulling grandma towards the car. Mum bought him all the way to Gosford to come & meet his new little brother, only to have him fall asleep in the car from all the excitement, so she turned around & took him home again.

4 & 1/2 hours after the birth we were discharged & came home to all the grandparents & Jet who proceeded to point out that Bae had two eyes & ears & then settled down to hold him on the couch for the next 20 mins.

The birth was completely natural, no gas or other drugs used. I had no tearing, only a few tiny grazes which haven’t given me any trouble at all. Funnily enough the thing I’ve found most painful after the birth is my sternum, it made a popping or cracking sound at some point in the last stage of labour & now all the muscles in my chest feel very fatigued & sore!

Introducing...

2009-05-18T11:53:00.001+10:00

Bae Theo Wolters born 11.10am today. Beautiful natural water birth :)

40 Weeks Today!

2009-05-17T17:18:00.002+10:00

I thought today might be the day, i had a show yesterday at about 3pm & had sporadic contractions through the night then when i got up in the morning they stopped! Ive had more of a show today & maybe a few light contractions here & there but nothing solid yet. Maybe bub is just trying to hold out to be a Gemini! If he comes any time after 7.40am on the 21st he will be so only a few days to wait....or maybe he is just indecisive like his mummy & cant decide if he wants to come out or stay in.

Anyway, I'm just resting up & trying to get as much sleep as i can so i have some energy for the birth. I'm actually looking forward to it - i had a great birth with jet (although if you asked me at the time i would have told you it was bloody awful & i never wanted to do it again). With him i was one week overdue, i had a show in the middle of the night then got contractions through the day but i didn't know that was what they were, they were only like light period pain. Then when we were eating dinner they started to get stronger. I think we went into the hospital at about 10 or 11 & he had a water birth at 5:50am. i would say there was only about 3 hours of pain, no tearing, i used a bit of gas but no epidural or anything else (i did crack a tooth on the gas mouth piece though - oops!). So they say you can halve your labour second time round - if that's the case this time should be a breeze!

ill sms a pic of bub & the birth details here once he is born - hopefully not to long away :)

More Longies!

2009-05-15T16:59:00.003+10:00

A friend from the ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) had her 5th bub at the beginning of april & she is a fellow cloth nappy user so i decided to make her some longies for her bub (these are the little turtle knits picky pants ones.

I made the small & the medium size, theres quite a difference between them! Hopefully the small will fit her now & for another couple of months, the medium might even fit her next year?

Heres some pics:

Ive ordered the Ladybug Loops pattern because im not keen on how chubby the legs are with this one, but i havent got it yet. When i do though im sure there will be even more pics of longies on this site!!!

Crochet Felted Nursing Breast Pads

2009-05-09T15:42:00.003+10:00

I found a pattern for felted breast pads on Ravelry & since ive managed to crochet one thing i figured id give these a go. Somehow i ended up with more stitches than the pattern said i should but hey, they look ok! Ive felted them up & they look like their the perfect size - just got to lanolise them now, then wait for bub to arrive & my milk to come in!

Heres some pics, this is both felted & unfelted:

& these are ones after felting:

& before felting:

Sorry, no action shots this time ;)

My First Crochet Project :)

2009-05-07T20:16:00.003+10:00

Ive been wanting to learn to crochet for a while but havent been able to work out how to do it! Anytime i picked a pattern to try i just couldnt get my head around it, so i asked the wonderful ladies on nappycino for a suggestion & Claire reccomended the Brrr Baby Beanie, so i gave it a go & i did it!!! :D

Heres some happy snaps:Its a bit big for Jets baby:

Im so happy ive finally made something! Now all i have to do is figure out what should i do next? ;)

Wooly Outfit for Bub #2

2009-05-02T20:31:00.004+10:00

Ive been knitting so i thought id share!

I knitted a pair of picky pants for bub #2 & thought id make a jacket to go along with it. I did size 0-3 months for both patterns.

Here's the jacket, i used snaps instead of a button, i don't think its meant to fold over quite that much but i figured it would keep him warmer. This isn't my favorite jacket pattern, the bottom sits a bit funny but hopefully it looks ok on bub!

& here's the pants, i just love the picky pants pattern! i did the ribbed waist with an i-cord tie & ribbed cuffs at the bottom. Jet actually has a matching pair (same wool but i used the little turtle knits longies pattern which is skinnier in the legs), i don't think Ive ever blogged about them though!:

Teddy likes it but its a bit big for him!

