Christmas

Christmas is upon us. And again, it's been months since I posted! So much has gone on in the past few months, a very rough few months. This isn't cloth related, but important non the less and explains the long absence from posting. We lost another baby, this time at 16 weeks, a boy we named Liam Noah, last month in November. It was a somewhat complicated pregnancy, and some issues with the placenta not being able to attach correctly due to a sub-chorionic hemorrhage is what we think ultimately caused Liam to pass away. It's been hard, we were all so excited for #4. But it wasn't God's plan, so we are working through the pain and seeing some sunshine again. The 3 beautiful children I have helps me immensely, it's never a dull moment here! To memoralize our little Liam, I got a tattoo in his honor. The butterfly is in memory of the baby we lost this summer. What do you think? This photo was taken right after I had it done. It took 2 hours! Painful but so worth it! I hope you like it! I sure do!

And today is a very special day! Today is #3's 2nd Birthday!!! Happy Birthday #3!!! You are such a little ball of energy and make us oh so happy! You have been the perfect adddition to our family and couldn't imagine life without you! I cannot believe it's been 2 years already. My how the time has flown.

This is such a true picture of you. Bumps, bruises and all! My rough and tumble boy.

Minimalism

Ok. Really? You think... On a cloth diaper blog? Yep. On a cloth diaper blog. I know I for one have way. to. much. STUFF. And cloth diapers is a part of it. Yes, I actually said it! I have too many cloth diapers! But, I am so not ready to go to the minimum number of diapers I can get away with. Not yet, and probably not ever. I did though, start with getting rid of some random pocket diapers, some way too big prefolds, the gDiapers I don't use, some wool that doesn't fit, etc. Not all of it has sold yet, but I am trying! Its a start right? I think so.

But anyways this brings me back to the rest of the STUFF. My house is over run with it. What is it you ask? Well its just that, its STUFF! Small appliances we rarely use, too much clothing, WAY too many toys, knick knacks stored away in boxes, shoes, extra dishes and those plastic cups from restaurants. Yes, we have those, they make great bath time cups for rinsing out shampooed hair, but do we need all of them? Naw.... So I have challenged myself. Get rid of all the excess STUFF! It's going really well so far! I have been moving slowly, because I have to do it during nap times, and still run a household, but I have gained perspective on life. While I have been cleaning, reorganizing, cleaning and reorganizing again and again, of the same old stuff, I could have been spending more time with my family! Some one out in the internet world calls it the Sh** Shuffle. Yes, you read that right, the Sh** Shuffle. And it's so true! So as I go through my house, I think about each item I go through, Do I NEED this, will I USE this? Or is it something that I may use, or that I may need somewhere down the line? This has greatly helped me, in letting go of things.
My hang up though, is the sentimental stuff. Toys I had as a kid, old birthday/holiday cards. Someone had the great idea, of keeping those things for a year. Then the following year, toss the old ones, and keep the new ones. That way (now this is especially true from the cards from older relatives and friends), if someone happens to pass away, you have the last card they sent you, and that card can become something you treasure. Another idea was to keep those cards that had a special note written in them, because its not the card itself you will treasure, its that note that means something to you, because it was from someone you loved and cared about.
This goes for all places in your home, why are  you hanging on to all that stuff? For me, its because we could need it somewhere down the road, and I don't want to have to buy another of it. But chances are, I got a good deal on it, picked it up at a garage sale of thrift store, and it is replaceable. Getting that mentality down has significantly helped me to see that we do not need all these things taking up space, and our time, in our home.
So I challenge you, to do the same. Start small. go through your DVD collection, because chances are there are a couple DVDs in there you have no interest in watching, and are just taking up valuable space. Then move on, do your closet, look at each piece, does this fit? Will I really ever wear it again? If those answers are no, get rid of it!
Now you ask, ok, I have all this stuff, what do I do with it now? Well, the volume of things I am getting rid of is so large, that we are going to have a garage sale. With that money, I am going to buy a really nice stroller, that will serve as a double, or a single, so I can get rid of all my other strollers, because right now, I have 4 in my garage! EEK! yep, 4 strollers. I would rather just get rid of all of them, and get 1 stroller that I really like.  So you see, there is a reward for me at the end of all of this. And whatever does not sell, I am doing to donate. There are many charities around me, always looking for donations, so that's where everything else will go.
I want to feel liberated from all my STUFF. Don't you?

