Adventures in Cloth Diapering: Part 1 - Making Decisions

I had planned on writing a blog about our new cloth diapers, but it's taken me awhile to get to it - and now that I have a few moments I also have several more things cloth diaper related to blog about. I am really enjoying cloth diapering, but we've hit some bumps along the way that have made for an interesting experience.

Pre-kiddos I never gave much thought to using cloth diapers. A conversation came up once at work between my mother-in-law and another co-worker about how they had used cloth when their kids were babies simply because it was so much cheaper. My mother-in-law felt she'd earned the right to use disposables after dealing with all the folding, pins and plastic covers. Can't say I blame her, because that sounded to me like a lot of work. My only contribution to the conversation was to say that I thought cloth diapering was 'nasty' and there was no way I'd ever use cloth diapers on my kids, no matter what the savings. Foot? Meet mouth.

The idea of two kids in diapers at the same time really made me put the savings of cloth diapers into perspective. When I found out I was pregnant with Elena I started looking into the idea. I'd been better introduced to the more modern cloth diapers they have now thanks to a couple online message boards I participate in, as well as seeing some in person that Special Ed's Wife was using on her daughter. I was curious how cloth diapers worked so I started asking more questions - Which cloth diapers are the 'best'? How are they cleaned? Is it a pain? Is it really gross? Does it significantly add to your energy and water bills? I really liked the diapers I saw Special Ed's Wife using - they looked pretty simple to use and put on, almost like a disposable.

We ended up deciding against cloth at the time. Nathan wasn't 100% sure he liked the idea of using diapers that had to be washed - he gets gaggy around baby poop. ;) It was also the larger amount of money up front that we would have had to put out that turned us off, though I'm now rolling my eyes a little at this reasoning. We ended up spending that much on disposables within 3 months after Elena was born. When Elena was about 5 months old I started mentioning the idea of cloth diapers to Nathan again whenever we would go buy a new box of diapers and it wasn't long before he was agreeing with me. Nathan is nothing if frugal and spending that much on diapers was putting a huge drain on our grocery budget. I sat down one night and figured out the cost of disposables for the next year and a half, assuming we would continue to buy diapers at the same rate we were then (a huge Costco box about every 2 - 3 weeks) and compared it to the approximate cost of cloth diapers - the savings worked out to be about $700 and that was more than enough of a savings to convince us!

So now that we knew we for sure wanted to switch - we had to face an even bigger decision - what diapers do we get? Entering the world of cloth diapers is a bit overwhelming. There are so many different choices and when you ask for opinions 5 different cloth diapering moms can give you 5 different answers on what the best cloth diapers are.

The cheapest option by far is prefolds + covers, which was what my mother-in-law used. Now they have a fun invention called a snappi that means you no longer need to use pins. You can also skip the pins or snappi all together and just fold it in 3rds and lay inside a cover. There are a multitude of cover options now besides the wool and plastic covers my mother-in-law had. I thought prefolds didn't sound too bad, but Nathan didn't like the idea of them, especially if we had to use pins or a snappi. And I admit, I'm not sure if my kids would hold still long enough to get the diaper on and snappi'd in place. I'm slightly afraid of leaks by just laying the prefold inside the cover. But there are so many cute covers out there, I am tempted to buy some prefolds just so I can buy a few cute covers to use.

Nathan's one request was that the diapers be as similar to a disposable as possible. The cloth diapers most similar to a disposable are called All-In-Ones (AIO) diapers. The waterproof cover and the inside absorbent part are all sewn together. I like the look of them but I have been told they take considerable more time to dry than other diapers so I nixed them from our list. I just don't have the patience for something to take an hour or more to dry. I was also worried that the waterproof cover part of the diaper would wear out faster being constantly dried in the dryer. I don't mind line drying but I don't imagine it would dry very fast on a clothes line or drying rack either.