& a little small for mr frog (plus its not really his colour!!!):

& one last pic:

Not long to go till bub gets here now - I'm 38 weeks tomorrow! We still haven't got any idea about names, we have a list of about 50 but I'm just not really that into any of them, guess we will just have to wait & meet him!

Setting up mobile blogging!

2009-04-23T10:15:00.000+10:00

Im just setting up my mobile so i can sms a notification when bub is born. Not long to go now - less than 4 weeks till my due date :)

White Chocolate Chip & Banana Muffins - Yummo!!!

2009-04-10T11:21:00.003+10:00

I was just reading a post on Tracy's blog about some yummy muffins she made...& i couldn't help myself, i just had to make some too, they just looked to delicious (i am 7.5 months pregnant after all - i can blame cravings cant i?)! Here's her recipe if you want to make some too (go on, you know you want to!)

Dream Parenting

2009-04-06T21:55:00.003+10:00

I just wanted to share a link to a site i found that offers a kinder more gentler approach to getting your child to sleep through - its called Dream Parenting so check it out if your having issues!!!

Ring Sling for a Friend

2009-04-01T08:37:00.005+11:00

We headed down to Sydney for a few days last week & i was going to visit a friend i only see a couple of times a year who has just (well...3 months ago) had a new bub. Last time we were chatting on the phone she was wishing she had a few different slings so i thought id make her one.

I picked up more material from Campbells Cash n Carry (im growing to love that shop!) for $2 per metre, im not exactly sure what it is but its a nice olive colour (not my colour at all but i knew she liked it). I used the sling rings i bought ages ago (cant remember where) that are a bit thick & heavy & they are a bit smaller than the ones i used on my sling. Its a bit hard to pull the material through them, im not sure if it will loosen up with washing? it does the job though, so hopefully she liked it! I used the instructions on Sleeping Baby again. Heres some pics:

I also knitted her bub a caterpillar. I stuck a cat toy with a bell in it in the head so it rattles & i knitted it out of that fairy floss stuff you can get a lincraft so its nice & soft & fluffy! sorry the pics are a bit blurry, i snapped them on my phone last minute before we left!

I made a Hot Mama Nappy Bag!!!

2009-03-31T15:27:00.006+11:00

I am so very proud of me right now!!! Ive spent the last two days neglecting the house work & while ants have run rampant ive managed to actually sew a nappy bag! Its a Hot Mama Messenger Style Diaper Bag by Wired up Designs - i bought the pattern over a year ago & just never got round to attempting it, but i have a whole room to do sewing in now which makes it easier to make stuff cause i can just walk out & shut the door on all the mess when i dont have time to do any more!

I thought it would be way to hard but i just took it one step at a time & eventually i got there! Its out of the same material as the ring sling i made (which only cost me $2 per metre from Campbell's Cash n Carry!!!), it probably isnt a sturdy enough material for a nappy bag really but hey - it matches my ring sling! Heres a couple of pics -

I actually lined it with some white PUL i have lying around (i bought a couple of metres of the stuff in a co-op a year or so ago), you probably arent meant to use a material like that to line it but i figured it would make it water proof, so i did it anyway.

Heres the inside of the bag. Theres 4 largish pockets for nappies, wipes etc, a mobile phone holder, a little key holder that you can snap over your keys, a change pad (which i made too) with a little loop to keep it in place & a wallet pocket (which my wallet is far to fat to fit into):

Theres also two of these drink bottle holders on the outside (one on each side):

& the shoulder strap has padding in it & everything!

Heres the change pad i made to go with it, your meant to use the same fabric to back it (so it would have been purple on the back) but i wanted to keep my fabric so i just used PUL - makes it water proof anyway! Its topped with maiden mills fleece & has wadding on the inside so its nice & soft & cushy!

Notice that there are absolutely no close ups of any of my sewing...thats because its pretty freakin dodgy in lots of places...but i dont care! im just so glad that i actually managed to complete it! & it only took me two days which is pretty good for someone with my complete lack of sewing experience i think.

So what should i try & sew next??? i picked up some more cheap material today so ill have to find a new project for it :)

Trip to the Second Hand Baby Markets

2009-03-29T16:43:00.004+11:00

We went to the second hand baby markets this morning & picked up some bargains (as always!). Excuse the picture quality, im having trouble locating the camera so these were taken on my mobile.

I got this big cardboard book for 50 cents:

A stack of clothes for varying prices:

A sheepskin cot liner (its folded in half here) for $7. Im planing on using this one for over the pillow on my happy hangup (the baby hammock) because regular sheepskins are a bit hard to fold over it:

A sheepskin car seat liner (i dont think this one was ever even used) for $10:

A toddler seat for our pram for $20 (normally $100!):

A pram & baby for jet $6:

Mum bought jet this scooter for $15 - not sure if thats cheap or not?