Gifted

Warning, sad post.

So very recently I experienced an early miscarriage. The baby passed away at 7 weeks, and I didn't find out until 12 weeks. I don't need to go into any more details than that, but its been rough and we are all very sad at our house because we were looking forward to a new baby.

Anyway, a friend of mine in another state was selling some Goodmama fitteds for a super steal of a deal, and I asked her about 2 of them because I loved the prints! Sadly she said she had mailed those two out an hour earlier. I was bummed. Well lo and behold, I received a package 2 days later with those 2 diapers in it! So I messaged her and told her I had gotten those two diapers in the mail, and was it a mistake and does she want me to forward them on... I had recently bought some other diapers from her, so my address would have been fresh in her paypal queu. She said no, they were a gift and she hoped that they would bring a smile to my face. I cried instantly. Here was a mom who had lots of littles herself with her own struggles, paying a kindness forward, to a friend who was down in the dumps. Those diapers DID indeed bring a smile to my face, and while they won't bring my baby back, it gave me a renewal in humanity, and a refresher in kindness. 

So I encourage you to pay it forward. You never know how a small little something you do for someone else will affect them. Hopefully they will continue the chain and pay it forward. God bless people like my friend, for they are truly special.

Not a great pic, I used my iPod, but #3 looks so cute in his Goodmama cd diaper!

MIA

So I know I have been MIA for awhile. We have been incredibly busy and have a lot going on. We went on vacation the whole 4th of July week and it was HOT HOT HOT! And super miserable unless we were at the lake! So you want to know, did I bring my cloth?! Kinda! I used covers and disposable Flip inserts the whole week. At night, I used my Super old fuzzibunz fitteds with flats inside. And I handwashed. It sucked. I only had cold water, unless I wanted to wait to fill up my bucket in the bathroom, but I didn't and washing in cold seemed to work ok. I just brought my bucket and plunger with. Thankfully the kids helped me with plunging :) I used about 2 packs of 18 inserts for the whole week. Mind you, we spent ALOT of time at the lake, so #3 was in a swim diaper half the day. And we also cheated and went home 1 night because it was so hot and we were all so miserable, so I used cloth that one day we were home. So does cloth work while camping? Sure. Would I want to do that whole experience again for an entire week? No, not when its that hot out. The disposable inserts were absorbant enough and they are super trim. My consenus is that they work great for vacations and long day trips away from home.

Rumparooz Pocket Diaper Review

So I have had this diaper for awhile now, It's been great to me, so I thought I should review it!

Rumparooz G2 One Size Pocket Diaper in the color Bermuda (blue)



                          


Pros:

• Bulletproof! We haven't had a leak out of it yet!
• Double leg gussets, nothing can escape this thing!
• Pretty colors and patterns.
• Comes in snaps or aplix depending on your personal preference.
• Diapers with snaps has double row of snaps across the belly so there is no wing droop.
• Super soft fleece interior for stay dry effect, also poo sprays off nicely. 
• Comes with 2 inserts, a large regular sized 6-r insert, and a smaller  soaker that is contoured to fit even the smallest of babies.
• 4 rise settings, to fit from 6-35 pounds
• Super easy to use, great for daycare, dads, and grandparents, typical pocket diaper.
• Snaps on the inserts to make the large one smaller, and to snap the smaller and larger inserts together for easier stuffing.
• Good night time diaper for an average wetter, just use both inserts! 