The next closest diapers to disposables are pockets and All-In-Two (AI2) diapers. I like both of these types a lot. The pockets have a waterproof outer cover that has a soft lining inside - usually fleece which helps a baby to feel 'dry' - and a pocket that you stuff an absorbent insert into. The nice thing about these is that if you need more absorbency you can just stuff more into the diaper. Most inserts are typically microfiber, but you can also change it up by using hemp or bamboo, which are more absorbent and trimmer. AI2 diapers are like pockets - without the pockets. Instead the insert lays or snaps into the cover. The advantage to an AI2 diaper is that the cover can usually be reused 2 - 5 times before it needs to be washed so you don't have to buy as many covers.

I did lots of research and asked a lot of questions on cloth diapering forums and we finally decided on an AI2 diaper from Softbums. What sold me on these diapers was mostly the ease of adjustability. I knew we wanted a one size diaper so that we could use it on both kids. Most one-size diapers use 3 rows of snaps in the front that you can fold down and snap to adjust the rise of the diapers. Softbums diapers however have a very stretchy elastic in the leg gussets of the diaper. There is a tiny pocket in the front of the diaper that you stick your fingers into and you find a small toggle - like on a hoodie drawstring - that you use to tighten or loosen the diaper this way. This makes it easy to fit on practically any baby.

These are our new diapers:



There are unfortunately no girlie colors because they were out of stock. I'm hoping to add some pink to the collection later.

This gives you an idea of how adjustable it is:



I was surprised how small the diapers looked when they were sized all the way down. I was curious so I compared one with a disposable newborn diaper I have leftover from Elena. I think the Softbums diaper may actually fit a newborn - even one of my 6 - 7 lbs newborns. Most one-size diapers claim to fit a baby from about 8lbs - 35 lbs but from what I've read the reality is that they don't usually fit properly until 10 - 12 lbs. Not something I need to worry about now, but if we decide to have another in the future it would be nice to not have to buy disposables for the newborn stage.



Once we decided on the diapers we had to start thinking about everything else we would need. How would we store the dirty diapers? What would we use to wash the diapers? How do we handle poopy diapers?

We like the wet bags they have to store dirty diapers. We ended up ordering 2 of them - one of them is large enough to be used as a pail liner if we ever decide to use a pail. For now it is just tied to the doorknob of the laundry room door. The other is a bit smaller, but it's my favorite one by far and it's still large enough to hold all the diapers I need for 2 days. It has a hook to hang it from the doorknob easily (the other one regularly comes untied) and it has a zipper close instead of a drawstring close which is much easier to use - and it's still stink free when closed. I like that we have two though so that I can still use one while I'm washing the other (they get washed with the diapers). We got a 3rd one as apart of a free sample pack, just a small one that we can use in our diaper bag for cloth diapering on the go.

We considered a diaper sprayer for the poopy diapers (it attaches to your toilet and you just spray the poop off) but in the mean time we bought flushable liners - they catch all the poop so all you have to do is dump in the toilet and flush it away. They are an added expense but at $6 for a roll of 100 it's nothing like buying disposables. They were doing the job quite well but I'm now re-considering the sprayer after the mess I had today...

Before we started looking into cloth diapers I didn't think much about our detergent. I figured we could use the same detergent we have now - Kirkland Free & Clear. I was told that I should probably use a cloth diaper detergent. I wasn't sure if I really 'had' to do that or not. We decided to use Purex since that's what Softbums recommends on their diapers, but when Nathan went to pick it up it didn't have the HE symbol on it and we weren't sure if we could use it in our HE washer. I decided to go ahead and use the Kirkland detergent. I did order some Rockin Green diaper detergent, but I figured that the Kirkland would work just fine in the meantime. Boy was I wrong - but that saga belongs in it's own blog.

There were also a few things I didn't think about, like a diaper rash cream. We rarely use that here but what I do have on hand - desitin - is not cloth diaper friendly. It has fish oil in it and will apparently make your diapers smell like fish, not to mention create a buildup that will reduce the absorbency of the diapers. I can't find anything in the store that is acceptable so I think I'll have to buy some from a cloth diaper retailer online. But other than the rash cream, we are pretty much set.

