ready for more adventures

if you remember last year, my desperation to move, well, it has returned. not that it ever went away, but it was pretty clear that god wanted us to stick around for a bit (and thankful that we did, otherwise i wouldn't have my midwife with me during this pregnancy!). now we are once again at that place where we are asking god to help us move, this time to washington state. i've wanted to leave this city for as long as i've been here, and was always determined that i wouldn't be "stuck" in my hometown. i have often felt stuck and i'm so open to change, at almost any expense. (okay, obviously not any expense, but life is an adventure and i'm ready to live one!)

my family just recently moved to washington and we are hoping to follow close behind. my mom won't be able to meet our little girl until christmas time, and that's only if we're able to move. i'm not willing to make a plane trip alone with two babies, unless it's to stay where i'm going, and who knows when they'll be able to visit texas again. the kids have been homeschooled their entire lives (my brother, up until january when he started public school in pittsburgh) and this year my mom decided to put them in public school, so gone is the flexibility that comes with homeschooling -- no more random trips in the middle of the school year, school books in tow! i am ready to be out of this hot, hot city and move to a cooler climate. i'm excited to move to a new city, especially being able to live so close to my mom, my best friend. i've never been west, and i never imagined someday i would live in washington! but i'm so ready!

we are working toward this goal and have officially informed our family and friends that we want to move. if everything works out, we will be moving in early december. we are hoping to get rid of almost everything we own, except for what can fit into a small trailer that will hook up to our tiny car. i'll fly up with the babies (a two-year-old and a one-month-old... god help me) and john will drive the long drive. it's quite a feat but i think we will be able to accomplish it. i will breathe big breaths of fresh, rainy winter air when we arrive and know that our unconventional life in washington will all be worth it! i really enjoy moving and starting fresh, even if things don't go as expected (honestly though, i have no idea what to expect).

my little sister, who is just about to turn ten, has been praying every night to st. joseph, the patron saint of travel, that we will move there. so duh, it has to happen. (when my mom told me this it made me want to cry. how i miss my little sweetheart.) it's all in god's hands right now. i am very excited and ready, sooo ready!

concerning my child's eating habits

I wrote this when River was 16 months old and never got around to posting it. Going back and reading it made me laugh. I found that for us, 12 months was that magical age when people started asking me, "you're still breastfeeding?" and similar questions. Of course, we've weaned since, but here's your answer! And for the record, two months later he decided on his own to begin filling his little tummy with solids. I was never worried. :)

Am I still breastfeeding? Yes, as you can clearly see (and I assume you already know the answer) I am still breastfeeding. It’s not so much the question that annoys me as the context in which it is said. If the question was simply, “You’re still breastfeeding?” that would be perfectly understandable for someone to voice their curiosity about extended nursing... although I think it’s sad that nursing my sixteen-month-old is considered extended breastfeeding; however, the question almost always comes in a tone a voice that says, “That’s weird! And sort of gross. Shouldn't you have weaned him like, four months ago?” Yes, I know many children are weaned at six months, and even less at one year. Yes, I know you gave your three-week-old cereal in his bottle thirty years ago. Yes, I know you think I’m probably going to nurse him until he’s twelve. Yes, I’m still breastfeeding.

No, he’s not “probably really hungry” because he “hasn’t eaten any real food.” First of all, breast milk is real food. If it is not, then I have been feeding my kid fake food his entire life. Now these Oreos I’m stuffing in my mouth? This is fake food at its finest. Second of all, River receives 90% of his nutrition from me, every day. He rarely eats more solid food than a snack here, a snack there. So if this kid is “really hungry” because the lack of “real” food, he sure doesn’t show it at 32 inches high and 23 pounds.

He is a little low in his iron, but not by much. We're working on it... but no, he’s not low in iron because I’m still breastfeeding. Breastfeeding beyond a year does not cause low iron. He has low iron because he won’t eat anything else! And in case you’re wondering (because I know you are), no, I do not deprive him of solid food, refuse to offer solid food, or discourage him eating solid food. In fact, I offer him solid food every day. I am not discouraged, worried, nor upset about his unwillingness to eat solid food. Sometimes I get a little impatient and wonder when we’ll be able to enjoy a nice family dinner together all around the table, but when it comes down to it I know that when he is ready, he will let me know.

