today

7:01am    Eyes snap open, look at the clock.  Stretch, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and head to the kids’ room.

7:05am    Rub Henry’s back and tell him good morning.  He does his typical rolling over onto his stomach in an attempt to stay in bed.  Maria is stirring, and I pick her up to realize the front of her pjs are wet from diaper wicking out the top.  I groan since our washer is broken, and this is just another pee soaked item to stink up the house until I get a chance to do laundry.

7:10-8:00am  Get Maria and Henry breakfast, set out their clothes, shower, and get dressed.  I shove down a grapefruit (too sour) while sitting at the table with Timon.

8:15am    Out the door with both kids.

8:20am    Drop Henry at school.

8:28am    Drop Maria at her caregiver’s house. 

8:35am    Meet Timon back at the church to give him ice for his work cooler.

8:40am-12:35pm    Settle in the office for the morning.  Clear out emails (and ok, Google Reader, too) (ok, and update my FB status, too), decide what the plan is for youth tomorrow night, pick praise band songs for the week and send the email to the band.

12:40pm  Walk home for lunch, realize just how bad the pollen has gotten (REALLY BAD, FYI). 

1:30pm    More work, this time reading some work materials.  Also deal with drama-filled work emails.

2:40pm    Realize the diapers MUST be washed today, laundromat is the choice at the moment.  Gather up those, plus another load to wash while I’m there.

2:43pm    Leave with laundry in back of car to get Henry from school, run into praise band member, discuss drama.

2:51pm    Get in car line, pick up Henry.  Go to Walgreens, pick up prescription for Henry, get cash to use at laundromat.

3:15-3:45pm   Arrive at Maria’s caregivers.  Henry is ushered into the kitchen for a massive snack, since they like to spoil our children (in the nicest possible way).  Chat for a while.  Leave with large hunk of cake in hand for tonight’s dessert.

4:00pm  Get to laundromat, obtain quarters, start diapers in one machine, clothes in another.  $1.75 for cold wash, $2.00 for warm or hot!  Pray that the necessary part for our washer arrives PRONTO, since who can afford the laundromat?!?

4:10-5:00pm  Observe older man who might just be folding laundry for the very first time, judging by his skill at it.  Feel sad because perhaps his wife has recently become unable to do the laundry after a lifetime of taking care of her husband.  Chase children around in futile effort to contain them at the laundromat.  Finally remember the stroller is in the car, get stroller, put Maria in stroller for Henry to push around the aisles.  Learn that despite my long-standing assertion that removing diaper inserts prior to washing is unnecessary, apparently some will not come out in the laundromat washer.  Discover this after both wash cycles have completed and we’re getting ready to leave.  Decide they’ll get fully clean next time.

5:15pm    Get home, see Timon is already home, am thankful for the help bringing everything (including large hunk of cake) in the house.  See he’s already done the breakfast dishes and thank him as profusely as is possible with the level of fatigue I experience.  Put diapers in the dryer, which currently works.

5:20-6:40pm   Prepare, eat, and clean up from taco night dinner.  Get Maria dressed and diapered for bed, not planning to put her straight to bed at 7 but she comes out of her room saying “nigh nigh” to her daddy, and walks back over to her bed.  Refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth, and put her to bed.

7:00pm   Post to the photoblog.  Watch the Rays’ lineup get introduced.  Watch the beginning of the game while typing about my day.

7:36pm  Type these words.

A look into the future:
7:50pm   Consume part of large hunk of cake.

9:00pm   Change channel to LOST, during commercials rotate between Rays game and UCONN women’s basketball attempting to win the NCAA championship (they’ve got pretty good odds). 

10:00pm  Change channel to USA, watch Vincent D'Nofrio’s last episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  During commercials rotate between basketball and Rays (if they’re still playing).

11:00pm  BED, no matter who the heck is still playing whatever.

diapers, revisited

It's been a while since I talked about Maria's cloth diapers on here. I realize there's a limited audience for this type of post, but I'm sure if you're bored, your mouse can find it's way up to that little red x in the upper right corner of your screen and click on it. You won't hurt my feelings. Much.