Some maternity clothes for $6, the skirt is a bit big, might have to stick some elastic in it:

A(nother) nappy bag (well, its a nice one!) for $5:

Think thats it! I love going to the baby markets, you can pick up such great stuff at really cheap prices. Its especially good for clothes although you mainly find newborn to size 2 there, you cant get much for the bigger kids which is a shame.

Sewing a Ring Sling

2009-03-17T18:00:00.009+11:00

Ages ago i bought some rings to make a ring sling from somewhere (cant quite remember where) so i figured i might as well make one for the new bub. I went to the local Campbell's Cash & Carry store & bought a couple of metres of beautiful purple fabric for $2 per metre - bargain! i have no idea what it is, probably some type of cotton??? it has the slub (if that's what they call it) through it which i think gives it a nice look. Here's a close up:

Anyway, today i decided id start working on it, & low & behold i managed to finish it too! I didnt end up using the rings i had (which was my whole reason for doing it in the first place) because Hayley has MUCH better rings, they weigh heaps less & are slightly bigger & they dont make a clinking sound. So i ended up getting a couple off her & using them!

I attempted to follow the Jan Andrea instructions (the only reason i say attempted is because i haven't sewn for so long i had even forgotten how to get thread onto my little bobbin thingy - not because her instructions are hard to follow, im sure for a non-pregnant kinda competent sewer they are great). Here's my attempted pleating of the shoulder bit, i think it worked ok for a first attempt (I'm proud anyway!), you can also see the fab sling rings i got from Hayley clearly here:

I left the tail pretty long because i want to be able to flick it over my shoulder if im in the middle of the shopping centre walking along & feeding (should i ever manage to master that skill). Ive got a teddy in it here:

& heres the long tail bit flicked over:

& here i am attempting to breastfeed a teddy bear - lol:

I even managed to convince Jet to get in for a few seconds so i could get a real action shot:

You can kinda see my baby bump in those pics too - really should stick some bump pics up shouldn't i!

I hope the material i used is ok! It feels a little slippery (not to much but more than a drill would), not sure if thats ok??? I left the full width there, it fits through the rings fine so hopefully that works alright too. I havent stuck a pocket on it yet, i might do that after bub is born, im just not sure where would be best just yet.

Ive still got a few metres of material left so im going to attempt to make the Hot Mama Nappy Bag i saw over on Tracy's blog ages ago. I bought the pattern as soon as i saw her creation, im not quite sure im ready for such a big project though!

Interested in free Jewelery?

2009-03-17T08:08:00.002+11:00

Visit my blogging buddy CanuckleHead's site. He is giving away a free Tungsten ring valued at up to $120 & all you have to do is leave him a comment on his blog! Its to celebrate the second anniversary of canucklehead.ca.

While your there check out his laugh section, he has stacks of jokes on there to cheer up your day - they always make me laugh!

Confessions...

2009-03-16T19:36:00.003+11:00

I clicked on the About Me tab at the left of my tabs & my bio currently reads: "Im a 27 year young cloth nappying, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby carrying mum. Jet (DS) - 15/12/06 Rocky (DH)- 29". But...most of those things aren't exactly true:

Im not 27
Jet is mainly in disposables at the moment
Im no longer breastfeeding
or co-sleeping
or baby carrying
Rocky isnt 29 any more either

I think the only truth in my bio is that im a mum! So heres an update:

Im now 29, i just had my birthday on the 10th of March, & Rocky turned 30 last year.

Jet is pretty much exclusively in disposables at the moment due to most of the nappies in my stash just not being effective - some of them have lost their elastic & most others just cant hold the volume of wee he manages to pump out!

Im also no longer breastfeeding. I breastfed Jet for 2 years, i think his last feed was a week after his second birthday. 2 years was always my goal & having reached it while i was pregnant, still sleep deprived & totally exhausted i decided it was time to wean him, i cut his feeds down to once a day (first thing in the morning only) a couple of months before he weaned. At first he fed religiously every morning for about 40 mins, which i would have been happy to continue (because it bought me extra sleep), but eventually he started skipping days, then he would only feed two or three times per week, then once a week, then once every few weeks, by his second birthday he hadnt had a feed for a week or two, then fed again a week after his birthday & that was it. he has asked me a couple of times since but ive just told him that its all gone!