Cons:

• At an average of $23-$25 per diaper,  it is not the most economical diaper to buy. Definitely a more pricier diaper out there.
• The rise is short. This means that it will probably not last until potty training. My son is pretty average build, tall and on the skinnier side and about 23 pounds, but he is already on the second to last rise setting. Completely unsnapped, unstretched, the rise is only about 13.5inches in total length of this diaper. 
• Pocket diaper. For me, stuffing pockets is a pain in the butt. So it is not on my regular to use pile of diapers.
• Small pocket opening, it does stretch, but I do find this diaper a tad difficult to stuff.

My overall view on this diaper is a grade of B-. If the price wasn't so much, it would be a B+ for a pocket diaper. This diaper has been super easy to use, and I get a fine fit with it. It will not last us till potty training however, for my tall and skinny guy. The belly snaps I don't see him ever getting to big for, but he will have plumbers butt once he gets older, because the diaper itself is just not tall enough.



Such a pretty color blue!

Inner of the diaper so so soft! And gotta love the double leg gussets to help contain any yucky mess!

Pocket opening in the back, elasticized.

Both soakers, a small for newborns that is contoured, and the regular insert. Add both for added absorbancy!

Size chart for rise setting

Blueberry/Swaddlebees Clearance!

My favorite covers are on seconds clearance. I have 1 seconds Capri cover and cannot find 1 thing wrong with it! Get some great products for great prices!

http://www.swaddlebees.com/Clearance

Flats and Handwashing Days 6 and 7

Days 5 and 6 combined- The Final Days of the Challenge by Dirty Diaper Laundry. The last days of having to handwash my flat diapers. Thank God!

Well yesterday we had a wedding to attend. Just my husband and I, so we left the kids with my mother in law. Normally, for sitters I just leave pockets out and ready to go. So I explained to MIL (mother in law) what to do with the flats and covers. I simply took several flats and padfolded them all and placed one into each cover that wasn't dirty. #3 has had some not so pleasant diapers the last few days, I think, thanks to some garlic bread from our favorite Italian restaurant. Little guys system can't quite handle it yet, I guess. I also took washcloths and placed one in each diaper to use for a liner, since #3 needed some stronger strength diaper rash cream. Since there were a few different cover brands, I just snapped them all up where they normally are snapped when they are on #3. MIL figured things out just fine and #3 survived the night without mommy. I gotta tell you, it was a welcome break and some much needed adult time. Starting the day with all clean diapers, I thankfully didn't have to worry about diaper laundry when we got home at 10:30, and to tell you the truth, with all the continued yucky diapers today, I have enjoyed today without doing any handwashing either.

This whole experience has been very eye opening. I very much so take advantage of the fact that I have a washer and dryer, I have looked at my water bills, and truly it costs me about $3-4 a month to wash my diapers. Many people pay that to wash 1 LOAD of laundry. I see where cloth would be a huge turnoff to someone who had to pay that. Handwashing would be one way to make things work, if you had to, but I honestly do not know if I could or even want to handwash if I could afford disposables. If I was paying $3 a load of laundry, it would cost me at least $21 a week to wash my families clothes and laundry. That would totally not be affordable. If that was the case, I would honestly get a portable washer, that I could hook up, I am guessing it would be in an apartment, inside my home. The initial cost can be spendy, at about $250-$500, but the payoff would be in leaps and bounds. Even if I got a higher grade Heier washer, it would pay for itself in 5-6 months. That to me would be totally worth the cost. But if this wasn't possible to do, I guess I would probably do a mix of disposable diapers and cloth. I don't know if I could honestly handwash diapers every day, unless I absolutely had to. Hopefully, my life will never come to that. Over all, I am so glad I took this Challenge. It opened my eyes to how half of the world diapers their babies and washes those diapers. To me, the women and men, who handwash out of need are the true ones to look up to. True determination to do the right thing by their children is nothing but admiral and I can only aspire to keep those thoughts close to my heart.