Anyhoo - I do want to post about our new method we've developed for prefolds but I need my diaper model and she's currently unavailable due to her previous commitment to daycare. But we're still using a combo of Bumgenius 3.0s and prefolds/covers. After the last time I posted about prefolds/covers, she's since moved up to the next larger size in everything. The BGs are at the middle snap and still fit her well. We use a BG stuffed with the big insert and 2 small inserts at night with no leaks. We've also experimented with using a prefold wrapped around a large BG insert or 2 small BG inserts, covered with her Thirsties cover, and had good luck as well.

The biggest change we've made is the realization that all those microfiber inserts were continuing to hold an odor after one rinse and two wash cycles. They wouldn't smell too bad going from the washer to the dryer, but when I'd open the dryer after they were done, I could immediately smell a not so nice scent. We had been using All Free Clear since the beginning since it got a passable rating on some CDing websites, but I began to suspect that a change was necessary. Yes, I tried stripping them with bleach and Dawn dish soap, and it worked, but not for long. BUT, lo...



BEHOLD THE MIRACLE THAT IS ROCKIN' GREEN SOAP! I bought a sample, did the initial soak they suggested, and after a couple more washes, the odor was completely gone. The BG inserts, BG pockets, covers and prefolds simply smell like nothing when they come out of the dryer. Rockin' Green comes in all sorts of scents or an unscented version, with types for hard and soft water - all are safe for cloth diapers or whatever laundry you want to use it for. You barely have to use any (3 tbsps per load) and it lasts a while. I very highly recommend making the switch even if you've never had odor issues. Support small business! I just got my bags that I ordered during the Black Friday sale today in the mail. It smells awesome! A sample costs just $2.50 and ships for $1... Go for it!

[Rockin' Green did not ask me to write this, nor did I receive any compensation for this post. I just really, really like it. Really. For reals.]

using prefolds and covers

While I LURVE my 11 bumgenius 3.0 diapers, I often use prefolds (those old school rectangles that most people picture when they hear “cloth diapers”) and Thirsties diaper covers. Right now she’s in infant size prefolds and size small covers. It’s definitely the cheaper route to cloth diapering, and really, it’s not a big deal. Here’s how we do it (click the picture to make it bigger if it’s not clear):

Steps 1&2: We use a bumgenius microfiber newborn insert inside our prefolds – they last a bit longer that way. You certainly don’t have to do this. I fold the prefold around the doubler the long way.

Steps 3&4: Once folded into thirds, I stuff one end into the front pocket of the diaper cover. Some sources say not to do this, but why else would it be there if not to stop the wetness from leaking out the top of the diaper? Duh.

Steps 5&6: I then pull up on the back of the cover while fitting the prefold/insert combo inside. What’s hanging out the top of the back gets folded down behind. Once she’s a bit bigger and in the medium size cover this step will be skipped.

Steps 7&8: Obviously Maria doesn’t wear bloomers under her diaper but we didn’t want to flash the internets. I then lay the diaper under her bottom and then fasten the velcro tabs, just like you’d do for a disposable or bumgenius 3.0. I usually check around the legs to make sure the gusset is not folded in. Then you’re good to go!

I keep saying how surprised at how LITTLE a deal cloth diapering is. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have my own washer/dryer – in our apartment we used a communal washer and it took quarters, definitely not cloth diaper friendly. I am glad we’re doing it and so glad some of my family and friends are too!

K.I.R.

Hey folks, it's that time again - time to Keep It Real. Transparency is good for the soul.

And gee, it looks like it might be laundry day! This is evidenced by the outfit Maria is wearing - cloth diaper & cover, Ralph Lauren onesie (thanks, godmother Amy!), Walmart hoodie, leggings and socks. Why not pants or a dress on this chilly Florida day (otherwise known as a balmy, lovely day in the rest of the country)? Because they're all dirty. She spit up on her last clean full ensemble as I was putting it on her this morning.

Also Keepin' It Real: Looks like I'm not the only one going bald around here:

I'm very sad about Maria's hair loss - only slightly due to vanity; I do want my little girl to have cute hair. It's mostly because she grew this hair when she was on the inside of my body, and losing it's just one more step on her way to being independent from me. She's growing up too fast, and I don't have to like it.

twenty four bonus post

This amazing giveaway is up at Kelly's Closet. Go enter now!

ooh, check this out!

Jen, Kat, Megan, K, etc... I hope one of us wins!

click here for an awesome BumGenius diaper giveaway...

what, you DON'T want to know about Maria's diapers?

