It’s now almost September — waaah! That means my maternity leave is practically over…this summer seems to have gone by so quickly! I’ve just been enjoying every day with Natalie. She’s so much more interactive now and it’s all the more fun to play with her. Some developmental things with her in this last month:
She still isn’t rolling and doesn’t love tummy time. She can handle it briefly but slo-o-o-wly the heavy head starts drooping and she just buries her face and starts whining. I’m hoping that rolling happens in the next month?
Summer’s also been busy with visitors — with her baptism, Matt’s parents were in town as well as her godfather, Steve, one of Matt’s oldest friends. Soon after, my really good friend from Kansas, Sara, came to visit for a few days and that was a really nice visit. Then, an pleasant surprise of a visit — our Best Man from our wedding, Brad — dropped by for a night…and now, my parents get into town tomorrow for a week.
This was just taken a couple days ago — I think I now have acquired a total of 23 diapers. Ha Ha. I can see how cloth diapering gets so addicting — there are so many cute prints, and new features and then you hear about good deals and great reviews…it’s hard to not shop! My newest acquisition are Rumparooz which I love because they have a double leg gusset to really help ensure no leaks or blowouts. Speaking of, that’s been going great so far — I’ve literally only had one leak and it was with a new diaper that I had fitted loosely. Once I tightened it up, I haven’t had any problems…and honestly, for ~1 month of diapering, that’s awesome! I remember with the disposables, I would have leaks here and there too…so in comparison, I’ve gotten way fewer leaks with the cloth diapers.
I just realized I haven’t written about sleep in awhile which is an ever changing topic when it comes to the baby. Just when you think you’ve got one thing down, it changes. Well, she’s had a good pattern for a little over a month now that I don’t want to change! I wrote a post back at the end of June when she slept for 7.5 hours, waking up here and there but not needing to be fed. Well, since then, we’ve established a pretty decent pattern of her going to sleep anywhere between 7-10pm, but on average it’s somewhere around 8:30pm. She’ll then go until 6-7am. Of course, there are times she’ll go to bed later (it’s gone as late as 11pm) and she’s also slept really late (as late as 10:30am). On average, she’ll sleep about 10-11 hours straight — no waking up, no need to eat, no need for one of us to soothe her back. She just sleeps peacefully. It’s freakin’ amazing. The longest she’s gone was 12.5 hours — that was a 10pm – 10:30am session.
Now, putting her to bed is an ordeal. We’ve noticed that she does get really sleepy and tired around the 7-8pm timeframe. Knowing that, we figure her last feeding close to there and then start helping her sleep — which means, changing her into pajamas, changing a diaper, swaddling her and then starting to rock her. It’s this part that can really drag out. She’s so tired that she gets cranky and upset. She can’t just fall asleep on her own. Oftentimes we’ll put her down and then she’ll wake up an hour later crying. When that happens, Matt will either rock her again or, if she’s totally inconsolable, hand her to me for one more feeding which helps knock her out one more time. If there is an additional feeding, that will usually mean her going to sleep in the 9-10pm timeframe. Bless Matt as he’s the one who usually helps to put her down (part of our routine and cue to her)…but it can be very frustrating.
All that said, we are very very lucky we acknowledge. We’ve met many other parents whose children don’t sleep through the night until well over a year. We’ve been lucky to have her doing this since 2 months!
It’s amazing how our bodies quickly adapt. I looked back at that original post and said that 5.5 hours of sleep feels refreshing. I’m now back to needing and wanting a good 8 hours of sleep. With her sleeping as long as she has, I’m back to getting a good 8 hours of sleep now. Anything less makes me feel like I’ve hit a brickwall. There have been some one-off occasions in this past month where she’ll wake up at some ungodly hour, like 3:30am or 4:50am (after I’d gone to bed around 11pm or midnight) and I thought I was going to pass out.
Here’s to hoping this pattern keeps up–when I go back to work, this pattern will be PERFECT. But, I realize a good thing can’t last. When the next growth spurt or major social milestone happens, sleep regression is bound to occur also. [sigh] Meanwhile, I shall bask in the happiness that I’m getting good sleep right now. Off to bed I go.
