Cloth diapering

For those of you who have braved the abyss of cloth diapering and come out alive,  I commend you!  For those of you who have not, (either braved the abyss or have yet to come out alive) I would like to give you just a small snippet of the options available to us now-a-days.

I have been researching this for over 3 months and I am not kidding when I say I keep finding more options.  There are AT LEAST the following options:

Flat diapers - these are the old fashioned cotton diapers that have to be folded, folded and folded again until they fit baby and fastened with a pin or other means.

Prefolds - these are the other cotton old fashioned kind (although a little newer than the flat diapers) that have been prefolded to be thicker in the middle and still need to be fastened with a pin or other means.

Semi-fitted diapers - these are prefold diapers which have been fitted with elastic to go around the baby's legs.  A little bit better fit.  Still need to be fastened with pin or other means.

Fitted diapers - these are prefolds which have been fitted with elastic around the legs and also velcro or snaps at the waist.  An even better fit.


Diaper covers - required for all the diaper styles above.  Our mothers and grandmothers used 'plastic pants'.  These newer diaper covers are better fitted but pretty much the same idea as the plastic pants.  I would venture to say the 'plastic' or waterproof material used now is much more durable and not as loud!  HA!  These can have snaps or velcro at the waist and have elastic at the legs.


All In One (AIO) diapers - These diapers are made of cloth and have a 'built in' diaper cover.  They resemble disposables and are quite easy to use.  The downside is due to the thickness, they take a while to dry.


Pocket diapers - these are similar to the AIO diapers in that they are complete with their own 'diaper cover' however these have a fleece material which touches the baby and a pocket in which you put thick inserts that can be removed for washing and drying.  This cuts down on drying time and gives you an option of how thick you would like to make the diaper.  You can add additional inserts for say nighttime for longer wear.

After you have decided which type of diaper you would like to use, then you get to search through the plethora of which brand offers what type of diaper.  Then what size?  XS, SM, Med, LG or One Size Fits All?  Do you want snaps or velcro?  Do you want white?  Do you want blue hues for your boy?  Do you want pinks for your girl?  Do you want 'unisex' colors?  Do you want prints or solids?  Do you want organic?  Do you want unbleached?  Do you want cotton, hemp, terrycloth, bamboo (yes, I said bamboo) or microfiber?

The list goes on and on and on...it is truly unbelievable.  I have found what I think will be the ones I would like to use.  Luke is potty trained and so therefore I have no child to experiment on.  So I bought just a few of each the styles and brands I imagine I will like.  It will be trial and error once Zachary gets here.

For the more frugal of us moms, the cheapest options out there are the flat or prefold diapers with a One Size Fits All diaper cover.

The cost just goes up if you venture into any of the other options.  I have purchased a few of the AIO diapers for nighttime diapering to keep it simple when bleary eyed and barely functioning.  I figure the easier the better.  Also, these will be good to take with me when I am in a place where someone else might be changing the diaper like church or mom's house. 

Does anyone have any suggestions??  Have I made your head spin enough for today?

Very well...until next time!  : )

25 Things...

This post was inspired by my good friend Rebecca.  Her blog can be found here.  She did this as a post and  it was really fun to read, so here is my attempt.

25 things you may not know about me:

1.  I have a Choctaw Indian heritage from somewhere in the mid-west ("No Man's Land" it used to be called).

2.  I HATE mopping.

3.  I really enjoy reading but I can't read in the car (whilst in motion), it makes me ill.

4.  My mother was in labor with me for over 36 hours...sorry Mom!

5.  I have never broken a bone (I am just not that adventurous).

6.  My husband is 5 years younger than me.

7.  I have NO PATIENCE for lines.  If there is a line at a potluck, I will wait until it has diminished before I go up to get something to eat, even at family gatherings!  HA!

8.  I am a judgmental person by nature and I have to work REALLY hard on keeping my mouth shut in public!  LOL!  It's true!

9.  Typically I don't like to read science fiction.  It's just too weird for me.

10.  The airbag in my car scares me.  I sit as far back from my steering wheel as my little legs will allow.

11.  I would LOVE to live on some acreage and have chickens, goats and even a cow!

12.  In general I don't like wine.  I just think it's yucky.

13.  When working in the kitchen, my husband says I do everything the most difficult way possible.  He just can't even watch me cook sometimes! 

14.  I do not like seafood of any kind.  NONE.

15.  I am a closet vegetarian.  If there was no more meat in the world, it would not hurt my feelings.  I do eat meat, as it is good for me, but it has to be highly seasoned as I just don't enjoy the flavor.

16.  I don't know how to parallel park.  I have tried on many occasions and I have opted just to walk farther for the safety of myself and others.

17.  I have no sense of direction.  When I am given directions on how to get somewhere, I have to read them backward to get home.  I do not have that "feeling" like I came from over here or I live in this direction.  It is just not there!  I could get lost in my own home if I closed my eyes and spun around twice.  : )

18.  My parents have 4 children and I am #3.  I used to sign letters and notes to my parents in that manner.
Love,
#3

19.  I used to want to be a music teacher.  I can play the flute, piccolo, clarinet and saxophone.  I cannot, however, play the piano.