And on that note, no, he does not need cake! Don’t oh-come-on-it's- just-one-bite me! Don't tell me the crazy story of your friend from college who didn't let her son eat cake until he turned five. (What's so wrong with that, anyway?) Did he ask for cake? Then why would I shove it in his mouth if he didn't ask for it and most definitely doesn't need it? Why are you so concerned that I am still breastfeeding, yet you want me to give my one year old cake -- something packed with sugar and of no nutritional value? Sometimes I give him tastes of cake. But why is it your business at all how often I should offer junk food to my child? He does not eat vegetables, he hardly eats fruits and grains, and you think it would be fun to give him cake. Thanks, but I would much rather give him a palate for healthy solids first.

So next time you feel the need to ask me if I’m still nursing, suggest that my child is probably unhealthy in some way because I’m still nursing, or inquire as to whether I would like to offer him a piece of cake, you know the answer. ;)

baking soda for odor

when john and i were first married, we had two kittens. they were big and little brothers and the sweetest dog-cats you will ever meet. i am not a cat person, but i loved these boys. when i got pregnant my sense of smell became extremely sensitive and one morning i walked into the living room and instantly had the urge to puke. all of a sudden, i could smell the worst smell known to mankind... cat pee. that's right, my adolescent cat had been marking his territory unbeknownst to us.



so, long story short, we found new homes for the cats and my husband spent night after night using every chemical known to man (not really but almost) and steam-cleaning our carpets probably ten times, while i spent weeks just hanging out in bed, avoiding the living room. eventually, we got things back to normal and i could once again stand to be in the living room.

fast-forward about a year and a half later. we move some furniture around and i start getting these whiffs of cat urine every once in a while. you have GOT to be kidding me. (i told you this story was gross.) when we moved our area rug, we revealed the part of the carpet that he marked most, by the window under our christmas tree at the time we had the cats... it was his favorite spot to mark. that was his christmas tree, damnit.

at this point, i didn't know what to do. we'd already steam cleaned the crap out of the carpet and thought we'd taken care of the problem, and had since switched to using all-natural cleaners (not that all those chemicals did much anyway, apparently). i decided to go the baking soda route.

i had read that baking soda works wonders at removing odors, specifically carpet odors. but you don't just sprinkle the stuff... no, you pile it on. we're talking one or two inches of baking soda. it's supposed to look like it snowed in your house. so that's what i did. i heavily coated the entire area that had been under the rug and let it sit for two days before vacuuming it up.

would you believe the odor was gone? trust me, i got on hands and knees and put my nose to the carpet. in many cases, baking soda is pretty good at absorbing odors -- even strong, lingering odors. i looked it up to find out why it works, and found this:

The science behind the phenomenon is simply that sodium bicarbonate (as baking soda is known to its friends) is amphoteric; that is, it reacts with substances that have either strong acid or base pHs. [Most bad smelling things give] off a vapor of strongly acidic particles, therefore sodium bicarbonate powder, with its large surface area, will react with those particles and neutralize them by making them less acidic.

it goes on to explain why the whole baking-soda-in-the-fridge thing may not work very well, but at least that explains why it worked so well at getting rid of the cat smell, and how it could work for other odor issues as well. and hello, two boxes of baking soda is a lot cheaper than a can of carpet cleaner with nasty chemicals.

wordless wednesday: it finally rained

screw being a housewife

last week i boiled a chicken for dinner and had about a gallon of beautiful, golden chicken broth left over. oh, i had plans. i could put it in our rice for yummy flavor, i could saute veggies in it, i could make delicious soup. it was the reason i bought a whole chicken in the first place. i carefully poured the broth in a couple of containers, closed the lids, and let the steaming liquid cool before putting in the freezer. then i went to bed. i woke up the next morning and one of my first thoughts was, CRAP. i forgot to put the $&#% broth away! that night as i was pouring out rotten, nasty-smelling chicken broth down the drain (yes, i waited all day), i told my husband, i HATE being a housewife! (not true.) i am a horrible wife and mother! (arguable.) i suck at it! (true.)

