Friday, October 21, 2011

Cloth diapering...

$50.00 bill.  That is what it took to buy one big box of size 3 diapers, one big box of new born diapers and a big box of wipes.  WITH COUPONS!
We don't have that kind of money.  So I put on my thinking cap...


~Let's start this out by saying that in no way am I an expert in this field, I'm just learning as I go~

Good, now that we got that out of the way, let's dive in:


We started cloth diapering a few months ago and my sweet friend let me borrow some of hers.  She had taken a hiatus from it and I took full advantage of her untouched stash {grin}.  I had a baby and we stopped for a week or two, but we are now in the grind of it with 2 babes in those cloth diapers.

So many people have asked me what we do and our routine... this is what works for us, but everyone has to find their grove.  It's a big commitment, so find what works and stick to it.

These are the diapers that are currently in our pile:

GoGreen Diapers (they are pocket diapers)

Bunz 'n Roses






Flip diapers (they are insert diapers):
Flip Cloth Diaper Cover & Stay-Dry Insert

Bum genius (pocket diapers):
bumGenius Elemental<br />One-Size Cloth Diaper

G diapers (insert diapers):
sweet bundle with gCloth


Tri-folds with thirsties babe covers:


Check them our here.


First, before you do anything, make sure that both parents (and care giver, is applicable) are all on board, if not, then one person is going to be doing a lot of work!


When we change the babe, we have a diaper container that was given to us (normally used for disposables) and we take it apart and put the dirty diaper in there.  

  • If there is poop, then flush whatever will drop off the diaper.  
  • If it is wet, then the wipe goes in the trash can.
When I put a new liner in the said pail, I take an old wash cloth and get it fully wet and rung out with vinegar.  I then sprinkle scented oil on the wash cloth and put in the bottom on the liner... on wash day you will be super thankful you did!!



We also have these awesome really thin paper like liners that we put on the girls between the diaper and the skin.  It keeps most of the poop off the diaper.

I wash them all together on warm water and line dry.
When I wash all the diapers, I first do a rinse cycle, then wash a regular washing cycle with soap.

Different diapers you can dry in the dryer others you can't. 
I just line dry all of them to make it easier on myself.  And no, I do not wash them every day!  About every other day, maybe 2 days.  


My favorite diapers (that is what everyone wants to know and everyone has an opinion, so here is mine):


  • I LOVE the gogreen diapers.  They are the best for my oldest.  They have EXCELLENT customer service that responds super fast.  While they are not local to me, they are a small company in CO.  They also are the best for your money... around $8-$10 per diaper.  They do not work very well on my newborn... proof is in the laundry!

  • I also LOVE the flip diapers for when we are at home.  They are super easy as you leave the cover on and just change the liner.  Covers work great on both babes!

  • I like the bum genius diapers but feel like they are a little over priced.  If you can find them on sale or at a consignment store, then yes, get it.

  • For My newborn, I love the thirsties baby covers and we use a tri-fold liner.  I know it's old school, but these are not the Gerber kind and they actually work.  They have these cool "Y" shaped hooks to hold it together.  

  • Gdiapers... I do not like them.  They are at the bottom of the pile and are used only when I wait too long to wash :(  They leak all the time.  They were part of the stash that I borrowed.  My said friend had the same problem and through that it was because she had a boy... not the case.  I even youtubed it to make sure I was putting it on right.  Yes, they are the easiest to find, but it will make you jump off the band wagon really fast out of frustration!


Wet Bags:



I made mine and there are some great tutorials online.  The one that I used, didn't turn out the way that I wanted it too, I will be making mine over when I get a chance.  But I love making them because you can pick out exactly what you want!  If you can sew, don't be intimidated by the zipper, if I can do it, you can do it!  If you are, then email me and I'll make it for you!




Sprayers:
Tried and true, right here.  Tried to save some money and made it ourselves.  Well Frank made it.  It was horrible.  I did what our pre-marital counselor told us, I fed him, let him take a nap and sent him in there... Still he got frusterated.  The actual cost was about $3 cheaper than the ones you can buy and hook up.  But that $3 savings was NOT WORTH IT... just break down and buy the thing!!


In the short month that we have started, we have broken even.  So go and do it and save some muh-lah!!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Is this a joke...

So I will confess:
I have an eating problem.  There I said it.  No, it's not that throwing up shenanigans that happened in my early twenties.  It's quite the opposite and I cannot stop.  I have portion control issues.  On top of my sweet tooth, I'm in big trouble.  The other night I ran out for a quick errand and there was that AMAZING (proof that there is a God and he wants us to be happy) candy and it was on sale!!