We moved jet into his own room just before he turned 2, he ended up back in with us for a few more months but we decided we should try & get him comfortable in his room before the next bub comes along. We have had our ups & downs (which has always been the case with his sleeping). At the moment he is sleeping through sporadically, once every few nights, most nights he just wakes up once & some nights he wakes up 5+ times. *Hopefully* he gets the hang of it (& keeps it that way) before the new bub arrives!

As for baby carrying, Jet just got to big!!!

So anyway, im *trying* to rectify the whole cloth nappy vs disposables thing. I am disgusted at how long you can leave a disposable on, the things just soak up sooooo much fluid! if you didnt have a heavy wetter you could probably leave one on all day & thats just disgusting. i hate the thought of all the chemicals that could be leaching into jets skin & i also hate contributing so much to land fill. So ive made another cloth nappy purchase. Ive gone back to basics. Bamboo fitteds with covers & Baby Beehinds have some really well made affordable nappies so ive gone with them. Also a fellow ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) member is now the central coast rep for them so i can order it all through her! I decided to buy 10 x Bamboo Fitteds, 2 x Large PUL Covers, 1 x Small Wool Cover, 2 x Medium Wool Covers & 1 x Large Wool Cover (all the wool covers were on special because they are discontinuing the coloured varieties).

I find bamboo the most absorbent of all the materials used to make cloth nappies & also it doesnt tend to get that smell that hemp does. Fitteds with a cover tend to absorb more than pockets & AIO's (in my experience anyway) so they should suit jet better for now & *hopefully* he will discover the inspiration to toilet train some time soon (he knows what the potty is for & when he is weeing etc - he just doesnt care one bit if he has a wet or pooey nappy on - go figure!). So heres a pic of my new haul:

Thats my spiel for the day! Thanks for 'listening' :D

A Stop at Gresford Markets

2009-03-15T21:22:00.004+11:00

Today we went up to Allyn River (about 3 hours north of where we live) to Rocky's cousins son's party (we just claim him as jets cousin). We had a fantastic time, Allyn River is such a beautiful spot, one of our faves to camp at!

On the way up there we stopped in at the Gresford Markets...& decided to buy some chickens!!!

Jet is sooooo excited & absolutely loves them! They are bantams & *hopefully* female (otherwise the neighbours will kill us!!!). We haven't named them yet - so please tell me your suggestions!!!

I also got some beautiful handspun angora wool, it hasn't been dyed that's the natural colour, isn't it gorgeous!!!

Presents for two special little boys :D

2009-03-14T22:18:00.010+11:00

Today i went to Hayley's son's birthday party, one of them turned 3 & the other turned 1. Since Hayley made Jet a fabulous little sling for his birthday (the type he can carry a doll around in - which i will have to blog pics of!) i thought i should go to the effort of making presents for them. So... i made them each a pair of picky pants & a matching beanie. Here's some pics:

I was so petrified they wouldn't fit but i *think* they should be ok.

While I'm at it i might as well stick some old pics in here. About 9 months ago (when i was being totally slack & not blogging anything!!!) i made Hayley's (then) new little bub a bear out of the last minute knits book. She stuck pics on her blog of it which ive been meaning to nick to post on here - so ive finally done it, thanks Hayley!

Present for Briony

2009-03-11T11:08:00.010+11:00

Thought id stick some pics up of one of my latest projects. I was planning on going to a friends baby shower this weekend but cant make it cause one of jets cousins (well, rockys cousins kid) is having a b-day party. So i made her a little pressie to send. heres some pics:

The octopus (thats what the top 2 pics are of just in case you couldn't tell!) is from this pattern, i stuck a little cat toy which has a bell in it inside so it jingles when you rattle it.

For the hat i kind of modified a pattern out of the lincraft baby book, for some reason they never stick patterns in that are knit on the round!!! heres my modified pattern.

Gumnut Baby Hat:

I used Fairy Floss Yarn from lincraft (less than one ball), & 5mm double pointed needles.

Cast on 42sts, work in the round in stockinette stitch untill work measures 12cm

Decrease as follows:

rnd 1 - * K4, K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

rnd 2 & all alternate rounds Knit all stitches
rnd 3 - * K4, K2tog, repeat from * to the end.
rnd 5 - * K3, K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

rnd 7 - * K2, K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

rnd 9 - * K1, K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

rnd 11 - * K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

rnd 13 - * K2tog, repeat from * to the end.

on next round reduce stitches so there is only 3 left (cant remember exactly how many K2togs i needed here, if any???).

