I love heaping bowls of cool ice cream on a hot summer’s day. But even more than that, I love not having to listen to my colicky baby scream for three consecutive hours.

When I realized that the dairy protein in my breast milk was probably responsible for my infant daughter’s intestinal discomfort, it became clear that I’d have to sacrifice Ben and Jerry’s. Or I could just go without sleep and sanity. Honestly, it was a bit of a tough choice.

After a few days to think about it, I realized that I could easily concoct my own version of non-dairy ice cream so that I could have my dessert and a happier daughter too.

It’s not low-fat or healthier in any way, but it tastes great and will help you avoid dairy if you are in a similar predicament as a nursing mother. This recipe is for a 1.5 quart ice cream maker but frozen desserts aren’t an exact science so feel free to tweak for a larger or smaller batch.

Non-Dairy Ice Cream Recipe

• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• 2 cups almond or rice milk (avoid soy milk since it can also cause colic)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp salt

Throw everything in a large bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Then dump into an ice cream maker and churn until it reaches the desired thickness. Enjoy!

I also have to mention that a lovely choice for those wanting just to pick up a pint of vegan ice cream is Coconut Bliss.  It’s based right here in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, and has become nationally known as a delicious alternative to dairy ice cream.  It’s sweetened with agave and comes in a great assortment of incredible flavors.

If you have any other ideas for dairy free, nut free, soy free treats for nursing mothers with colicky babies, please share!  I’ll soon post more on this topic but I’d love to hear your ideas as I’m starving with a fridge full of foods I can’t eat.

I’m tired.   Not in the yawning way.  In the wanting-to-collapse-on-the-floor/slightly-hallucinogenic way.  I had forgotten how the combination of colic and sleepless nights felt–but now I remember!  All my fantasies about an ideal life involve being unconscious for a four hour stretch.

So instead of coming up with brilliant posts for the next few months, I shall be depending every now and then on some of our classic GBG material.  It’s from the days when only our friends and relatives were reading so it should be new to most of our readers and hopefully will remain helpful.

Thanks for understanding and for your encouragement.  I know that one day I shall sleep again.  (I also know that the day will be far, far in the future…)

For the last two and half weeks I’ve been wallowing in the haze of sleeplessness, too exhausted to personally share the news of our second child’s birth. As you may have already read from Rebecca’s announcement, Jovi Nilprabhassorn arrived on June 8^th after nine hours of labor, loads of encouragement, and some uncontrolled screaming towards the end.

After my first child’s birth I thought I knew what to expect with the second. Wrong! From the beginning she established herself as unique with lots of small contractions for hours before labor really intensified.

Even after we arrived at the Midwifery Birth Center, I remember thinking, “This whole labor thing really isn’t that hard! Why did I think this was such a struggle last time?” Within a few hours, I remembered just how painful it could get and realized at one point that I might not make it to the other side of each contraction.

Jett spent the entire time pushing our electric massager (purchased at a thrift store) up against my tailbone and squeezing my hip bones together, both of which were incredibly helpful. My mom, a longtime Lamaze teacher, reminded me to breathe and kept uttering the perfect words of encouragement throughout.

At around 11:50 am I asked to have my water broken and things quickly moved along. At this point, I totally freaked out. Luckily, my midwife gently but firmly coached me through pushing and she arrived just fifteen minutes later after some hysterical screaming. Whew!

After all that, I can’t say I feel like a hero. Instead it puts me in awe of women who have labors that are three or four times as long as mine with lots of complications. How do they do it? How do some women manage labor when they already several children and can’t stop their lives to take the time to recover? It’s humbling!

We are now very tired, but quite happy to have our Jovi in our arms instead of just gazing at her ultrasound image. It wasn’t easy to bring her into the world, she doesn’t exactly sleep at night and she cries a lot, but in the end she’s totally worth it.

It never occurred to me to create my own diapers–partially due to the fact that I have a complete lack of sewing skills and also because it seemed so complicated.  Imagine my surprise when my friend Kara casually handed me a bag of home-sewn hemp diapers saying only, “I made this for you since I had some extra time and fabric.” I had to know how it was possible to whip out a batch of diapers in just a few hours so interviewed Kara to get the nitty-gritty details.

GBG: Where did you get the idea/inspiration to make your own cloth diapers?

Before I was even pregnant with my first son, I was researching ways to be green, more healthy and frugal and found many sources for cloth diapers online. There were a few brands that had what they called “contours” and I was intrigued… they looked much more simple as compared to pre-folds and also much less expensive than “fitteds.” Plus, they also looked VERY simple to make.

I went to a local family owned fabric shop (not a large chain one) and they happened to carry hemp/cotton fleece and jersey fabric for $7.00 per yard. I had found a few sources online… but paying for shipping could be a bit more prohibitive - so I was thrilled to have found the fabric. I also experimented with old towels, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and polar fleece and regular flannel from a chain fabric store.

I found the hemp/cotton fleece to be my favorite for durability and absorbency. I was also able to invest in a serger sewing machine, which made the process MUCH easier. In my first attempts, before the serger, I made a few different styles of diapers trying to find one I thought would work (including some fitted ones, with elastic and velcro - the works) and when it all came down to it and the baby was finally here, we loved the simplicity of the contours.

Plus they’re SUPER easy to make. I did buy a few name brand contours to make my own basic pattern from, mostly to get the measurements to work with my Bummi’s covers. Overall probably not the least expensive way to go - but in the long run, still much less $$$ than buying them at $10+ a pop… and now I can use my serger for all kinds of fun toddler clothes and projects. I’m working on recycling my husband’s old t-shirts into yoga pants and shorts for the boys right now.

GBG: What resources would you recommend for people just starting?

For buying fabric online check hemptraders.com. At around $10 a yard, they seem more reasonable than a lot of places I looked at. There are many patterns available from patterns at the fabric store to free ones online if you need more specific help.

GBG: Is it possible to make the diapers if you don’t have a serger?

There are ways to make diapers without a serger… but if you can beg and/or borrow one - I’d highly recommend it. Without a serger, you could make the diapers mostly inside out, similar to making a pillowcase, then turn them right side out and sew up the opening and then sew on a “doubler” if you like.

GBG: What are the advantages of the hourglass diaper over prefolds?

The “hourglass” or “contour” shape diaper is much less bulky than a prefold, takes much less fabric and is easier to customize, ie. double them up for night-time or naps without a crazy amount of bulk. We also made and use “doublers” which are just a couple layers of absorbent fabric with fleece on one side which wicks moisture away from baby butts, boosts your absorbency and keeps your diapers from staining as much. I think they’d also dry much faster than bulkier prefolds.