20.  I like to sing and in a choir or small praise group, I will sing the alto part.

21.  I and my family (husband and son) are learning sign language.  We can sign and understand over 100 words.

22.  I much prefer to read a real book than one of those electronic readers.  Call me old fashioned, but I just haven't warmed up to the idea yet.

23.  My mother and husband have a MUCH better sense of fashion and style than I do.  If it wasn't for them, I should never step out of my house.

24.  On the whole, I don't understand the allure of reality TV.

25.  I have recently discovered, God willing, that I would really like to have 4 children.  We'll have to see...

Now it's your turn!  It's more difficult than it looks.  I'd LOVE to read YOUR 25 things.

You can laugh if you want...I don't mind.

I just got finished ironing (yes, I said ironing) 55 pieces of gift wrapping tissue paper.  "Why?", you ask...well, at my baby shower, I made mention of all the gift bags and tissue paper there were.  Our generation is just not into wrapping packages with wrapping paper.

I have been saving bags for a couple of years now to reuse as those puppies are EXPENSIVE!  I thought to myself at my shower, "I wonder how big of a deal it would be to reuse tissue paper?".  My friend Autumn told me that her mother irons the tissue paper to reuse.  What a great idea!!

Now, a couple of months ago, this thought would never have crossed my mind.  I too would be laughing at me.  But now, with the cost of food going crazy and gas prices estimated to be at or near $5.00 per gallon by summer...we ALL need to cut costs where we can.  Every dollar counts when a family is existing on one income and when that family is soon to be expanding!!

So, here is the low down.  It took me a little over an hour to iron 55 pieces of tissue paper.  It would have not taken me as long had I got the idea to fold the tissue in HALF earlier in the process.  DUH!

Anyhoo...at Target, the little packages of colored tissue paper are about $1.99 for 6-8 sheets.  So I figure (at the rate of 8 sheets = $1.99) I saved myself at least $13.69 (plus tax) on tissue paper.  Crazy huh!  AND I have an assortment of colors!  There were a total of 10 colors of tissue paper.

The big question is...would I do it again?  You betcha!!  I would probably not iron a couple tissues at a time, I would save them up so I have a large amount to iron again.  It always seems to save time when you do a repetitive task on a large quantity all at one time as opposed to doing it in small batches.

So like I said, you can laugh if you want to...I don't mind!!  : )

What do you say 100 times a day?

For me it would be any one of, or any combination of the following:

"Listen to me..."
"Be careful son, your mouth is becoming disrespectful."
"If you chose to do that again, you are going to time out!"
"Please go find SOMETHING TO DO!"

Listing it out that way...it sounds like I am a pretty negative mother.  I say the above things all day long!  Interspersed in there of course are the "I love you!", "What a great job!", "Thank you Luke, that was good manners." and all other manner of positive encouragement.  But by in large, on a typical day...what I find myself repeating over and over and over again are the negative comments.

**sigh**  It's tiring to me and it must be tiring to anyone withing earshot, including my son.  Perhaps he has heard these things so often they just go in one ear and out the other?  Is he numb to the whole situation by now?  Is it that he is an only child still and is glued to me all day?  Does the boy have a hearing problem I am not aware of?

I don't want to be a broken record.  I don't want to be a negative parent...I need some other options.  Any parents out there with some helpful suggestions???

It's that time of year again...

...time for summer gardening!!  Darren and I have started some seeds inside this year as the weather has been weird and we were hoping to get a jump start on our garden.  This year Darren is going to be building some containers for square foot gardening.  As I will be pretty tied up with a newborn at home this summer and not be of TOO much help, Darren is trying to make this years garden as manageable as possible.

We will also be trying square foot gardening at our own home (our big garden is out at my Mother-in-law's house).  I will take some pictures when we build the containers.  We plan on planting the following:

Oma's Garden:
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes (heirloom)
Cherry Tomatoes
Roma Tomatoes -LOTS of them for canning
Zucchini
Watermelon
Artichoke
Chard
Celery
Leek
Jalapeno



Our Home Garden:
Herbs (I have already planted out in the front flower bed...hee hee)
Green Onions
Cherry Tomatoes
Lettuce
Peas
Spinach
Collard Greens
Pickling Cucumbers

Not as grandiose as is past years...but enough for us to eat and preserve for the winter.  I can't WAIT!!

Overwhelmed...

I had my baby shower yesterday which was so much fun and so many wonderful ladies turned out to celebrate with me!  What a blessing.


Today, back in the REAL world where the baby's room is only half done, the kitchen is in the middle of being painted and there is stuff EVERYWHERE and all over the house, I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.

It's such a blessing to have so many projects going and so many wonderful gifts to sort through and put away, yet so daunting when it actually needs to be done.  I know Darren is overwhelmed with working and trying to help me with these projects and trying to get it all done like...yesterday.

I don't want to sound ungrateful.  It's not that.  It's that I am 7 1/2 months pregnant with a 3 year old at my feet and I am wondering if I can do it all...**sigh**

I have a whole new respect for all my mother friends and family out there who have been there and done that with more than 1 child.  You ladies are AWESOME and you should be told so!  **hugs**

Whining now over.  Back to work!

30 week baby bump

I can hardly believe it's already 30 weeks and yet...I can't believe it's another 8-10 weeks 'til delivery.  LOL!  Funny how the mind works.  I and baby Zachariah (Zachary is what he will be called henceforth) are doing well.  I am SO blessed!