8 Months!

7 months old!

So posting has been light again because I have a 7 month old and that equals not a whole lot of time. So here is the monthly post and I will try and come up with something else before we get to 8 months. I have about 3 weeks :)

Cloth Diapering - The First Chapter

So who wants to talk about some diapers?! :) 

I don't really remember when or why I decided to cloth diaper. I knew that my mom had done that with us a little bit but cloth diapering way back in the 80's was all about those thick, white cloths that turned into great house rags and sharp pins for closing. I know that I read a few articles and blogs about cloth diapering and it just seemed like a great way to save money and save some world from some trash.  I have to admit that the #1 reason that I got on board with cloth diapering was the idea that our monthly baby budget would be less if we weren't throwing that money away with disposable diapers. The fact that our baby would be exposed to fewer chemicals by using cloth was also a big plus. I was sold with one little minor detail just kind of hanging out there.

I had little, ok, NO  experience with regular diapers or baby's diaper habits.

Cloth sounded amazing to me but I got a lot of raised eyebrows when I first announced that I wanted to go that route. Mostly from people who probably had a whole more experience with babies and what babies do in those diapers then I did. I can be a stubborn girl and I had done a lot of research and was convinced that I knew what I was talking about and was forging ahead, cloth diapers in hand.

I accumulated our whole cloth diaper stash before Lucy was born. I knew that BumGenius and Fuzzibunz diapers were two of the most popular brands and they make up the bulk of what we use. There are systems out there that allow you to try a variety of brands to find what works for you. I lucked out that what I have has worked out really well for us so far.

Just a couple of the diapers in our cloth diaper stash. 

In the beginning I realized very quickly that there were many things that I thought I had done enough research about but was left stunned and grasping to get a handle on. Babies are tricky little things. Big mysteries wrapped up in big gummy smiles and squishy skin. I wasn't planning on doing the cloth diapers until she was about 2-3 months old just to get a grip on things before throwing a new curve ball.  It is kind of funny to me now that I thought you got a grip and things just sail along at a certain point in a baby's life. Ha, yea right. Anyways....

I started to cloth diaper around 3 months and it was going well. But that only lasted a couple weeks before we hit some major sleep issues and I was my own version of a bad zombie movie and the idea of adding any additional work, like washing cloth diapers, seemed incredibly difficult. So the cloth diapers went back on the shelf for a little while. 

I decided to get back on the cloth diaper bandwagon after the holidays (didn't plan to do cloth while we were traveling) and was a little scared that it wasn't going to work out like I originally hoped. I had taken a stab at it once and knew I had boldly proclaimed I was going to do this long before I had become a full fledged mom and didn't want to have to eat my words. 

When I jumped back in and started using the cloth again I was surprised that it really wasn't that bad and didn't seem like such a burden. Things were going pretty well and I knew that the timing was right and it was going to stick this time. We have been sticking with cloth diapers since then and it really has been much easier then I think I ever really thought it would be. We are getting into solids now which will bring on some new challenges (breastfed babies don't really have *terrible* diapers) but I'm arming myself and ready to keep up with what we have started. 

Now on to the real details about what we are doing and what is working. 

Like I mentioned before I read a number of blogs in preparing to cloth diaper. Some of the blogs that were really helpful to me were My Life in Transition, Oh! Apostrophe and Elefantitas Alegres. Great resources, these ladies know what they are doing and were a HUGE help in the information process for me. 

We have about 24 diapers, most of which are the BumGenius one size brand with snaps. I had heard that the snaps do better with washing then the velcro.  I really like the BumGenius brand the best. It has a great fit and we haven't had leak trouble. We had a lot of blow outs back when we were using disposable diapers but amazingly it has not been an issue when we switched over to cloth.

I do keep disposable diapers around for when we are out and when we are traveling away from home. It is funny how once we got back into the swing of things with cloth I really don't even like to use disposable ('sposies) anymore. The only exception to this is at night. Sleep is sacred and I don't want her sleep (or mine) sabotaged because of a wet diaper. At night we use Huggies Overnight Diapers which have been great. So one disposable diaper a day and a box lasts us about 3 months. Not too shabby.

Now on to the dirty details. Along with doing cloth diapers I decided to also do cloth wipes so I wasn't tossing wipes into the laundry basket. I know this might sound really gross to some people but it is surprisingly not that bad. I mean baby diapers aren't exactly a party no matter what method you go with but this isn't shouldn't be something you fear if you go the cloth diaper route.

I have a stash of fleece wipes that I use. It was a fleece blanket that was cut with pinking shears so it doesn't fray and I use those as the basis of my wipes. I have an empty disposable wipe box that I put stack of cloth wipes in and then I add some baby shampoo, some apricot oil and a bit of water to make up my wipe solution. I go the Rachael Ray way and just eyeball the amounts so that it soaks the wipes enough.