I realize this post might have a limited audience - sorry if this is the absolute last topic you would be interested in reading about... So, we're 6 weeks in and have been using cloth diapers with Maria since she was about 2 weeks, right after her belly button was mostly healed. With her umbilical hernia her button stuck out quite a bit, and the cloth diapers come up a bit higher on her tummy than the disposables, which was irritating the spot. But we're using cloth about 99% of the time now. She does just fine in them, and it really isn't that much extra work. We use two different types - prefolds with covers, and pocket diapers. You might have seen her the other day in a prefold/cover. We have 16 bleached Indian prefolds in the infant size. This is what a pile of prefolds looks like:

And like I've mentioned before, this is the cover we mainly use (Thirsties X-Small), although we also have a few newborn size Bummi's Super-Brite (I don't like the way they fit). These are sized and as Maria grows we will have to buy more covers to keep fitting her. The X-Small looks like it will fit for at least another month, if not more. We have two of them, and also two in the next size.

And this is the pocket diaper we use, the bumGenius 3.0:

I love these pocket diapers - they are nearly identical to put on to disposables, and will adjust to fit her until she's about 30 pounds, hopefully up to potty-training time. We have 6 of these, and hope to continue building up the stash until it's what we use most of the time. They are expensive, but so far seem to hold up very well. I keep two of them stuffed with the larger insert, and we use those at night. She can go about 10 hours in one, with no leaks, and she has had no rash from staying in it so long.

I wash the diapers about every other day - we store them in a small lidded garbage can from Target with a large Bummis Diaper Tote in it. I've never noticed any odor in the room from the diaper pail. She's still breastfeeding, so the dirty diapers don't need to be rinsed before putting them in the can. I wash once on cold/cold with only a tiny bit of laundry detergent, once on hot/cold with the same amount of soap, and one additional cold rinse. Oh! And I've been telling anyone who will listen how amazed I am that the sun really does bleach out any leftover stains on the diapers. I put them out on the hammock for about 30 minutes, and they are as white as could be! Then I throw everything in the dryer and that's that. The diaper covers, pocket diapers and their inserts only needed to be prewashed once, but the prefolds need to be washed about 5-7 times so they'll be absorbent enough to work for you.

I am surprised that a lazy person like myself is taking what seems like a harder road with the whole diapering thing. I'm not exactly sure what has come over me lately - first natural childbirth, then breastfeeding, then cloth diapers? What could possibly be next?

talk about dramatic

Well, I feel like after that tragic haiku I should clarify some things...

1. I work across the street from my house.
2. My wonderful husband is home this week and was really wanting to take care of Maria instead of me having to juggle her and my first night back with the youth group.
3. I'm not actually back to work full-time - I still have about 60 hours of leave time left, and I'm just trying to spread that out by doing what is manageable at this moment.
4. Being back with the youth group tonight was really nice. (Hi, Amber! Thanks for reading! Now go do your homework.)
5. My job is very flexible - I can bring Maria with me most of the time, at least for now. I really have no right to complain about that situation.
6. Um, my baby is flippin' SIX. WEEKS. OLD.
7. I admit to melting down here in my house when I came home to nurse Maria this afternoon. I haven't had too many post-partum meltdowns, so I figure I was due. 'Cause, seriously, people:


Who would want to leave this? I mean, ever?


Oh, and Uncle Phil? Henry saw Maria wearing this hand-me-down shirt, and wonders where his SECOND Purdue shirt is. You other moms might be interested in the Thirsties cloth diaper cover she's sporting. Cute, eh? We've been doing pretty well with the cloth diapers. I'll post more on that another time.

So, in conclusion: Thanks for your sweet remarks about this afternoon's over-dramatic poetry. I will slowly but surely get back to work, and Maria will be just fine. I guess I will be, too.

2 weeks

Man, this time 2 weeks ago (when I started typing this post, that is), I was sitting in a hospital room, trying to keep from pushing out a baby before my body was ready. Today I'm sitting on my couch, watching a re-run of Project Runway while Maria takes a nap. Needless to say, I'm a bit more relaxed now than on her birthday. She's had a big day - we went to the pediatrician for her 2 week visit this morning. She's gained quite a bit - she is now 6lbs, 15ozs and 19.5 inches long... the DR pronounced her perfect, of course. I guess nursing is still going well, considering she's gained 14 ozs in 12 days. We're still figuring out the whole cloth diapering thing - I am already a HUGE fan of the bumGenius all in ones, but we only have 2 so we don't get to use them all the time. There's a trip to the diaper store planned for Saturday to get a couple more of those, plus some preemie size prefolds - she's so small that the regular infant size ones are not fitting well. We have a couple of preemie size ones that we've tried and they fit SO much better that it's worth the 30 minute drive to get them. We haven't given her any bottles or a pacifier yet, which I think has helped keep her feeding really well. She does get to suck on our pinkies sometimes.