I didn't realize how long this blog was going to become, I hope you all made it this far. If you found this even remotely interesting, stay tuned for my next installment all about overnight leaks and laundry issues.

Bye Bye Bottles

I never intended to have a toddler with a bottle....but best laid plans and all...you know how those go! Gabe ended up on bottles well past a year and we just went with the flow. His ped has been thankfully encouraging about it since Gabe is a very picky eater, and our main concern has been getting enough calories in him. We did wean him down to only a bedtime bottle by 15 months.

Much to my shock and surprise (and joy!) Gabe decided a week ago that he is done with bottles. We have been offering him one at bedtime and for the last few weeks he's only had about 2 or 3 ounces out of it before giving it back. A week ago he refused it all together, for 3 nights in a row. We just went with it and now he is completely off bottles and doesn't miss them at all. He gets a sippy of milk instead, with a 'splash' of chocolate flavoring, since he won't drink it unsweetened. I spent all this time dreading the day when I finally took them away, and anticipating total meltdowns...and all that stress was wasted on nothing. :D

Elena on the other hand seems more than ready to give up her bottle if I were to take it away. I have been offering her staw cups of water with meals, and she took to them almost right away. I offered her straw sippy of formula yesterday and she drank it all in about 10 minutes. We had a little spillage and she probably needs a full length bib...but overall she did really well! I have decided to offer her sippies during the day and only bottles in the morning and at bedtime. I hope to have her off bottles by 9/10 months so long as she doesn't mind. I'll be happy to put away the bottles for good!

Pumpkin Carving and Costumes

We had a lot of fun this Halloween as a family. On Saturday we had our first pumpkin carving ever. I will admit that I don't enjoy pumpkin carving. The guts kind of gross me out. Last year we decided to just skip it, since Gabe wouldn't remember anyway. But this year we both really wanted Gabe to 'help' carve his first ever pumpkin so I but the bullet and we did it (though Nathan did all the gutting and carving!). Gabe wasn't sure what he thought of pumpking guts. He was hesitant to touch them and then once he did, he decided they were slimy and gross (guess he's just like his Mama!). He did taste a tiny piece that was on the floor but promptly made a nasty face and spit it right back out. He had a lot of fun using the pumpkin scraper to try and empty the bowl of pumpkin guts, though. Elena had much more fun with the bowl of pumpkin guts. She threw her hands in there and went to town, but was sadly disappointed by the taste.







Saturday night we visited City Girl's house for a fun Halloween party - pizza and brownies and Simpson's Halloween - oh my! I wish we could have stayed later, we really enjoyed ourselves. The costumes were great. Thanks City Girl!





On Sunday we got both the kids dressed up - Gabe as a dinasour and Elena as a cat - and went trick-or-treating. Elena obviously had no clue what we were doing and Gabe didn't understand much either besides the fact that there were suckers in his pail and he wanted them. He was bored quickly but I had fun getting them both dressed up. We visited a few houses and then went to my inlaws for dinner. All in all, we had a fun Halloween.

For B

Today in church, one of B's little girls came up and asked me if she could hold Elena. I let her and while she sat next to me holding Elena she told me all about how her mommy is having a baby too because she prayed for it. It was very cute, and of course I had to snap a little picture on my phone. So this is for you B. :-) Can't wait to meet your next little one, only a few more months!

Long overdue

Both Elena and this blog! ;-)

Two weeks late, I am finally getting around to writing Elena's birth announcement here. The basics - Elena Grace was born on May 6th at 5:38am weighing 7 lbs 8 oz and 21.5 inches long. I was 41 weeks 3 days.

