I
LOVE
DADDY
AND
HE
LOVES
ME!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
More on Cloth Diapers
I got several questions in the comments section of this post. I thought it would be easier to address them in another post...so this is that post. It'll probably be all over the place.
First-a thank you to these three ladies, without whom cloth diapering would have been a lot scarier.
Sunshine-We started using cloth diapers around two weeks. I didn't want to mess with the meconium and thought it might be a little overwhelming. Plus-we got a box of disposables from our shower so I figured we might as well use them. I would probably do the same with another baby.
Time per week?? That's a tough question because I put them in the wash and then forget about them for 45 minutes. Here is a play by play:
I throw them all in and turn on a cold water rinse cycle and then set a timer for 20 minutes (this takes about two minutes). No sorting-just dump them all in, bag and all. When that's finished, I add detergent and turn on a hot water wash cycle and set a timer for 45 minutes (this takes one minute). Then I do one more cold water rinse (less than a minute). If you had a washer with fancier settings-it would be much easier. Then I throw them in the dryer (one minute) and let them dry. They take around 40 minutes to dry. The covers are dry pretty quick-it's the inserts that take forever. If I wasn't so lazy I could take the covers out after 10 minutes and the inserts would dry faster.
The most time is spent stuffing them. I have the kind of diapers that come with microfiber inserts (Microfiber absorbs quickly-so no leaks). I stuff one insert into each diaper and add the hemp doublers to the nighttime diapers. (Hemp is super absorbent and holds liquid for a really long time-great for night.) This takes about 7 or 8 minutes. Five if my husband is helping.
I do that 2-4 times per week. In total, only a few minutes washing them and a few minutes stuffing them
When I am actually changing her diaper it takes an extra two seconds to take the insert out and drop it in our wet bag, rather than just throwing a disposable in the trash. But we save time on diaper rash cream. So it probably balances out.
Eighteen diapers is plenty for us. I've never had to wash more often than every other day. I have a friend that gets by on less.
I decided on bumGenius because there was a sale :) I knew I wanted a pretty convenient diaper-nothing too complicated. A friend of mine has and I liked the way they work. bumGenius were cheaper-so that's what I got. The Rumparooz claim to fame is an internal gusset-but I don't have any leak problems with the BumGenius. I also knew I wanted an adjustable diaper-I didn't want to buy new ones when she's grew bigger. I like the snap-down feature better than the elastic feature of the FuzziBunz. I bought one of each so I could see which I liked better. I chose snaps over velcro because I thought they would hold up better in the wash. I'm VERY glad I did.
Mandi-What's your detergent recipe? Our water is through Ista. I don't have any problems with the detergent-I've added vinegar to the rinse just once or twice since we've had them. (Vinegar softens the water, which helps get rid of build up. And yes, I know you know that Mandi-that's for other readers.) bumGenius says you can use 1/4 cup of bleach once a month. I did that once and it worked AMAZINGLY!
Christine and Emily-I hung them on the line when I was at my parents' a few weeks ago. Everything dried great except the hemp inserts-those would have to be dried in the dryer. (And a bonus-the sun bleaches the poop stains out!)
Sarah-Congrats!! I had to hunt for Borax and Washing Soda too. I did find Borax at Walmart-it was near the OxyClean. It's in a big cardboard box. The Washing Soda I found at Kroger, a local grocery store. It wasn't with the other laundry detergents-it was with the dish soup. Both cost around 3 dollars. The only other detergent I've tried is the bumGenius one because a sample came with the diapers. It worked really well-I would probably buy that if my mix gave me any problems.
Jenelle and Laura- The only rinse I do is in the washing machine. I dump all the diapers into a wet bag (which is a bag designed to keep the wet stuff in) after I change her and leave them there until I was them-poo and all. I just do a pre-rinse before I wash the diapers. I have NO issues with poo in my washer. Some people think that's an issue but it's absolutely not. The washer is designed to clean itself!