We've been slowly adjusting to being a family of 4 - Henry is still having some moody times, but is so loving toward Maria. He thinks being a big brother is hard sometimes, but he likes it. I can't get over how big he seems now. He like to share story time with her, especially while I'm feeding Maria - he'll get up on the bed or couch with us and a book and we all get to be together.

Here's a little taste of Maria in action (with her frequent condition of hiccups):

the purge has begun

And when I say "purge", I mean make room for all the stuff we need for Bertha. Yesterday evening and today were spent cleaning out our bedroom to have space for the pack&play where she will sleep for the first few months. I got rid of enough clothing to enable us to donate one of our dressers (and the clothes, too) to the local battered women's shelter. My rule was if that item of clothing had not touched my body in the past year, it was out the door; and for the most part, I stuck to it. We then rearranged (and by we, I mean Timon and one of the youth from church) the other dressers and lo, there is room for the pack&play. I feel good about what got done. I now feel like I can go on my trip next week with a sense of having done something to get ready for Bertha.

And then I look at the rest of our to-do list and feel sadly behind. Let's take a gander:
build platform for Henry's bed (Timon's going to do this next weekend while I'm gone)
move bookshelf into m&t's room
clear shelf in H's room for baby clothes
move changing table
assemble crib
move Living Room bookshelf to Dining Room
assemble swing
unpack unisex newborn clothes
prepare freezer meals for after baby comes
meet with doula Robyn again
And the doozy - purchase the rest of the baby items we need.

That one basically needs its very own list:
carseat & extra base
carseat swing frame
prefold cloth diapers & covers
a few all-in-one cloth diapers
a couple of bottles
nursing bras
rent breast pump from children's hospital

I'll keep you posted on our progress, which is sure to be slow and steady, since we'll have to fit this all in with work (several big events and extensive preparations for maternity leave), my last bit of travel for quite some time, Timon and Henry's vacation, and who knows what on earth else will come up between now and Bertha's arrival. I am predicting a birth on September 20. 2 months and counting.

crossings

This morning while out on an errand, I saw some cars stopping in front of me. They swerved into the right lane, continuing on their way, and then I saw the source of the delay: a woman was trying to coax a turtle into a cardboard box. I'm sure she was trying to save it from the inevitable collision with the tires of whatever car was too late to avoid it. It was quite a big one - he (or she, I suppose) had a shell 12 inches across and probably 15 inches long. Obviously, the turtle did not want to be put into the box. All of the sudden, a man appeared and picked up the turtle by the shell, and deposited into the small pond about 20 yards off the road from which I presume the turtle was trying to escape in the first place. While he was carrying the poor thing, it's neck was out about 10 inches, swinging it's open mouth around and around trying to bite the man. Bizarre, no?

I went to the OB yesterday - and, I'm (sort of) sad to announce that the streak has ended: I gained back the 3 pounds I'd lost. My BP was good, baby's heartbeat was great, I am measuring right on target. Uneventful - just how I like my OB appointments to be.

One thing I may not have mentioned here before is that we are strongly considering using (mostly) cloth diapers with this baby. Tomorrow we're driving to the north end of our county to do some further investigation at a cloth diaper distributor who has a store here. It's hard to even wade through the mountain of options for cloth diapering these days - when I showed my mom some websites last weekend during my parents' visit, she was astounded at how things have changed since the prefold/rubber pants days of the 70s. So even though there are plenty of product reviews and testimonials available on all sorts of blogs and websites, I'm sure we'll have a much better idea of things after seeing them in person. While we're up there we are going to hit up the Babies 'R Us too, to check out some more stuff: a new car seat, breast pump, and bottle options (ALL of ours from Henry are chock full of BPA - a big no-no so we're now learning). Not buying, just looking for now. Then we'll hopefully have a relaxing Sunday and Monday, ending in a picnic with some friends Monday afternoon. If it rains, there's always the Law & Order marathon on TNT!