Cloth Diaper Experiment Update

It truly is not harder to cloth diaper. It didn't seem to make a bit of difference to Logan. I know some people think its gross but wait until you're in the midst of potty training especially if you have a boy. Cloth diapers are no worse than that and honestly the messes are contained unlike the accidents your child has in their underwear. Of course Austin was one who would pull his pants down and pee and poop in the floor because he thought it was funny (that's boys for you). The gross factor has long since been overcome in this house.

One thing I was disappointed about in my trial pack of diapers was the number of diapers that weren't cotton. A lot of them were made of polyester including fleece and microfiber. They just seemed really warm especially with the heat we're having now. So my favorites so far are the cotton prefolds and the Bum Genius Organic All in One. Only cotton touches your baby with these unlike the others. I like the idea of the fitted because they're faster than the prefolds and you still have to use a cover but I didn't like the one that was sent to me. I'm going to try some bamboo fitteds because bamboo is super absorbant, organic and naturally antibacterial. I thought I'd also try a wool cover because it is a breathable fabric and waterproof. So we'll see how these new options will work.

I admit I was thinking about not continuing to do this because I already do so much laundry but Logan got a rash Monday that covered his entire diaper area and I'm really not sure what caused it. It's not like a typical diaper rash but more of a reaction to something (I know this because Austin has a grass allergy and that's what it looked like). I've been using the cloth diapers and airing it out and it seems to be going away now. So that pretty much sealed the deal for me. I'm still going to use disposables when we leave the house and at night until I'm more comfortable with the cloth though.

Austin is 3!

I admit that I fully intended on keeping more up to date on my posts but Austin's 3rd birthday was last weekend so I was incredibly busy getting everything ready for that. I have got to find a way to make these birthday parties less stressful for us. I mean hamburgers and hotdogs with a few sides are supposed to be easy and stress free. Yes, I did make the cake (it is a caterpillar) but it was done on Friday night. Yet somehow I was running around like crazy and didn't get to socialize with everyone and enjoy the party. Next year I think it's nugget trays and hoggies from Publix so we don't have to cook anything while everyone is here.

Waiting patiently to eat the cake.

Austin did get a lot of cool stuff this year though. He was actually interested in all the things that he got which is a change from the last few years. Every day he seems more grown up to me. It is going by way too fast!

Green Mama

It started innocently enough with eating healthier, buying more organic foods and using cleaning products that don't let off VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Then our sanitation service started offering free recycling and we recycle as much as we can. I've even bought the reusable grocery bags and yes I do use them. I'm even phasing out some of our plastic dishes and toys due to the possible health risks. http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/17/914073.aspx

But now my husband thinks I've lost my mind. I decided to try cloth diapers. I mean considering how expensive disposables are, why not? Also how safe is that gel that collects all of that moisture anyway? People haven't been using them long enough for there to be any information on the long term effect. I was inspired by a cousin of mine who has cloth diapers on her baby registery. I actually researched the gDiapers (cloth with flushable liners) when I was pregnant with Logan. But we have had issues with our septic tank and I didn't think it would be a good idea to flush all of that stuff. So I didn't do anymore research until this week.

There is SO much info on cloth diapers and so many options. There are All In Ones that are pretty much like disposable and you just toss in your laundy. There are Pocket diapers, where you insert a pad into the cover. Then there are prefolds, which are much like what our mothers may have used except you don't have to use pins but something called a Snappi. There are also many types of material including cotton, wool and bamboo. You could spend hours researching this stuff (and I have). So basically I found this site that allows you to try out various types for 21 days for only $10 http://www.jilliansdrawers.com . I ordered it and they arrived today. I need to wash them and then we'll try them out.

For all of you green mamas, I found this other cool site of earth friendly shops that you might want to check out. http://www.hyenacart.com

Beginnings

I've recently gotten addicted to reading other people's blogs so I guess the next obvious step is to start my own. Basically for me it's going to be away to get some stuff out of my head. My husband doesn't always want to hear about it all so why not just share it with the world? :)

I first wanted it to be like a vent but after a week at the beach I've decided it's going to be more positive than that. I'm working on complaining less and trying to be more positive.

I admit the positive thing has always been a challenge for me. However the last 3 years have brought some seriously life altering events. My first son, Austin, was born in June 2005. He brought more joy and happiness to my life than I have ever experienced.

Also during this time my dad was undergoing treatment for colon cancer. He was first diagnosed in October 2000. He had surgery to remove the massive growth and went through chemo. Tests in 2001 showed he was cancer free. Unfortunately tests in April of 2004 showed that the cancer was back. It was mine and my husband's one year wedding anniversary and we had originally wanted to wait until we were married for 2 years before trying to get pregnant. But I had this gut feeling that maybe this time things wouldn't work out for my dad and I wanted him to at least get to meet one of his grandchildren. Thankfully my dad did get to do that if only for a short while. He passed away in March of 2006. I'm sure I'll get more in depth about this later because I'll admit that I have not fully dealt with it.

We decided to have another baby and my second son, Logan, was born in December 2007. I'm sure that anyone else that has boys can understand how crazy it can get with their nonstop energy. Right after Logan was born, Bobby's dad got sick and doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. They finally figured out at the beginning of March that he had an extremely rare uncurable blood disease called Amyloidosis. He probably had had it for a few years but the symptoms are such that it makes it hard to diagnose and it had affected all of his organs. He ended up passing away the middle of March.

So you see, we've been through quite a lot. It's change the way that I look at A LOT of things. I am determined that these events are going to make me a better person. I appreciate my friends and family a lot more. I try to let go of any anger I have more easily but thats hard. Hopefully this blog will help me do those things.