Allie-I'm still so excited about the possibility of you having two babies! Any readers use cloth diapers with twins? Or two kids at once? Advice for Allie? I would still do cloth with twins-double the diapers mean double the expense, and double the savings! It really isn't THAT much extra work. Maybe you could hold off on buying them until you got into some sort of groove (if that's even possible..) and then decide?
Awaiting-When we're out I still use cloth. I have two medium sized wet bags (small are way too small) and I just throw the dirty diaper in them until we get home. I have some cloth wipes in my diaper bag and a little 3 oz squirt bottle. The bags get washed with the diapers. It's no big deal at all.
Grace-Don't stop googling! You can do it! Two friends wrote about cloth here and here. I like this website. It's a lot of info at first-just wade through it. Also, go to YouTube and search FuzziBunz Review or bumGenius Review. It helped me to see the diapers "in action".
And if you're still left in the dark check this out. You can buy a sample pack of all sorts of diapers and then return them. It'll only cost you 10 bucks in the end. Maybe you could even wait until after the baby is born and take it as slow as you like!
And feel free to ask me more questions.
Any other questions out there?
First-a thank you to these three ladies, without whom cloth diapering would have been a lot scarier.
Sunshine-We started using cloth diapers around two weeks. I didn't want to mess with the meconium and thought it might be a little overwhelming. Plus-we got a box of disposables from our shower so I figured we might as well use them. I would probably do the same with another baby.
Time per week?? That's a tough question because I put them in the wash and then forget about them for 45 minutes. Here is a play by play:
I throw them all in and turn on a cold water rinse cycle and then set a timer for 20 minutes (this takes about two minutes). No sorting-just dump them all in, bag and all. When that's finished, I add detergent and turn on a hot water wash cycle and set a timer for 45 minutes (this takes one minute). Then I do one more cold water rinse (less than a minute). If you had a washer with fancier settings-it would be much easier. Then I throw them in the dryer (one minute) and let them dry. They take around 40 minutes to dry. The covers are dry pretty quick-it's the inserts that take forever. If I wasn't so lazy I could take the covers out after 10 minutes and the inserts would dry faster.
The most time is spent stuffing them. I have the kind of diapers that come with microfiber inserts (Microfiber absorbs quickly-so no leaks). I stuff one insert into each diaper and add the hemp doublers to the nighttime diapers. (Hemp is super absorbent and holds liquid for a really long time-great for night.) This takes about 7 or 8 minutes. Five if my husband is helping.
I do that 2-4 times per week. In total, only a few minutes washing them and a few minutes stuffing them
When I am actually changing her diaper it takes an extra two seconds to take the insert out and drop it in our wet bag, rather than just throwing a disposable in the trash. But we save time on diaper rash cream. So it probably balances out.
Eighteen diapers is plenty for us. I've never had to wash more often than every other day. I have a friend that gets by on less.
I decided on bumGenius because there was a sale :) I knew I wanted a pretty convenient diaper-nothing too complicated. A friend of mine has and I liked the way they work. bumGenius were cheaper-so that's what I got. The Rumparooz claim to fame is an internal gusset-but I don't have any leak problems with the BumGenius. I also knew I wanted an adjustable diaper-I didn't want to buy new ones when she's grew bigger. I like the snap-down feature better than the elastic feature of the FuzziBunz. I bought one of each so I could see which I liked better. I chose snaps over velcro because I thought they would hold up better in the wash. I'm VERY glad I did.
Mandi-What's your detergent recipe? Our water is through Ista. I don't have any problems with the detergent-I've added vinegar to the rinse just once or twice since we've had them. (Vinegar softens the water, which helps get rid of build up. And yes, I know you know that Mandi-that's for other readers.) bumGenius says you can use 1/4 cup of bleach once a month. I did that once and it worked AMAZINGLY!
