Toadfrogs and Elephants

I had quite a bit of work due today at 5pm. Thank goodness Alex and Madison entertained each other:

I also discovered that Madison is not a smart dog (Yes she is begging to go outside while staring at the dog door Wade installed):

Alex is finally sitting up enough for his toy car. He’s practicing to be a race car driver like my dad:

Then we have our daily pictures that we send the grandparents:

The painters have packed everything up and left for good. My house is done and I love it!

The before (again):

The after:

While I was taking the house pictures I noticed that my flowers are thriving.

Right after planting:

Today:

Wade told me about Method products quite a while ago and I was intrigued. More than being environmentally friendly, I love a good startup story. The company started with two guys. As I recall, Target finally agreed to carry the products after the people in charge were convinced to give the products a trial run. I have used quite a few of their products – hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, multipupose cleaner, baby shampoo, baby diaper rash cream. Then yesterday I bought the coolest item yet – it’s bathrom scrub and the bottle has a place to hold a sponge. I love it! I’m never sure where to put the damp sponge after I clean and now it has a home. (Not to mention the scrub worked well too).

Wade has been out of town the past few days and he has definitely been missed. Wade almost always gets up with Alex at the 5 or 6 am wakeup and works magic to get him to sleep to 7:30 or 8. It doesn’t work when I try. The past few mornings Alex has ended up in bed with me while I dozed and he laughed and cooed. Today I couldn’t doze too long. We had to be at the YMCA at 8:30.

After a quick work out we were home just long enough for Alex to take a short nap before running out the door for PlayGroup. Amber, my neighbor across the street, set it up and we had quite a group. Most of the mothers had to get home for naps, but the three of us had babies small enough to sleep in arms. We talked while they napped:

Then we were home for me to do a little work, check on the painters, and hopefully get Alex to take another nap. He eventually slept, but had some fun with the worm before that:

Alex is starting to discover his toes – but only while sitting up and looking down at them:

Note: I couldn’t resist taking some more pictures of Alex in his diapers and adding them to yesterday’s post. Enjoy!

I have to admit that an ad for cloth diapers on a baby website got me interested. I knew of one person who used cloth diapers, but I was never around her or her kids to ask questions. I did tons of reading online and even ventured to a store (Nicki’s Diapers) 1.5 hours away (the day bedrest ended) to check the various brands out in person. There are numerous reasons to use cloth diapers – better for sensitive skin, better for the environment, possibly cheaper, etc. Environmental reasons were important to me, but it helped that the diapers were so darn cute.

I had already decided that I wanted the one-size fits all because that meant using the same diapers and not having to buy various sizes along the way (the cost is less in the long run). I also debated between the all-in-ones (AIO) and the pocket diapers. The AIO take longer to dry and the thickness can’t be varied (for newborns or heavy wetters). I determined that if I stuffed the pocket diapers immediately after doing laundry they would function as AIO for everyone else (Wade, kidCare, etc). See a Blueberry pocket diaper below:

The inserts range in thickness and length. Most diapers come with at least one. I loved the newborn inserts from bumGenius when Alex was small. It made the diaper less bulky. When we had a few leaks I began using either two newborn inserts or the thicker insert and haven’t had any problems.

I knew one of the most popular brands was bumGenuis, but a recurring complaint was that the velcro eventually wore out. Therefore I bought numerous brands to try out with the majority being bumGenius. I quickly found two favorites – bumGenius and Blueberry. Wade favors the bumGenuis and I love the Blueberry. I have put up the Happy Heiny’s, Mommy’s Touch, and Wonderoos. They either had too many snaps to secure, were too large for Alex’s legs, or just didn’t work well. Maybe I’ll try them again at a later date.

As I was doing my initial research I realized it would only make sense to also use cloth wipes. I have bought various types and definitely have a favorite – Bummas. I’m not sure what makes them better than the others, but I always choose to use them first.

I use LuSa Organics Diaper Wipe Concentrate to wet the wipes. I probably only mix the solution up once a week or so. Then I keep the wipes damp in a container on my changing table.

