Well, the kids are all asleep, and my frantic mid-day power-
tidy is complete. Usually at this point
in the day, I frantically run to my room, toss on PJ bottoms, and DIVE into
bed. I cover my head and try to turn off
all my senses in order to squeeze in a 20 minute recharge nap. Often SOMEONE interrupts right as I do
this. Jesse asking if his quiet time is
done yet, Janna crying over a big poo she just made, or the baby waking up for
some milk. Today, however, everyone is still quiet and I
have some energy from the French vanilla cappuccino I guzzled at Tim’s this
morning, so I will fill you in on our day. I type FAST when I am super caffeinated.
You see, in an effort to proactively battle Janna’s, “middle
child with a new sibling and entering the terrible 2” phase, Dave and I decided
to heed MY mother’s initial advice, which was that we needed to get her out for
lots of quality one-on-one times. My mom said that Jesse would be secure in his
role as big brother, and the only boy, Robyn is now “the baby”, and Janna would
find it extra hard figuring out her place.
Well, as perhaps many daughters do, I ignored my mom’s advice noticing
more issues creeping up with Jesse than Janna.
AND! So not only was Janna seriously bumped from being the baby and only
girl.... she then saw me giving Jesse way more time and assurance than
normal. SO! Mom was right, and we are
working on making her feel very secure and loved.
Back to my morning, Robyn was down for her nap, and Katie agreed
to watch Jesse for an hour before her work shift, and so Janna and I got out
for a play and coffee date together. It
was lovely! One kid is SOOOO easy. I came home refreshed and caffeinated and
took on the task of preparing for Robyn’s first day in cloth diapers.
I always let my babes enjoy their first few months in good
old pampers quality...ok- mostly it’s for me as I adjust to the newborn sleep
deprivation. And wrapping and tossing is
much easier with the intense quantity of poo and pee one of these little angels
produces. However- once the baby settle
into a more predictable sleep cycle I like to start in with it! Cloth diapers
just don’t hold up so well overnight or for intense 5 hour newborn naps.... but
as I mentioned before, Robyn is doing well and has settled herself into a great
sleep pattern, so out-come the adorable colors for her bum!
I use a variety of brands that are pocket one sizes. They have a ton of snaps and adjust from new
born up to the size of 2 year old...so VERY economical. I do prefer the brands that cost me more-
they just work better AND seem to be holding up a bit better. These are the ones I use on Janna mostly. However, I had to pull out some of my china
cheapies AND size small AMP diapers(not my faves) this morning – as I’ll be
needing ALL of them with 2 girls in cloth diapers. The amp diapers are absolutely adorable,
though, see:
Last night, I took to doing an intense stripping (cleansing
them of ANY soap or dirt or ammonia build up) of all my inserts to get these
beauties ready to be stuffed. I started
with a stove boil in cider vinegar, followed by a hot water vinegar soak for an
hour. Then, I proceeded with my regular
monthly routine strip in the washing machine with baking soda and vinegar, and followed
by a plain hot super wash. Oh man, I was
so glad nobody stopped into our house last night. The stench of ammonia was bad enough, but on
top that was the scent of freshly cut onions I have replaced around the rooms
in my house to absorb germs, AND the pungent smell of garlic in the WAY too
strong PAD tai sauce I made for dinner. NEW RECIPE FAIL! I hate that.
Anyways, I do not do all of this work, because I think cloth
diapers are just cute on my kids bums. I
do it to save money and help the environment a bit. We have saved over a thousand dollars cloth
diapering so far- and my diapers are in great shape- and I’m feeling certain
will last for baby 3 and 4.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I DO think they are SUPER adorable
on kids. Check these out from a ways back....
But, cuteness alone is not worth the extra effort cloth
diapering takes. Now- I have heard some
people argue that cloth is NO extra hassle at all. Compared to a disposable, that is a lie! To wrap and toss a diaper is less work than
pulling out a stinky insert, perhaps rinsing poo off your cover, and then later washing,
hanging, drying and re-stuffing the diapers.
Throw in your occasional strips, line drys, or snap repair- and it
definitely takes more time that using a disposable. But- not a tremendous amount more, and when
you are home with kids, and can take a few minutes at each change and stay on
top of laundry... it’s really not a big deal!
On the other hand, I am not a cloth purist. I do
not think that pampers have such intense chemicals that my children will be
scarred with bum issues later in life or a learning disability??? (can you
detect my sarcasm). In fact, I’m a bit
of a hybrid diapering mama I’d say. I use a disposable if we will be out of the
house for a while and I don’t want to worry about fitting a bum change in. Yes-cloth diapers do need to be changed a bit
more frequently than disposables. I also
use one at night time. The task of
double or triple stuffing a diaper and then having your baby practically in the
splits from all the extra bulk in there, is just a funny and uncomfortable
looking sight. And while I did find a
diaper that seemed to work overnight with just one layer...the stink in the
morning from the length of time the diaper was absorbing pee, always started
the day off sour for me. ....Anyways, I can live with myself and I think God
will forgive me for the disposable diapers that I have thrown into the
garbage. I do love His world and believe in taking care
of it, and I think He sees my heart and the variety of ways I attempt to do
this in our culture, and is pleased.
I think it's great that you and Janna had a coffee date. :)
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