Tag Archives: dad bloggers

Going Reviews: Stop the Splatter with Spray Pal

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We’ve been a cloth diapering family since Avery was only a few weeks old, and we don’t plan on “changing” until she’s done with diapers for good. It was intimidating at first, but now the whole process is second-nature and is comforting to know it’s better for the environment and our wallets. Plus, what baby wouldn’t want to be surrounded by colorful cloth they poop and pee in?

Avery at 4 months helping me "organize" clean diapers.
Avery at 4 months helping me “organize” clean diapers.

As a stay-at-home parent, I do most of the washing, and after a short learning curve, it hasn’t been a problem. We were only feeding Avery breast milk to give her the best (and free!) nutrition available which made her poop, though messy and stinky, never having much substance that required spraying. Then we started solids; “Crap.”

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And “Crap” was right; it got bigger and more substantial! That wasn’t the last time we saw those carrots on the tray; nope, they were there waiting for us after her next “movement.” Now we had poopy diapers that needed the poo removed before going in the bin.

But there was a light at the end of our dirty diaper conundrum; Spray Pal, the splatter shield for cloth diapers! Man was I ever so grateful that the kind husband and wife behind Spray Pal recently agreed to send one for review so we had one ready to be used!

Jen and her husband David are both elementary school teachers with 2 kids. Their first is a little girl, and their youngest is a boy who was born 3.5 months premature. Now, their son is over 2 years old, but he has to be on an oxygen feeding tube and is visually impaired and profoundly deaf. Despite this, they are a happy, close-knit family who are extremely caring.

I love seeing small, family-owned businesses like Spray Pal, and it just feels good doing business with them as opposed to some large corporation. Think buying produce from Wal-Mart vs. going to a local farm and purchasing directly from a farmer who will use your money to grow more food. Jen and David are “farmers” who use the proceeds from Spray Pal to go directly towards their son’s medical expenses after operating costs are met.

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather give my dollar to farmers of the world who are personable and have a story to share. And what you get in return is their Spray Pal Splatter Shield that keeps your bathroom floors and walls free from poop splatter. Need I say more? Okay, well,I will anyway.

The Spray Pal is a high quality sheet of BPA-Free plastic with a tri-fold and a heavy duty clip in the center to securely hold those dirty diapers.

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It’s nice to see a baby item that doesn’t look as complicated as Pandora’s Box!

After Avery gave us our first test sample, I made use of our newly installed diaper sprayer and the Spray Pal.

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Getting a dirty diaper on the clip was tricky at first because you’re trying to avoid floor “plops” while simultaneously working to keep from touching the poo. But after a few uses (you’ll get plenty), it’s not so cumbersome and just like cloth diapering, becomes a matter of course.

What’s great about the Spray Pal is that you can spray at full pressure and not worry about splattering anything around you; just right in the toilet. Of course, test your sprayer first and make sure you have the Spray Pal past the toilet rim; otherwise, you’ll have a wet floor. I might know from experience….maybe.

After spraying, you can use the Spray Pal to squeeze out the excess water and carry the diaper to the pail.

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If you’re squeamish, don’t look at the toilet water. What? Too late? Sorry.

We used to have the dirty diaper bin in the nursery next to the changing table, but now we moved it into the bathroom to avoid any nasties dripping on the floor.

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Spray Pal sells different bundles to get you everything you need to tackle dirty diapers with the most basic one including their Spray Pal Shield and a Jaq Jaq Bird Wet Bag. We don’t have the wet bag, even though I know it would be useful; instead we place the shield in a plastic trash container on the side of the toilet.

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This works just fine for us and we haven’t had an issue yet.