When a diaper is soiled I take it and separate the pocket liner from the diaper before putting it in the laundry bag (aka a trash can with a special laundry bag in it).  I use a dry wipe if the diaper is especially funky and then I have no contact with the funkiness. Since it all gets washed you can get liberal with the wipes for things because it is going to be washed and re-used. No point in being stingy here! 

I use a pre-treat laundry spray that helps with killing the smell of the diapers. I got mine at Whole Foods and it really helps. For diaper rash I use Grandma El's diaper cream. You have to be careful of the kind of cream you use with cloth because it can cause repelling which is BAD news for your diapers.  Along with using the cloth wipe mixture I listed above I also use California Baby Diaper Solution. It isn't cheap but I love how it smells and it only takes a little bit and a dry cloth for when she has just had a wet diaper and doesn't need a full service clean up. And the last tool in my arsenal is the Bummi Liners. I haven't started using these just yet but they are to help with things now that we are moving away from only being breastfed to entering the world of solids and when things are now about to get more....solid....in the diapers :) I will update the next level of cloth diapering in a few months once we have dabbled in this area more.

As far as cleaning goes it is a fairly simple routine. I wash diapers about every 3 days. I first take my laundry bag and dump everything into the washer and turn the bag inside out. The bag I use is the Kissaluv Pail Liner.  It just goes in a regular trash can, nothing fancy.

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I have the old school washer, top loading, which happens to work great for cloth diapers because of the high water level as opposed to the front loading fancy modern looking machines. This was actually the reason I choose the old school model when we bought our appliances.  I run the diapers with cold water to wash out all the nasty first. After that rinse I add some Charlie's Soap with the hot cycle. 

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I use Charlie's Soap for all the baby clothes washing. Lucy has sensitive skin and this stuff is great at just getting it clean without any dyes or scent. I bought some Rockin' Green originally which is highly recommended but my little girl just can't handle it on her skin.  Once they are all squeaky clean I toss everything into the dryer and put it on a low heat dry. If I have anything with some staining to it then it goes out on to the drying rack so that the sun can do its magic and bleach those stains right out. Once everything is dry it is time to stuff the diapers back together and we are ready for another round.

And there you have it. That is our diaper routine.

I really like the BumGenius diapers a lot. Our little one has some chunky legs and the BumGenius seems to be the best brand to handle her size. I don't care for the Fuzzibunz brand so much. I'm not saying it is bad but I bought a couple of one size Fuzzibunz diapers from their "seconds" site where the diapers have some minor issues but nothing major wrong with them. They just seem too small and don't seem to fit her as well as the BumGenius diapers do. 

 If you are thinking about cloth diapering and have some questions feel free to ask.  It is surprisingly easier then I would have ever thought.  And who doesn't love a little cloth diapered booty?

6 Months Old

The Monday Update

A little Monday update.

Operation Nap In Crib has been going pretty well. We started a nap routine so she knows that it is nap time, a lot like having a bedtime routine so it signals to her that its time to sleep.  I was surprised at how quickly she picked up on it and was able to put herself to sleep.  Very good at putting herself to sleep, not so good at staying asleep.

At 30 min on the dot her little eyes pop open every time. Set your DVR to it kind of predictability.  We are working on getting her schedule back under control, trying to figure out if she is going to sleep under tired and that is why she takes short naps or if she is over tired and is restless, hence the short naps.  I'm really not a fan of the short naps. It's pretty hard to get things done during the day when you only have 30 min at a time to do it.  It has effected her night sleep a little bit on the particularly rough days. I've heard it isn't really all that unusual for babies her age to take these short naps but hopefully she can start stretching them out a little bit soon.

The only T.V. I have time for lately is our version of I Love Lucy via the video monitor.


I'm planning on doing a post on cloth diapers. It has been going really well and I'm excited to share what has been working for us. I did a TON of research on the topic when I was pregnant so maybe someone else will be able to benefit from my experience so far.

Guess whose 30 min nap is over.....gotta go!

Sunday Randoms

• This week I am going to stop letting Little Miss Lucy sleep in her swing for all her naps and start taking all of them in her crib.  She has LOVED sleeping in her swing and I have LOVED that she sleeps.

The picture above is when she was MUCH smaller. It is safe to say that her head is at the top and her feet hang over the edge now. She hasn't been napping as well in the swing which I'm taking as her sign to me to cut the cord, bite the bullet and get her to start taking her naps in the crib.

It's gonna be a FUN week at our house :)


On to a much more fun topic.

 • Spring baby girl clothes.

 I wasn't that excited about fall and winter clothes for her for some reason but there is something about all the spring clothes that is just beyond adorable. Proof.

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And don't EVEN get me started on baby swim suits.

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I am a very practical woman. I'm not a shopaholic by any means and I can be a tad bit "thrifty" at times. But Carter's and Gymboree OWN me.