Christine and Emily-I hung them on the line when I was at my parents' a few weeks ago. Everything dried great except the hemp inserts-those would have to be dried in the dryer. (And a bonus-the sun bleaches the poop stains out!)
Sarah-Congrats!! I had to hunt for Borax and Washing Soda too. I did find Borax at Walmart-it was near the OxyClean. It's in a big cardboard box. The Washing Soda I found at Kroger, a local grocery store. It wasn't with the other laundry detergents-it was with the dish soup. Both cost around 3 dollars. The only other detergent I've tried is the bumGenius one because a sample came with the diapers. It worked really well-I would probably buy that if my mix gave me any problems.
Jenelle and Laura- The only rinse I do is in the washing machine. I dump all the diapers into a wet bag (which is a bag designed to keep the wet stuff in) after I change her and leave them there until I was them-poo and all. I just do a pre-rinse before I wash the diapers. I have NO issues with poo in my washer. Some people think that's an issue but it's absolutely not. The washer is designed to clean itself!
Allie-I'm still so excited about the possibility of you having two babies! Any readers use cloth diapers with twins? Or two kids at once? Advice for Allie? I would still do cloth with twins-double the diapers mean double the expense, and double the savings! It really isn't THAT much extra work. Maybe you could hold off on buying them until you got into some sort of groove (if that's even possible..) and then decide?
Awaiting-When we're out I still use cloth. I have two medium sized wet bags (small are way too small) and I just throw the dirty diaper in them until we get home. I have some cloth wipes in my diaper bag and a little 3 oz squirt bottle. The bags get washed with the diapers. It's no big deal at all.
Grace-Don't stop googling! You can do it! Two friends wrote about cloth here and here. I like this website. It's a lot of info at first-just wade through it. Also, go to YouTube and search FuzziBunz Review or bumGenius Review. It helped me to see the diapers "in action".
And if you're still left in the dark check this out. You can buy a sample pack of all sorts of diapers and then return them. It'll only cost you 10 bucks in the end. Maybe you could even wait until after the baby is born and take it as slow as you like!
And feel free to ask me more questions.
Any other questions out there?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Our Engagement Story
Betty Beguiles is asking readers to share their engagement stories. And since ours was pretty dern amazing, I'm joining in. I'm gonna do my best to make it fast-I tend to get wordy when reliving the experience.
Ted and I were in our third year of college and had been dating for about two years. We had already been ring shopping so I knew the proposal was just around the corner. On a Sunday afternoon (Divine Mercy Sunday, April 15, 2007 to be exact) we headed out to the lake, as we did on so many nice days before.
We picked up our traditional sweet tea from McAlister's, a must have when enjoying the lake, and assumed our spot on the rocks beside the water. Ted fished from the bank as I basked in the sunlight. We had done this so many times before and I wasn't expecting a thing. (I was hoping that it might have been the day, but I had gotten my hopes up on so many occasions in the last few months that I wouldn't let myself think about it.)
I fell asleep while leaning on the rocks and woke up to Ted complaining. "Dang people. No one has any respect!" "What's wrong?" I asked him. He told me that he found a "limb line", which was illegal on this particular lake. I had no idea what that was-some fisherman's girlfriend I was! He explained that it's a line with a hook on the end that you leave in the water and check later to see if you caught a fish. The conservationist in him was angry that someone broke the rules. He snagged the line with his hook and pulled it in.
When he got the line ashore we found that there wasn't a hook on the end, but an old water bottle filled with rocks. I think he cussed under his breath about littering, threw the bottle on the rocks, and went back to fishing. Being the nosey person that I am, I immediately opened the bottle and dumped out all the rocks. Inside was a piece of folded paper. I took it out and started reading it out loud to Ted.
"In 713 days you can.....
see 4 lunar eclipses.
take 12,320,640 breaths of air.
shed 1,150 upper eyelashes.
have 2.56 children
see the birth of 18.56 baby kangaroos.
Or you can spend 713 days preparing because....."