Knit 3 stitches in an icord till the icord measures 12.5cm then tie it in a knot! thats it! :D

Happy Hangup - Baby Hammock!

2009-02-15T20:40:00.003+11:00

I got my baby hammock! & i LOVE it!!! Its fantastic!

I'm so glad i bought a Happy Hangup, i was going to get one of the cheaper varieties of baby hammocks that are available on eBay but you can only use them for about the first 6 months, these ones can be used up to 20 kilos (kids will grow to long for it before they reach that weight limit!).

Ive stuck it up in Jets room for the moment & he has been asking to sleep in it. he hasn't slept a whole night in there yet, he normally gets up after a few hours & wants to go back to bed but he's only tried it two nights so far. it looks so comfy & cosy! I hope bub #2 loves it! Here's jet posing for some action shots:

My Curious Brain Question #1 - What percentage of water loss is classed as dehydration?

2009-02-04T20:58:00.004+11:00

My brain has a lot of questions - no seriously - ALOT!!! (just ask my husband). They aren't necessarily related to anything relevant either, sometimes it just likes to ask totally unrelated weird questions! most of the time ill just ask someone & they will say 'i have no idea' and ill forget it. But ive decided that im going to try & find the answers & bore you all with them!

So - my first question is: They say the body is made up of 70-75% water, so what percentage decrease is considered dehydration? why do i wonder this? who knows? but here's what i found out in my searches:

The first thing i found out sit that the % of water can vary quite a lot depending on the amount of body fat - which makes sense. Wikipedia recons that:

Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water
Blood contains 95% water
Body fat contains 14% water
Bone has 22% water

so it makes sense that the more body fat you have the lower the % of water in your body.

An interesting site called Survive Outdoors gave me the info to answer the second part of the question.

2% loss - You start getting thirsty
4%-6% loss - You are impatient and have symptoms of headache.
10% loss - You experience dizziness and cyanosis (a physical sign causing bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes - think it kinda shows your not getting enough oxygen?). You also become light-headed and have syncopal episodes (i think this basically means fainting).
12% loss - You have difficulty swallowing and you require assistance in re-hydration.
15%-25% water loss is lethal.

I wonder how many people live in a constant state of dehydration? So many people dont ever drink water & drinks containing alcohol & caffeine actually use water to process!!!

Heres some more interesting things that Got Water had listed on their site:

Only water truly hydrates the body and alleviates the diseases of dehydration
Drinking ice cold water actually makes you lose weight because fat calories are burned to bring the water temperature up to normal body temp
Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.
Don't misinterpret your thirst drive as hunger. Drink an "ice-cold" glass of water and wait a minute or two. You'll find your not as hungry as you thought.
Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. Give your body plenty of water and the stored water will be released.
If you don't drink enough water, your body's reaction is to retain the water it does have. This in turn hampers kidney function and waste products accumulate. Your liver is then called upon to flush out the impurities. As a result, one of your livers main functions - metabolizing fat into usable energy - is minimized.
Over-weight people need more water than thin people.
Water helps maintain proper muscle tone and prevents sagging skin.
Water helps rid the body of toxic waste.
Water helps detoxify the body from the effects of long term smoking, helping to eliminate the insidious tar and and acidic nicotine from the lungs.
Each time you urinate you are ridding the body of unwanted waste, unwanted fat, and unwanted toxins.
If you drink 4 times as much water as you consume in alcohol it'll make the effects of alcohol last longer, consume less alcohol and cost you less.
Water has a profound effect on brain function and energy levels. Even a slight dehydration can produce a small but critical shrinkage of the brain, impairing neuromuscular coordination, concentration and thinking.
A deficiency of water can alter the concentration of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride which has a negative effect on the function of the brain.
Beverages that contain caffeine, i.e. coffee, some tea and some sodas act as diuretics, increasing urine production and promoting loss of fluids.
The negative effects of caffeine provokes insulin release and may in fact enhance the storage of what is eaten - as fat.
If your eyes, nose, and throat feel dry - drink some water before you use eyedrops, nasal sprays, or suck on a candy or cough drop. Your body has been trying to tell you that you need MORE WATER.
Dehydration reduces blood volume, creating thicker, more concentrated blood which stresses the heart. This also decreases the ability to transport oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and other living cells.
Dehydration can be linked to impotence - via - not enough fluids to create seminal fluids.
Dehydration can also be linked to hair loss - not enough fluids to carry proteins to the scalp.
You name it, almost every dis-ease known to man or woman is probably linked to a lack of water.

I'm off to get myself a glass of water!