Alex is almost six months old and I have used cloth diapers on him for over 5 months. The only staining on the diapers is completely my fault. I knew I needed to be careful about which diaper rash creams I used, but I didn’t listen (creams with fish oil will stain – I now use California Baby or Method). I put an extra insert in the diaper for overnight and don’t have any leaking problems. Alex would probably stay in his clothes longer if he had on disposable diapers, but it isn’t a significant difference. He wore a 3 Month outfit to church on Sunday and can wear 90% of his 6 Month clothing.

I do laundry (just diapers) every 2 to 3 days. I run a cold wash cycle with no detergent and then a regular wash with an extra rinse cycle with Arm and Hammer detergent (using 1/4 of a normal amount) and a few drops of lavendar oil. I then put everything in the dryer for a heavy duty drying. I know the diapers can be line-dryed for extra brightness, but I’m usually too lazy.

Even the wet bags I use for dirty diapers while out and about are cute. I mainly use Planet Wise, Wet Happened? and Blueberry’s Minky Bags. Although all brands say they can be washed and dried with the diapers, I don’t put the Planet Wise bags in the dryer. The inside waterproof layer doesn’t seem to do as well. I do like that the Planet Wise bags come in various sizes.

My current favorite online shop is Nicki’s Diapers (the store I drove to intially). Most everything I order gets free shipping and arrives within a couple of days. The Blueberry diapers are actually cheaper at Nicki’s than on the Blueberry website. I have found the bumGenius at a few local stores – Freckle Face and USA Baby.

I have been pleasantly surprised at people’s reactions to the cloth diapers. My mother thought I was crazy until she saw the diapers in person and realized they are colored and cute and don’t require pinning or folding. Wade humors me but has no problems shaking out the inserts before putting them in the diaper pail (to wash pocket diapers you separate out the inserts from the shell). Babysitters (Nate and Amy) choose the cloth over the disposable. Even kidCare at the YMCA has no complaints. Today I got the okay to have cloth diapers at Mother’s Day Out next fall.

Somehow Sunday always arrives a little too quickly and signals the end of the weekend. Alex had a great night and didn’t get us up until 8. Then he was quite happy to play with Madison while I ate breakfast:

Alex’s good spirits continued after he was dressed for church so I took a few pictures while Wade got ready:

We even had time for a family photo:

Alex was king of naps today and took three of them (which is great because I am desperately trying to finish my book). He and Madison had a post-nap snuggle:

Now he is bathed and fed and in bed for the night – and all without a single cry.

Today was busy! Alex awoke at 5 am and Wade worked his magic to get him back to sleep till 8 (thank goodness). I got up with Alex and fed him his cereal before heading to the gym:

We got home just in time to say good-bye to Wade as he went to play raquetball with Mike. Alex took his morning nap while I did household chores and took a few minutes to read my latest book. As soon as Alex woke up, we headed out for a long walk. I had seem rummage sale signs earlier today and thought they would be a nice addition to our walk. I didn’t plan very well and ended up on a two hour walk (my legs are not happy with me). I did manage a few decent purchases – two baskets for me, a rattle for Alex, and toy for Madison:

The best buy was the old wooden tool bench for Alex. I had to have Wade come pick it up and it needs a little work, but we love old things:

It was naptime for both Alex and I when we got home. While we slept, Wade was on fire with house projects. He patched a whole in the living room (we had an empty light switch spot), prepped the storm door (we are going to put in a dog door for Madison), and put the finishing touches on the shower (tile guys should come next week):

Alex supervised while I cooked nachos for dinner:

Then it was bedtime for Alex and I am off to enjoy some reading time. Good night world.

Happy Birthday Judy!

Now that I have a happy, smiling baby I want some professional photographs taken. I was looking for somewhere other than a department store/babystore/mall store, but I wasn’t sure where to start. Wade suggested posting on Craig’s List under gigs. I thought that was a great idea – until I received 10 million responses. I was looking for someone who was at least semi-pro. I got that plus every amateur photographer out there. Maybe we’ll just wait till we visit Matt and Krista :c)