The long story:

On Wednesday the 5th I woke up feeling pretty 'done'. More so than I'd felt in the previous couple weeks. I was exhausted, sore and all those fun things that go with the end of pregnancy. I called and left a message with my OB to get induced ASAP and waited anxiously for her to call me back. She didn't call me back all day however and I spent the day feeling fairly irritable and trying to not take it out on other people. I was having sporadic contractions but nothing to really pay attention to. My wonderful friend and neighbor mommagriffith invited us over for dinner which lifted my mood considerably and so we went over there and had yummy Mexican. While we were there was when I started to notice I was having more contractions that seemed fairly close together. I didn't think much of them, though. A few days previously I'd had a long bout of regular contractions that went away and I thought the same thing was happening again. When we got home from dinner there was a message on my answering machine from my OB to make an appointment the following day so we could discuss induction and I felt relieved thinking there was an 'end' in site. Nathan encouraged me to time the contractions I was having, which I thought was silly, but I agreed anyway. I noticed right away the contractions were 5 - 7 minutes apart but I definitely didn't consider them to be that painful. Uncomfortable yes, but nothing I couldn't handle fairly easily. I was having a lot of pain in my back though so I bounced on my exercise ball for awhile which really helped.

After awhile of timing contractions I decided to run a bath and see if that would help my body relax. I still felt that these contractions were not 'real' and I was getting pretty tired and just wanted them to go away so I could go to bed. The bath was very nice, but the contractions continued. After I got out of the bath I tried walking around to see if I could get the contractions closer together and more intense, but that didn't work. They continued to stay at the 5 - 7 minutes apart and of mild to moderate intensitity.

I'd been timing contractions on and off for 5 hours when I thought maybe I'd just try to go to bed. I was so tired. I didn't make it laying down through more than 4 contractions though. Up and moving they didn't feel bad, but lying in bed made them almost unbearable. I started to feel fairly overwelmed at this point. I was still certain that this labor was not real, or that it was very early labor, but it was uncomfortable enough that I couldn't get any rest. Around midnight I decided to call the labor and delivery floor to see what they suggested. They suggested that I come in right away, since I'd been experiencing contractions for so long without them going away, and told me that my OB would likely not send me home, even if this was not real labor. I woke up Nathan and we called his mom to come and sit with Gabe. It was while we were getting ready to go when I started to notice the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. It was almost like I needed that mental 'I'm having a baby today!' thought in order for things to really get going. By the time we got in the car I was quite uncomfortable.

The drive to the hospital was by no means fun, but it wasn't any worse than I expected. Having to labor while sitting strapped into a seat has got to be one of the most uncomfortable ways to labor though. When we got to the hospital the only real thought in my mind was 'I want that epidural, and I want it now' but sadly that wasn't going to happen right away. They got me admitted and hooked up to the monitors. I think laboring flat in your back in bed has also got to be one of the worst ways to labor but I sucked it up and gripped the bed rails for dear life while they got their 15 minute strip of the baby's heartbeat and my contraction pattern. After they got that they checked me and with a contraction pattern of 3 - 5 minutes apart and a check showing I was 4 - 5 cm along put me into the category of 'active labor' (no really? haha). I begged them to get the jacuzzi tub going and call anesthesia ASAP.

Now I've heard that laboring in a jacuzzi tub is like a 'natural epidural' to which I must laugh. No, no it is not. It was nice in the sense that I could relax better between my contractions but the contractions themselves were just as intense. I did enjoy the tub though and was glad I had that to labor in while I waited for my epidural. Anesthesia actually arrived fairly quickly and it didn't take long to get set up and get the epidural placed. Once it was placed I was one happy mom. I got checked again and was 6 - 7 cm but baby was still up at a -1 station. Nathan and I decided to take the time to relax and try to nap before delivery time.

I couldn't actually nap because I was still feeling intense pressure with my contractions, however I was able to doze between them well and I felt so much better not being in pain. Around 4:30 I started noticing a difference in the contractions, I was starting to feel an urge to push, but it wasn't a very strong urge and I was honestly too tired to buzz the nurses to tell them. At 5:00 my OB came in and checked me and found I was complete, baby at a +2 station and we could push whenever I wanted to. I was surprised, because it had all seemed to happen so fast. We woke up Nathan and my OB got all gowned up and within 10 minutes I was ready to push.