I now finally have all of my initial cloth diapers! Here’s a picture:
I’m so excited — now I can get started on doing some major prewashing and then hopefully start putting them into use tomorrow! Oh, and why a “fluffy” delivery? Apparently, in the cloth diapering community, people often refer to their cloth diapers as “fluff”—because of the bulk, it makes baby butts look all fluffy! (at least that’s my interpretation)
In about a week and a half, Natalie’s Christening will take place. Matt is Catholic and it was his one major desire upon having children to have them be baptized — I didn’t grow up going to church much (I had this one year in sixth grade when I went all the time) so I didn’t have any strong beliefs for or against his wish, so it was a pretty easy decision to have her get baptized after she was born. This is totally new to me and I have no idea what to expect since I’ve never even attended a baptism. The one thing I do know how to do is shop — I just realized that she needs some sort of christening gown so I went shopping yesterday in the U Village and couldn’t find anything. I went to Birth & Beyond and the only gowns they had were for much older children. Internets, here I come. Lo and behold, I find this wonderful site for a business that makes it locally (er, close — Gig Harbor)—Christening Gowns.com. The dresses here are gorgeous and if I really wanted to go all out and make an heirloom out of this, I could since some of these dresses are really expensive. Fortunately, they also have a number of reasonably priced gowns that are equally gorgeous. Here’s the one I’ve picked out for Natalie:
Well, I’ve made my first cloth diapering purchases! Now, it’s just a matter of waiting for it all to arrive, pre-washing them and then finally using them! I imagine we’ll be using cloth on Natalie by sometime next week! This is what we are starting with:
I’ve ordered 4 Shells (2 of them are the former GroBabys) along with soakers and biosoaker pads for when we are out and about. These are AI2’s, or Hybrids, and are One Size so should last Natalie through her toddler years. They’re very easy — you just use a shell and then snap on top a soaker pad or flushable/compostable pad. I also got some extra soakers so while there are just 4 shells, these can actually last for many more changings because I just need to change out the soakers. I’m really looking forward to working with hybrids because of the flexibility of using either cloth soakers or compostable pads. I also like the idea that I can re-use the shell for multiple diaper changes.
I’ve ordered 1 All-in-One One Size and 1 All-in-One Fitted (in small). The One Size comes with snaps and the Fitted comes in aplix so I can see what I think of those. These are the type that doesn’t come with multiple parts and is as easy as a regular disposable–when ready, you just put the whole thing on. The main disadvantage is drying time can be long since it’s one massive diaper that needs to be dried.
Similar to the BumGenius, I ordered 1 Perfect Size and 1 Fitted (in small). Pocketfolds are somewhat similar to the AIOs but the difference is that there is a pocketfold in which you put the inserts (or soaker pads). When it’s time for a change, you do need to change out the entire thing, including the shell. When put together, it’s as convenient as an AIO but makes drying time easier since you can dry the soaker pad separately.
These are also Hybrids and are one size–I ordered 2 Shells and 6 soaker pads. I was attracted to these due to the way that they are one size. Most typical “one size” diapers use a series of snaps in the front where you fold it over to make it smaller (and to accommodate the younger, smaller baby). Softbums has a method of pulling on the elastic around the leg to vary the size of it. I like the idea because it’s not just a set small/medium/large based on the snaps…but it can really be catered to the size of your baby. Aside from that, the rest is similar to other hybrids in that there is a separate soaker pad that you snap in. Unlike the GroVias, however, they don’t see a compostable pad that I can use when I’m out and about.
I happened to make a number of purchases through Kelly’s Closet where they were running a promotion. With the way I split up my order, I’m also getting THREE FREE one-size cloth diapers — brand is a mystery and I will find out when they arrive.
Also, in preparation for cloth diapering, I got the following extras:
I’ll also need an actual “diaper pail”–I’ll just pick up a 10 or 12 gallon trash can at Storables or Target when I get a chance.
So, I now have THIRTEEN cloth diapers — and keep in mind that 6 of them are hybrid shells and can last through 2-3 diaper changes. Being on the conservative side, let’s say they each only last through 2 changes — that means I have enough for 19 diaper changes which, at Natalie’s current age, is about 2-2.5 days worth. That’s great! We’ll start off and see what style we like…and will probably end up buying a couple more of whatever style we like the most, so that in the end, we have about 3 days worth of diapers to use. It’s good to clean the diapers at least every 2-3 days anyway.
These 13 diapers have cost us about $260 (and keep in mind that I’ve splurged with the all-in-ones and hybrids … if you go with just pre-folds + covers, it’s waaaay cheaper). Amount spent in diapers for the first 3 months of Natalie’s life already = $160 (and most were bought in bulk through Costco or Diapers.com). The cloth diapers we have now are pretty much all we need til she’s potty trained (only 2 of the 13 diapers are fitted diapers, the rest are one-size). While I plan on buying a few more, it’s only for the convenience of not having to do the laundry every other day, but I COULD just use what I have now and be set. Even then, let’s say I buy $100 more worth of cloth diapers…in the long run, that’s still more economical than using disposables AND it’s better for the planet!