Caramel Creams

It's my favorite, seriously, I could eat the whole bag.  I asked Frank to take them away from me and to only give me ONE when I really wanted one and only one.  I asked for ONE tonight.  He said that they were in the freezer.  I secretly thought, "great, that frozen carmel is going to rip out my fillings... but totally worth it!"

Well that punk did this:


HE FROZE IT!!

The candies are in a ziploc bag and frozen in a smaller container.  That container is frozen in another one... 


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Oh life...

So my last post was a little depressing... but it was real.  It was what is really going on in my life right now.  I cannot stand it when I read other women's blogs and it's all rainbows and fairytales.  I know I need encouragement more than anything right now.  There is this women at our church down in Charleston.  I had this idea in my head that she gets up while it's still dark and reads her bible every morning.  She is always freshly showered when she wakes her kids up and cooks them breakfast.  They then have their day of perfect homeschooling.  Dinner is always ready when her husband comes home from work.  Well, turns out, I was wrong.  I was as wrong as I could be.  It was the most encouragement that I have received knowing that it was a good day for her when she did not wear sweat pants and actually made dinner.  That the TV is one more than it should be and getting up before the kids is a miracle.  Thank you for the grace that was given to me...

On the lighter note, I have tons of pictures on my camera to share of our sweet new baby, but it will not load on the computer and I have not made it a priority to sit down and figure it out.  I will keep moving it on my to do list day after day of the million things to do.  Right now, I must go and feed that little one!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

4 weeks and counting...

Emma Kate turned 4 weeks this week (Tuesday she will be 5 weeks).  She wants to be a great sleeper, but there is gas and spitting up that is holding her back.  This was causing some major pain, so I took her to the Dr. and they gave her some medication to help her out.  Last night was a dream {no sleepy yawn here}.  She was able to go the 4 hours at night between feedings perfectly.  There was no waking up Frank to help me out, or Emma Kate I should say!

I need to be honest, it's been hard.  These sleepless nights mixed with the house to maintain and a now toddler to chase around during the day.  Frank is doing this internship at our church in Charleston and is commuting down there for all day Tuesday and Wednesday... thank goodness my parents have really helped me out, even if it's just to have us over for dinner on Tuesday night and entertain Annabelle for a hot second so I can sit down for a minute.

I'm trying my best to breastfeed Emma Kate.  Can I tell you how hard it is?  It's hard to remember to drink enough water.  It's hard to confine Annabelle for 40 minutes while I feed Emma Kate.  It's hard to not worry that there's enough in there and that she's getting enough from me.  It's hard when you are on a date with your hubby sans kids and a baby starts crying, well, you know what happens.

Last night Frank was giving me a pep talk that he knew was over due and much needed.  He said that all these things are lies straight from hell trying to keep what's the best from our baby.  It took all I had to not start crying, no they were not hormones, they were from that little place in your heart that cries out when truth is told.  It's from the same place when you hear a really amazing story of redemption or healing.  True healing.

Can I tell you how I struggle with the lies that lurk around?  Have you heard about men and the mental rolodex that they have of images that have been burned in their heads?  Well, I'm convinced that women have it too.  Ours is not of images of things we have seen, but rather lies that have been told to us.  Lies either the enemy has put there or of what people have said to us.  I tried to explain this to Frank, but he didn't get it.  In a moment of weakness that rolodex will start rolling of the lies of inadequacy, failure, doubt or even just negativity in general.  There are lies about your self worth and self image (can I get an amen?).  Can I tell you I fight my rolodex every day, multiple times a day.  Let's start with the biggest lie EVER.  When I take a shower and I look at myself in the mirror, I think "no one would ever love you, even frank, look at how fat you are."  Now in my head I know, I just had 2 babes in one year.  In the last 24 months, I have been preggo for 20 of them.  There was a lot of stretching and fries that happened.  Frank loves me, I know it.  His actions speak volumes and he can't keep his hands of me :)  But telling my heart to believe what my head is thinking is the issue.

Can we be honest together as women, as momma's?  Can I confess to you that I'm a terrible house keeper?  Can I confess that if you come over and it's spotless, there was most likely some intense fellowship that took place before you got here and Frank did the running around to get our house presentable.  Can I tell you that the worst part is that I really do want a clean house, I just don't execute the chore list, hardly ever.  Can I confess that I get really frustrated at my sweet husband for not picking up after himself, but I am even worst at picking up after myself.  How can I teach my sweet babes to pick up when I don't do it.  I want to do it all, I really do.  I want to have an immaculate house that has no dog hair and super clean toilets and a spotless kitchen.  I want to be super organized.  I want to show off my closets and filing cabinet, I really do.  I'm looking for the motivation to get there while maintaining the balance of healthy family time.
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