At this point I'm thinking it's something that some crazy Apocoliptic nut planted it in the water and thinks the world will end 713 days from when the bottle in uncovered. (I know-I have no clue why that was my first reaction.)
Ted continued to fish while I read it to him. When I finished reading he said, "What did that last line say?"
"It says you can spend 713 days preparing ____" and when I looked up from reading he was on knee and said, "Because that's how long it's taken me to propose to you."
I was floored!! I had no idea that Ted had planted that bottle-the thought never crossed my mind. I was wearing his hat at the time to keep the sun out of my eyes and I remember thinking, "Oh no I am NOT gonna get proposed to wearing a hat!" I threw it down on the rocks and shouted, "No way!"
Then he said a bunch of really nice stuff that's only for us to know :) And ended it with "Kaitlin Nicole Rose, will you marry me?"
I obviously said, "YES!" He had the camera packed and we snapped a bunch of pictures. I left to go pee in the woods because, really, who can hold down that much tea all evening? We watched the sunset together and made all sorts of big plans for our new life together.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Green for the Green-Cloth Diaper Edition
Call it what you will-crunchy, granola, green. I really don't care. There are aspects of our life that definitely fit this hippy, earth loving category and other aspects that fall far from the green tree. More often than not, my motivation for doing something seemingly "green" comes down to money.
I'm a pretty frugal person. Like, really, really frugal. Exceptionally frugal.
Ok. Ok. I'm cheap.
How cheap? Ted texted my dad a picture of Hannah. My dad replied, "It looks like she's storing peanuts in those cheeks!". Ted responded, "Ha. She's sneaking them into the ballpark because they're too expensive inside." To which my dad said, "Oh, so she doesn't just look like Katie...."
Ouch.
But when all three years of our marriage have been spent with at least one spouse in graduate school, cheap isn't an option-it's a necessity. In an effort to help others who may not have access to that ever elusive money tree, I'm going to lay out some of the things we do that could be considered green. A few might surprise you. And not all of them are done for the savings.....
The most obvious aspect of our so-called crunchy life would have to be cloth diapers. When money isn't readily available, we try to save as much as we can by not buying things that are just going to be thrown away. Using disposable diapers just feels like pouring cash directly into the trash can. A very poopy trash can.
We spent a few hundred dollars (about 350 I think) on our entire cloth stash. Almost all of that was money we got from baby showers. We definitely could have done it for cheaper (by buying a different kind of diaper or buying used) but I wanted to get something that would hold up should God choose to bless us with more butts to diaper.
We have 18 BumGenius 4.0 with snaps and one Fuzzi Bunz that we use for a swim diaper. All of them are adjustable-we will never need to buy another diaper for Hannah as they will grow with her until she's potty trained. We stuff them with an extra hemp insert at night and rarely have to change a diaper in the middle of the night.
We also use cloth wipes, which just make sense if you're already using cloth diapers. Our wipes are a collection of BumGenius wipes and random baby washcloths. We have a water bottle by the changing station that we use to spray the wipes before we use them.
All of it gets thrown in the wash every two to three days. Some might argue that the increased water bill offsets the savings from using cloth diapers, but I would have to disagree. Our water bill increased about four bucks a month since having Hannah. Even if all of that was cloth diapers-it would still be a dramatic savings. But we do double the laundry now even if you exclude the diapers! Just washing burp rags and onesies alone would have increased our water bill, so the expense for washing the diapers is negligible.
Regular detergents are harmful to cloth diapers, so special soap must be used. I make my own detergent, again, because I'm cheap. It's a combo of borax, washing soda, and Oxy Clean. Works great. Costs pennies per wash. Score.
Since diaper rash is rare with cloth babies, we don't have to spend money on yucky diaper creams!
The only aspect of cloth diapering that we don't do is line drying. But you better believe that as soon as I get a clothes line these puppies will be hanging from it every other day!