• I want to make a growth chart. Julia from My Life In Transition has an awesome one based on a really large ruler. While I think her's turned out really great I don't think I want to go with wood since we will have to move again. At least once. Probably more then once more and I feel like a cloth growth chart would be easier in this case. My mom had a "grow worm" cloth growth chart for us that I'm pretty sure is still hanging in the coat closet. I'm trying to brain storm the game plan right now and have to reign myself in from just throwing something together. When I get an idea I like to go into it 100% and then sometimes wish I had taken more time to really plot things out first.

Side note but one of JB3's biggest pet peeves is when people say "I gave it 110%" or any number beyond 100%. He's very analytical like that. His point being why stop at 110%, why not 150% or 200%. It has now become one of my pet peeves when I hear someone say that. In general most sports cliches I find kind of annoying so this just gets thrown on the pile.



Anyone else adopt one of their husband/wife/friend's pet peeves?

Letting It Go

Little Miss Lucy doesn’t like to sleep. She has to be encouraged to sleep every time. She never “just” falls asleep somewhere. Like playing with her toys or being held. We use all the sleep gimmicks. White noise. Sleep Sheep. Swaddle. Magic Sleep Suit (our current straight jacket method). That is a lot of S’s but still not a lot of the most important s-word, sleep. We moved her into her crib recently and it went ok. She actually is pretty good at being able to self soothe. Yet another s-word, apparently today’s post is sponsored by the letter S. I think she likes her crib, heck she must love it which is why she can’t stand the idea to close her eyes for too long when she is in it, she might miss out on seeing that awesome crib for a moment.

So little, so sleepy.

I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read about sleep. I’ve read the book The No Cry Sleep Solution because it breaks this momma’s heart when she starts crying THAT cry. Mom’s know what I mean. I can handle the fussing cry for a bit but when she busts out the deep-take-a-breathe-cause-I’m-soooo-upset-cry I just can’t handle it. I’ve read countless articles about sleep and every theory out there. I’ve looked at things upside down and side ways. I think the day that I can say that she is officially a good sleeper it will be with more pride then the day I graduated from college. We just aren't at that day yet.

I take frequent pictures of her sleeping to remind myself it does in fact happen.

I’m a fixer by nature and I’m really notorious for having to look up and research things to death. JB3 (hubby) thinks that I’m obsessing but really it is just how I am. I once read that the motto for my astrological sign Sagittarius is “I need to understand” and man does that fit me. In all my research I have found tons of suggestions about routines and schedules and ways to help your baby to sleep. But no magic bullet. They say that all babies are different. And while I haven’t been able to find the miracle tip that will send us all into magical (and mythical in our house) deep sleeps I have learned, and am really still learning, one really valuable tip.

Let it go already.

Babies are unpredictable. That is about the most predictable thing about them. They don’t read all those books and articles that tell you how babies are or should be at each weekly growth point. They aren’t machines, they aren’t expected to act perfectly.  Even once we get sleep on track it is going to back slide at some point. That is life with a baby. It isn’t a check list of things that you get accomplished and then you get to move on without ever having to go back to that item again. The only thing I can control is how I respond to each one of these challenges. I can either try and swim upstream and fight the fact that “she’s not sleeping once again I can’t believe it” or I can go with the flow and accept that this is our place right now. It will be different from where we are a month from now, 3 months from now and a year from now. This too shall pass. Some people get caught up in making sure that the baby is reaching all the milestones at the right time. I have to admit that for the most part I don’t get caught up in that. Lucy is smart. She is strong, really strong. Takes 3 nurses to hold her down so the doctor can check her ears kind of strong. I don’t worry about the fact that she doesn’t want to roll over from back to belly. She will, she just hasn’t gotten to that point yet. Give her time, I know she can do it. That's my Lucy, she's a spirited little girl.

But yet when it comes to sleep I tend to forget this free attitude and get caught up in comparing. Comparison is the thief of joy and can really steal your moments away. I’ve given up reading sleep articles and I’m taking on an attitude of acceptance. I’ve stopped timing her sleeps and watching the video monitor like a hawk. Most nights at least. I have faith in Lucy.

Give her time, I know she can do it.

Why sleep in a crib when you have a perfectly comfortable mommy to sleep on?

I think it all can be summed up in this quote that I found some where. I tried to source it but hey I’m sleep deprived and I’m glad that I don’t find the car keys in the fridge most days. You see that is the one benefit of no sleep, you have a built in excuse for when you don’t get things right or forget something. 

Wise words from a very wise mom:

“When you are not sleeping, each day feels like an eternity and you begin to wonder if you’re going to be able to live another day with a little life-sucker attached to your chest. And you look at every mom you know with wonder and amazement and ask, “How on earth did you survive this?”

Because moms are amazing, that’s how.”

Amen to that.