Now that we have a hang of it, I couldn’t imagine trying to spray a diaper without the Spray Pal, especially with the shallow toilet we have! I am happy we have the Spray Pal to save us from a splattery mess, and now we use it for every big poop! It will take getting used to, but so would cleaning poop off your wall, so pick your battle! 😉

If you are a cloth diapering family or thinking of becoming one, the Spray Pal is almost a very necessary item to include. I highly recommend! Check out this video on how to use the Spray Pal and give you a sense of how simple it really is.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14trK_HU06E&w=560&h=315]

Show some Spray Pal love and like/follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. They are Going Dad and Going Mom approved, so what are you waiting for?

Disclosure: Spray Pal provided their product to me free of charge in exchange for review. I was not compensated for this post and all views are my own.

Co-Sleeping in the Crib and Learning to Crawl with Lasers

Would you believe I’m still not done covering my birthday weekend? I guess I am more wordy than I realize. Sorry but not sorry, if you know what I mean. 🙂

After opening my tasty gifts from Going Mom and Avery, we hung around the kitchen to have breakfast and more coffee (for me, at least). It had been a few hours since Avery was awake, and surprise, she started showing signs of sleepiness!

Face rubbing, ear scratching, constantly squirming, and let us not forget, fussing, were all happening with Avery. So, Kelley gathered our little fuss box and brought her in the nursery to attempt getting her to sleep. Avery went fairly easily and slept without much resistance.

And then she kept sleeping. Finally, we were ready to bring her out to the pool, so after almost  3 hours, it was time for us to wake her! But first, I had to try something…

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Co-sleeping in the crib! Sure, we did co-sleeping in our room when Avery was younger, but what about the crib? Besides the wood creaking in protest at a heavy adult climbing into it, Avery stayed asleep…..for 30 seconds.

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I’ve seen other pictures of dads doing this, so I had to give it a shot. I’ll call it a success, and I think Avery didn’t mind, she was just a little confused.

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Since she was finally awake, we gathered our pool gear (which is really nothing but swimsuits) and walked down to our neighborhood pool. Avery had been one time before this trip and enjoyed the water, so we expected the same again.

Our expectations were right on as she had a blast, and we even brought her in the big pool!

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Too cool for drool

She wears her shades with pride; just like her mommy!

After getting our fill of the water, we journeyed back home to spend the rest of my 30th relaxing. We’ve been laying a blanket out in our living room for Avery to roll and attempt to crawl around on, and we figured we would try and teach her to crawl. This meant laser pointer time!

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Yep, fun for Lou (the fat cat) and Avery! Abby, our Golden, wasn’t too impressed. We would hold the red dot in front of Avery and marvel at her raising both arms in the air as she lunged forward into crawl position.

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Each time, we’d hold our breath and think “This is it!”, but then she’d fall over or just sit back up.

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Oh well, we’ll keep trying because she is very close to figuring this out, and lasers will help get us there! As night drew near, Kelley and I shared one of the awesome beers she got for me and had a cheers to a great weekend.

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I was still feeling it from the day before at the brewery, so splitting this hefty beer was plenty.

Avery slept a little better that night and so did we. It’s never fun saying goodbye to the weekend, especially when it’s your birthday, but I had a wonderful time with my mom, Paul, Kelley, and Avery. Thank you all for the great 30th; love you!

How did/would you train your baby to crawl, or did they do it on their own?

Ever try sleeping in a crib?

How the #PowerofDad is Everlasting

My father passed away when I was only 7 years old. He and my mom were divorced and since he lived in another state, I didn’t see him very often. Even with the infrequent visits, I still have lasting memories of him that I will never forget.

I never thought much about how and/or why I was able to hold on to memories at such a young age, but now I know it’s from the #PowerofDad. The influence a father makes on his kids is powerful and stays with them through life; I’m living proof!

Now that I’m a father to one beautiful little girl, I make it a point to harness the #PowerofDad every day. By treating my daughter with respect, getting on the floor and playing with her, and teaching her how to live a healthy life by example, I know I’m shaping a positive future for Avery.

One of my favorite moments in the 6.5 months I’ve been a father is being there as she first entered this world. After her time with Mommy, I got my skin to skin time with Avery as soon as possible to better help establish our father-daughter bond.