Is it extra work? Yes. Is it worth it? You bet. Other benefits of cloth: it's obviously better for the environment and arguably better for baby. And while I'm glad these are benefits-they're definitely not why we chose cloth. When it's all said and done, it comes down to saving money.
Do you use cloth diapers? Do you have any questions about how to make it work?
I'm a pretty frugal person. Like, really, really frugal. Exceptionally frugal.
Ok. Ok. I'm cheap.
How cheap? Ted texted my dad a picture of Hannah. My dad replied, "It looks like she's storing peanuts in those cheeks!". Ted responded, "Ha. She's sneaking them into the ballpark because they're too expensive inside." To which my dad said, "Oh, so she doesn't just look like Katie...."
Ouch.
But when all three years of our marriage have been spent with at least one spouse in graduate school, cheap isn't an option-it's a necessity. In an effort to help others who may not have access to that ever elusive money tree, I'm going to lay out some of the things we do that could be considered green. A few might surprise you. And not all of them are done for the savings.....
The most obvious aspect of our so-called crunchy life would have to be cloth diapers. When money isn't readily available, we try to save as much as we can by not buying things that are just going to be thrown away. Using disposable diapers just feels like pouring cash directly into the trash can. A very poopy trash can.
We spent a few hundred dollars (about 350 I think) on our entire cloth stash. Almost all of that was money we got from baby showers. We definitely could have done it for cheaper (by buying a different kind of diaper or buying used) but I wanted to get something that would hold up should God choose to bless us with more butts to diaper.
We have 18 BumGenius 4.0 with snaps and one Fuzzi Bunz that we use for a swim diaper. All of them are adjustable-we will never need to buy another diaper for Hannah as they will grow with her until she's potty trained. We stuff them with an extra hemp insert at night and rarely have to change a diaper in the middle of the night.
We also use cloth wipes, which just make sense if you're already using cloth diapers. Our wipes are a collection of BumGenius wipes and random baby washcloths. We have a water bottle by the changing station that we use to spray the wipes before we use them.
All of it gets thrown in the wash every two to three days. Some might argue that the increased water bill offsets the savings from using cloth diapers, but I would have to disagree. Our water bill increased about four bucks a month since having Hannah. Even if all of that was cloth diapers-it would still be a dramatic savings. But we do double the laundry now even if you exclude the diapers! Just washing burp rags and onesies alone would have increased our water bill, so the expense for washing the diapers is negligible.
Regular detergents are harmful to cloth diapers, so special soap must be used. I make my own detergent, again, because I'm cheap. It's a combo of borax, washing soda, and Oxy Clean. Works great. Costs pennies per wash. Score.
Since diaper rash is rare with cloth babies, we don't have to spend money on yucky diaper creams!
The only aspect of cloth diapering that we don't do is line drying. But you better believe that as soon as I get a clothes line these puppies will be hanging from it every other day!
Is it extra work? Yes. Is it worth it? You bet. Other benefits of cloth: it's obviously better for the environment and arguably better for baby. And while I'm glad these are benefits-they're definitely not why we chose cloth. When it's all said and done, it comes down to saving money.
Do you use cloth diapers? Do you have any questions about how to make it work?
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Four Months is FUN!
I think I've gotten over that "please don't grow stay my little baby forever and ever and never get big" phase. Although she's growing like a weed and I definitely miss some of the little newborn things she did-having a four month old is a blast. Here's a list of the things I love about our big girl-some are new and some are still hanging around from those beloved newborn days.
Pouting and whining for our attention and smiling so big when we give it to her.
Playing with her feet!
Sitting in her bumbo seat with me in the bathroom and watching me get ready in the mornings.
The adult-like way she rubs her eyes.
Her fascination with our electric toothbrush.
All those cute little throaty sounds that just loves to make.
Laughing.
Giggling and smiling at herself in the mirror.
Putting her hands all over my face when I lean in to kiss her.