Whoa, I never even thought about how front loading washing machines may actually make it more difficult to thoroughly clean cloth diapers — it makes sense: these machines use less water to clean, but you’re putting in highly absorbant cloth in there. I just found this site with some tips and tricks for using front-loading machines to clean cloth:
Washing Cloth Diapers in Front Loading Machines
I forgot to write and update and say that we hired a nanny! That was such a long, tiring process but I’m so happy. I took the advice of some people and put up a job posting on Care.com — over the course of 2-3 weeks, we had about 50 applicants for the job! There was a wide range of applicants, from 15-70 yrs old…from no experience of years of experience. It was tough but we narrowed it down to 9 candidates to interview in person, which Charlotte (the other mom) and I interviewed over the course of 3 days. One person even drove 7 hours from Oregon to interview with us! Ironically, the one person we hired was the one we interviewed via Skype as she’s currently a live-in nanny in San Diego but is originally from Seattle and had plans to move back here at the end of August. We are really excited about this nanny and feel really great about leaving our children with her. Right now, Charlotte and I need to finalize a number of things: - the Nanny-Family contract - the Nanny-Family “instruction sheet” (things that are helpful but don’t necessarily belong in a contract; i.e. info about children, how to keep timesheet) - the Family-Family contract (to make sure both families are on the same page) - any joint purchases (i.e. a double stroller) It’s a lot of work figuring out “what is the norm”–we are, afterall, becoming employers and have to think about things like paid vacation, sick time, overtime, taxes, etc. It’s all worth it, though, as it’s MUCH cheaper going with a nanny share than with daycare PLUS the kids will get so much attention with a 2:1 ratio and it’ll be with the convenience of being in our own homes (we’re going to rotate houses biweekly)
Ack, still figuring what I want — AIOs vs AI2s, fitted vs one size, etc..there are so many damn options! At first I was thinking in my mind that I had to pick one type — but that’s silly, I don’t have to do that at all. I’ll probably just start off with a small variety of the ones I’ve been considering…and then get lots more of the ones we like the most. I’ll likely get something like this: - some hybrids (the shell + soaker deal) which are one size - All in One: one size - All in One: fitted - maybe a Pocket style: fitted and/or one size - above, combination of aplix closures and snap closures to see which one I like
From what I’ve researched, the brands I want to check out are GroVias, BumGenius and possibly FuzziBunz (those these are the pocket style, but that’s not much of a stretch from the hybrids)
I also need to get myself set up with a diaper pail (probably some cheap plastic bin that I can get at Storables or Target), probably 3 wet bags (one for home, one to leave with nanny when Natalie’s at the other house, and a small one to keep in my diaper bag when I’m out). I was excited to find out that the detergent we used (bought from Costco — ECOS) is already very cloth diaper friendly.
Next, I have to figure out where to buy everything — ideally, it’s some place that doesn’t have a physical presence in WA state so I don’t get hit with taxes and a place that offers free shipping. Here’s a list of some websites I’ve been suggested to check out:
Kelly’s Closet Mom’s Milk Boutique Diaper Junction Cotton Babies Nicki’s Diapers
Since I’ve started researching, it’s been really cool seeing how many others are also cloth diaperers…such a great resource!
Anyway, once I pick out a site to buy from, I think I’ll get started…eeks.
I have to admit that when it came to preparing for having a baby, when it came to diapers, we just gave it 30 seconds of thought and went with disposables for the convenience. Thus, for the last 2.5 months, we’ve been using Pampers Swaddlers Sensitives (love the yellow/blue line!) and they’ve worked out fine; however, recently, just for kicks, I started reading up more on using disposables vs cloth diapers and I was appalled. I won’t get into it here but you can just search for “benefits of cloth diapering” and find all sorts of arguments — mostly environmental and economical. The highlights of arguments for me are:
There are lots more arguments but that’s the jist of what got me.
Being a good Seattle-lite, it made sense to look into this.
Cloth diapering has come a long way. The (in)convenience was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about cloth diapering. While the basic use of pre-folds and pins still exists, there are also many more advanced, fancy systems that can make it as easy and convenient as using disposable. Again, I won’t get into it as there are lots of great sites out there that break it down – here’s a good one. After researching it for a whopping day, I’ve decided that I really like the idea of a “Hybrid” or “All in Twos/AI2’s”. This consists of an outer shell and then a removable insert. The insert itself can be a washable soaker that you can use over and over, or you can use one that’s biodegradable/compostable/flushable. I really like this because when we are out and about or need to leave Natalie with someone that isn’t as comfortable with cloth diapers, the latter type of insert is really easy. Also, if we end up being out for an entire day, we don’t necessarily have to be carrying around a dirty diaper with us the entire time — at most, we’d probably be carrying the first dirty insert and then the rest are just ones we can either flush or throw away (and even if we throw it away, it’s more compostable than a regular disposable diaper). The one I’m leaning towards is a brand called GroVia (formerly GroBaby). I just ordered 2 for a great deal I found on BabySteals but I’m still researching to figure out what will work well. There are surprisingly a TON of options out there when it comes to cloth diapering, it can be overwhelming.
I’ll follow up after I’ve played around with cloth diapering for a bit.
