Bitty Baby Bash

We finally got our party pack from American Girl and House Party!!!  Back in August Emmalee won the chance to host a Bitty Baby House Party from American Girl  and HouseParty.com.   She waited not so patiently for the box to arrive and was dancing on the couch when she witnessed the UPS man carrying it to the door.

The box was full of all sorts of goodies AND...

Emmalee's Bitty Baby!

Not just a Bitty Baby, but also a new outfit, two story books, a Bitty Wishing Star, and an adorable stuffed polar bear featured in one of the story books!

For the next week we planned, prepared, and FINALLY got to host our Bitty Baby Party.

We invited old friends as well as some of our new friends from school and church.  Everyone was asked to bring their favorite baby or stuffed animal to play with.

We started out talking about how to help take care of a baby.  As it turned out, Emmalee was the ONLY girl there without a little brother or sister.  The girls were so cute an already knew just what to do with their babies.  

Kalan was one of the youngest girls there and she was the very fastest to diaper her baby.  She must be a great helper to her mamma ;0} 

 I purchased a bag of no-name newborn diapers for $5 from Walmart and gave each girl 3 or 4 diapers to take home for playtime later.

We also talked about feeding our babies and gave all the girls disappearing milk bottles {purchased at Dollar Tree} and let them take those home too.

Next we talked about bathing and swaddling the babies.  The girls all took turns giving baby a bath, then we practiced swaddling the babies in some nice stretchy knit blankets.

The last thing we did was talk about how babies have to go to the doctor a lot when they are little.  I happened upon a fabulous sale at the thrift store and got this pair of scrubs for just a buck or two.  I cut the legs off so they would be short enough for the little girls, but with the drawstring waist anyone can wear them!

I also happened across an actual doctor's coat at the same sale.  The girls all got a chance to dress up and play doctor.

I found some doctor's kits at Target for $1 and was so excited to hand those out to the girls to take home as well.  The babies were all checked out by their own doctor moms.

Finally, I passed out the goody bags given to us by American Girl so they could pack up all their goodies.  I had them put all their own diapers and such in their bags so nothing was lost or left behind.  We did make sure to keep lots of diapers and other things around for the girls to use to play with. 

Emmalee and I made this mailbox over summer break and brought it up to play with too.  It was a huge hit!  I grabbed a pile of bills {who needs them anyway} and let the kids load and empty the mailbox just like they have seen their mamas do.  

After the girls were all played out, Scott took them into the front room, along with some of the mother's that stayed to help, and read one of the stories American Girl had sent with our Bitty Baby.

Eli helped me clear out the toys and hurry to set up our tea party.  We had all sorts of goodies, crackers and chips, cookies, cupcakes, fruit and cheese.  

Somehow I managed to talk Eli into putting on the old "Man-Up" dress-up {WAAAAAY too short for him now!} and play the waiter for our tea party.

I think the biggest hit of the party was the lemonade.  I made the lemonade with half the powder it calls for, so it was not sweet at all.  Then I put a bowl of sugar cubes on the table and showed the girls how to stir the sugar into their lemonade to make it simply delicious!  They loved it :0}

While the girls ate and chatted, Scott and I filled the goodie bags with all the OTHER fun things American Girl had sent.  There were coloring pages, wishing stars, coupons, stickers, and even a 8x10 puzzle they all got to keep.

Thank you American Girl and HouseParty.com for hosting our fabulous Bitty Baby bash!  The girls all had a total blast and will always remember the fun they had with all the great prizes they got to take home!

DIY Diapers(little ones)

We have had our fair share of babies lately, running over to hold triplets every day.  I have been truly inspired by them and the fact that the only diaper Emmalee has for her babies is a plastic one so large it would covers the dolly eyeballs when we put it on.  That just wouldn't do!  I had this remnant piece of terry cloth-like stuff and decided to solve the problem.

Since you know you really wanted to make some diapers too, I will show you how I did it.  The whole project took less than 30 min.  Lay your baby on a piece of paper and mark about 2" wider on each side.  Cut that off.  Next, lay the baby on the paper, with the paper as high on the back as you want your diaper to be.  A measuring tape could be handy to measure with, I am just not sure where my kids have laid it to rest.  Next step, figure out how high you want the front of your diaper to come and cut the paper there also.  My square measured 7 1/2" wide by 6 1/2 " tall.  Our dolls are around 11" and 13".

Fold that paper in half, leaving about 1/2" more in the back than you did in the front.

Fold again so you have it in quarters.  Now, cut a little leg hole. 

Hold it up to the dolly to see if it will be too wide in the crotch.  Once you have that right, you can determine if the leg holes are high enough for the chubby little legs.  Aren't they cute!?!

Go ahead and try your pattern on the baby.  Remember that fabric will give more than the paper does.  You don't want to cut it too narrow and have body hanging out, but also don't want it too bunchy.  That wouldn't be comfortable for the poor baby :0)  It can also be hard for little hands to put on by themselves.

Since I am making one size of diaper, hoping they will fit both dolls, I tried my pattern on both.  This baby is a bit more fluffy in the body, like me :0) so I didn't want to cut it down any more. 

Now trim the front flaps at an angle, leaving room so you have space to attach the back straps.

At this point, I adjusted the front and back separately.  I folded the pattern in half so the two sides of the back matched up, and the two sides of the front matched up.  Then I made the leg opening slightly higher in the front, and curved the top of the back.  Cut a little, try it on, cut a little more until you are good with it.  Don't be afraid to use another piece of paper if you cut a little too far. 

When you are happy with your pattern, trace it on the fabric.  This fabric is 60 wide, giving me 5 diapers out of a 1/4 yd strip!  Don't you wish real diapers were that cheep!?!  I put the two fuzzy sides of the fabric together, traced the pattern with a ball point pen, then sewed around the edge.  I started sewing along the back edge, about 2-3" from an edge.  I sewed all the way around, stopping about 2" from where I started.

Cut 'er out.  If you stitch with a small stitch length, you can cut the fabric within 1/8-1/4" of the sewing and then you don't have to clip the curves, they will just lay flat like you want them too.  I like to leave a flap of fabric at the spot I left open.  It seems to help the fabric stay tucked in when I try to sew it shut.  Turn this diapy inside out, tucking in the flap/fabric at the opening, then top stitch around the whole thing on the sewing machine. 

So cute!  I thought long and hard about where to put the Velcro.  I tried a couple things and really liked this placement.  Put a 2" strip of the smoother side on the front flap.  Sew 2 1" pieces of the rougher stuff on the back flap, one on each end. 

I thought it would be better to put the softer Velcro facing the front so your cute little girls don't rub their arms along the scratchy stuff when they are carrying their little dollies all over the place.

Now we can rest at ease knowing that the diaper situation is well at hand!  For added fun, try funky flannel fabric or adding bows.  This makes for a quick project if you only have a little time to feel like you have accomplished something!