Nursing, popping off just to look up at me and smile, and nursing again.
A new set of clothes-goodbye three month stuff!
Showing definite preferences for particular toys. Her favorites are her blue elephant and her lion mirror.
Holding toys on her own and chewing on everything in her hands.
Strong legs that like to pretend they can stand.
The way she worked for weeks to roll over (back to front), finally rolled twice in a row, but then refused to do it again after she figured out she would end up on her tummy. She hasn't attempted it since.
Two little curly-q's by her temples.
Being able to enjoy the swimming pool.
Her sweet little lips that always look like she's wearing lipstick.
The mega rolls on her chunky legs.
The way she grabs those rolls when I'm changing her diaper.
Quieting down instantly when someone else puts her in my arms when she's crying.
90th percentile in weight but only 50th in height :)
The way she looks at her daddy.
That very first good morning smile.
And things I'm not so crazy about......
Waking up every hour all. night. long.
Refusing her once beloved pacifier.
Bibs.
And her refusal to smile for the camera :)
Wow-that's it. I can honestly only think of three. Man she's awesome.
Pouting and whining for our attention and smiling so big when we give it to her.
Playing with her feet!
Sitting in her bumbo seat with me in the bathroom and watching me get ready in the mornings.
The adult-like way she rubs her eyes.
Her fascination with our electric toothbrush.
The way she splashes in the tub.
All those cute little throaty sounds that just loves to make.
Giggling and smiling at herself in the mirror.
Putting her hands all over my face when I lean in to kiss her.
Nursing, popping off just to look up at me and smile, and nursing again.
A new set of clothes-goodbye three month stuff!
Showing definite preferences for particular toys. Her favorites are her blue elephant and her lion mirror.
Strong legs that like to pretend they can stand.
The way she worked for weeks to roll over (back to front), finally rolled twice in a row, but then refused to do it again after she figured out she would end up on her tummy. She hasn't attempted it since.
Two little curly-q's by her temples.
Being able to enjoy the swimming pool.
Her sweet little lips that always look like she's wearing lipstick.
The mega rolls on her chunky legs.
The way she grabs those rolls when I'm changing her diaper.
Quieting down instantly when someone else puts her in my arms when she's crying.
90th percentile in weight but only 50th in height :)
The way she looks at her daddy.
That very first good morning smile.
And things I'm not so crazy about......
Waking up every hour all. night. long.
Refusing her once beloved pacifier.
Bibs.
And her refusal to smile for the camera :)
Wow-that's it. I can honestly only think of three. Man she's awesome.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Why I Love My Husband (7)
He does almost all of the grocery shopping. I absolutely hate it and he doesn't mind it. My hero.
He drops hints about what he wants for his birthday (which is always appreciated!) Unfortunately, this year his hint was what I was already planning on giving him. So it's not a surprise.
Happy Birthday Ted! I love you!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Quick Takes (27) Am I the Only One?
-1-
Am I the only who actually enjoys going to the dentist? It forces you to take a break in the middle of the day, sit and read a magazine for a few minutes, recline in a comfy chair and just rest for a half hour. And when it's over-your teeth feel great!-2-
Am I the only one who gets cavities after pregnancy? I've had two since being pregnant and can't remember the last time I had one before that. I hope you're happy with all my calcium Hannah.-3-
Am I the only one who is annoyed by the new Walmart Great Value brand label? It's so white and ugly and boring. It makes my cabinets look white and ugly and boring. I don't hate it enough to stop buying it though. Cheap usually wins out.-4-
Am I the only one who doesn't vacuum in places that aren't easily accessible? The side of the bed against the wall, under the computer desk.... They can't be that dirty can they?-5-
Am I the only one who sits down to write a blog post and spends too much time reading other blogs only to run out of time and never get the post up?-6-
Am I the only one who has NO motivation to chart postpartum?-7-
Am I the only one who has always trouble thinking of a seventh quick take?
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