Skin to skin with dad!
Skin to skin with dad!

Watching Avery being born created the deepest love I’ve felt since meeting Kelley (Going Mom) and it took the air out of my lungs! It was the best and scariest feeling I have ever encountered and I will never forget that day I became “Dad.”

Being a stay-at-home dad to our little girl makes every day with her is my favorite moment. We show her how living an active, healthy lifestyle is beneficial is so many ways and hope she’ll follow in our footsteps.

From our nightly bath time routine where she brushes her teeth gums….

Avery Brushing

….to watching her actually eat solids through our baby-led weaning tactics…

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….to going on walks while wearing her..

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..I know I’m utilizing the #PowerofDad to the best of my abilities.

Knowing just how important the #PowerofDad is, I am proud to announce that I have partnered with Oral B and a group of other outstanding dad bloggers for an awesome Father’s Day campaign! Just like words can’t describe my intense love for my daughter and wife, the same goes for trying to explain the #PowerofDad.

Luckily, Oral B put together a video that needs no words to show how powerful it can be.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3z3rbcJ7Qk&w=560&h=315]

I’ve watched this video several times, and get goosebumps every time I see the father helping his daughter pack up to leave for college. Yeah, yeah, it’s years down the road, but time is going so fast, we all need to cherish every moment we have and don’t rush things too fast!

Oral B and Life of Dad have joined forces to promote the #PowerofDad which celebrates fatherhood’s little moments and the dads that bring big smiles to their families every day.

Oral B wins my seal of approval for recognizing the important, yet overlooked role of mothers and fathers, and supporting great causes.

In their second year of this Father’s Day program, P&G Oral Care has partnered with March of Dimes, a leading organization for healthy, happy families that celebrates mothers and fathers every day. P&G Oral Care is also joining forces with members of “Football’s First Family,” New York Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning, his father Archie and his daughter Ava – to celebrate fatherhood’s little moments.

And when you’re happy, you smile, right? In order to help keep those smiles shining bright, Oral B has introduced its newest and most technologically advanced toothbrush yet, the Oral-B 7000 BLACK. The Oral-B 7000 BLACK features Oral-B’s signature oscillating, rotating and pulsating technology and provides superior cleaning and a more personalized brushing experience compared to a regular manual toothbrush.  With its sleek design and top of the line features, even the most discerning consumers will note, and benefit from, the unparalleled design and technology it offers.

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Now that’s a dad brush if I’ve ever seen one! This brush has stats better than most athletes:

  • Oral-B’s signature oscillating, rotating and pulsating technology provides a superior tooth-by-tooth clean to remove up to two times more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush.
  • Features 8,800 oscillations per minute and 40,000 pulsations per minute to create shearing forces for excellent cleaning efficacy.
  • Six modes for a more personalized brushing experience including an extra “Tongue Cleaner Mode” along with standard Daily Clean, Deep Clean, Sensitive, Whitening, and Massage modes.
  • Quadrant pacing signals every 30 seconds to guide quadrant switching; at the end of two minutes a longer signal indicates when the dental professional recommended brushing time period has been reached.
  • SmartGuide wireless display with while-you-brush feedback to help you brush thoroughly, gently and for the dentist-recommended two minutes.
  • Indicator® bristles remind you to replace your brush head every 3 months, or once they’ve faded halfway.
  • Accelerates to top speed faster than a race car

That last bullet pretty much means you’ll get the feeling of NASCAR in your mouth! Popcorn kernels beware, Oral-B is coming for you!!

So this Father’s Day, upgrade the toothbrush for the dad in your life to the Oral-B 7000 BLACK and watch their smile become even more vibrant! Oral-B even has a $7 off coupon to help you (and dad) out.

Let me know some of your favorite #PowerofDad moments below and have an awesome Father’s Day. I’m excited to celebrate my first!!

Disclosure: I partnered with Oral-B and Life of Dad, LLC for the #PowerofDad Father’s Day promotion and was compensated for my involvement.