Pushing this time was an entirely different experience than it was with Gabe. I won't go into too many details, but my epidural was absolutely perfect. I was numbed enough to not feel too much pain, but I could feel all that intense pressure and my pushing was so well controlled. I won't say it seemed easy, because pushing is not easy, but it was 10 times better. It also took considerable less time! In fact, it took so little time to push her out that in that moment they took her out and put her on my chest I hadn't even fully had the time to process it. I just stared at her and couldn't believe she was finally born! No crying this time, unlike with Gabe, but I think that's because I was in so much shock and I felt such wonder looking at my beautiful baby girl.

She's got this amazing olive skin tone and a full head of dark hair. I'm not quite sure how Nathan and I produced a girl who looks so dark, but I love it! She is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way.

My recovery this time has been so much easier as well, something I am so grateful for.

Here is her first picture, right after her bath:



Happy family:


Next blog: Elena's hospital trip. I'll write that one when I get a chance! Hopefully it won't take me too long.

Birthday Boy

I feel a bit guilty that this blog is coming 4 days late. Ooops!

This year has gone by much, much too quickly. It's hard to imagine to me that a year a go today I was sitting at home with my 4 day old baby boy. And right now he's walking around the living room attemtping to beat up my exercise ball! How did he get so big so fast??

We had a nice little party for him Tuesday evening. My inlaws and Nathan's grandparents came over and we enjoyed presents and cake. I don't have many pictures because I spent the time filming on the video camera or helping him open his gifts, but hopefully Nathan's step-grandpa will share the pictures with me he took. The gifts Gabe got were wonderful of course and he's in love with all of them.

Gabe didn't really enjoy the cake, but I'm not surprised. I enjoyed watching him hesitantly test it out anyway! Nathan finally thought it would be fun to shove Gabe's hands into the cake and see how he'd react. He wasn't super pleased and it resulted in him needing an immediate bath!

Gabe only a few minutes after he was born:


My big boy on his birthday:


Motherhood is quite different than I thought it would be. I knew of course that I would love my child. But I never understood what the depth of my love for him would be. It's been a wild ride this year, and I'm looking forward to doing it all over again!

Nook!

Today I had quite a surprise when my husband came home from work. He had to drive out to Tigard today for work, and he told me when he was driving home that he'd gotten me a gift. Now when I thought gift, I was thinking flowers or perhaps a box of my favorite Tim Tams or some random baby item. Instead I about fell over when he handed me a Nook.

I was, at a time, totally against e-readers. I heard of the kindle and was just not impressed. To me, I felt books should always be read on paper. I didn't like this new idea of turning a book into something similar to an ipod or a small laptop. I also was under the assumption that it would be similar to reading a book on a laptop - something I have done and do not enjoy. After awhile it really starts to hurt my eyes.

Once I had Gabe though, I started to really see the advantages of an e-reader. I honestly haven't read much since he's been born. I'm too busy and by the time I get a moment to myself, I'm usually falling into bed out of exhaustion. It was simply not practical to hold Gabe while holding a book at the same time. So my books have been collecting dust on my shelves. And admittedly, some of my borrowed books are gathering dust too (really must return them...). I started thinking recently how much easier it would be to have an e-reader that I could just carry around the house with me. Something I could hold in one hand while also holding a child. Not to mention I'm running out of room to store books. I still wasn't totally sold, but was thinking of it. Then whem mammagriffith got one and I saw it I was definitely in love with it. I like the digital ink screen the absolute best. No eye strain! I have all ready started to pour into one of the free classics provided with the nook - Little Women.

I'm still in awe that Nathan even thought to get me the nook. He knew I wanted one, but I didn't imagine us purchasing it anytime soon. It was very sweet of him. He told me I deserved something nice for myself. Yes, I almost started tearing up.