i joke around about being messy and unorganized, but it really does bother me. when i make an effort to be organized, i almost always fail. the thing is, i love organization. i will spend hours cleaning out and sorting through stuff in a closet and actually enjoy it. why can't i translate this insanity to other parts of my life?!

a few days ago a friend of mine asked this question on facebook:

SAHM's: Please describe your house to me. Is it clean? A total wreck? Who does the cleaning and when/how?

we are in similar situations, as we both practice a lot of the same parenting philosophies, and she has a two year old and just had a baby. i figured we are probably in the same boat in a lot of ways. i took the plunge and replied with total honesty.

right at this moment? the kitchen counters and dishes are clean because we finally gave in and cleaned them last night. there is still random junk everywhere, though. papers, toys, and whatnot. 

the living room is messy... there's a pee diaper under the coffee table, a few of rivers toys strewn around and some random junk on the floor -- a piece of paper, a sprayer from a spray bottle (?), my shoes, the couch throw pillows, john's socks, river's little suitcase he plays with, a wipe container, some alphabet cards, a couple blankets and pillows from our bed are on the couch, the vacuum cleaner in the corner.

our bedroom? a total mess of clothes, everywhere. clothes that are in giveaway bags, clothes that need to be folded, clothes that need to be washed. our bed is unmade, and the pile of crap on top of the dresser grows every day.

the bathroom needs to be scrubbed. the bathtub in clean but i need to clean the toilet, sink, and mop the floors. there's a pile of clothes in the corner. for the most part, everything is picked up though.

river's room is messy as anything right now. last month it was perfectly clean because he hardly ever plays in there and i had a place for everything. but now, we are still trying to organize all these new diapers and baby clothes we have, and there is just no room. i just finished bagging clothes we are getting rid of and reorganizing the diaper dresser, but there are still diapers and clothes all over his bed that have no home. his toys are all over the place because we had a little friend come over last week and together they dumped out about every toy he owns, and with everything being so unorganized in there as it is, i haven't found the motivation to clean it up.

the second living area/computer/craft area is ridiculous, mostly river's doing. books off the bookshelf, toys and shoes and sippy cups and more toys and mail and piles everywhere and just mess.

piles of laundry in the laundry closet. just finishing a load of diapers now.

all this, plus we have tile all throughout the house and it needs to be swept and mopped desperately. we have a dog who sheds like crazy and a toddler who leaves crumbs everywhere... so you can imagine.

who cleans? me. or, i don't clean, rather. LOL. i finally understand why my mom always got so pissed off when we kids made little messes... because we figured it was no big deal and she knew SHE was the one who would have to clean it up. when i was a teen, my room was almost always picked up. now, i just leave my crap wherever it is, instead of taking the effort to put it back where it goes. if everything else is just left lying around, i get overwhelmed and don't even bother picking up as i go. i know it's part of being a perfectionist. the "if i can't have everything perfect, then it's not even worth trying" mentality. on days when i do try to keep things clean and picked up, i feel like i am working my ass off ALL DAY LONG.

thanks for asking this question, it feels good to honest and blow off steam! the state of my house bothers me everyday and i just lack the motivation to do something about it. these are the resounding thoughts i have: wanting perfection, lacking motivation, and feeling completely overwhelmed. i feel like i just sat through a session with a therapist! bahaha..

i saw a video house tour from young house love a couple weeks ago and in the video she kept apologizing for the mess. i was all, "omg, that's your messy?! that's my CLEAN." so if you read that and thought, "ew." please refrain from telling me. i thought "ew" too. if you read this and thought, there IS someone out there just like me! then i'm happy to have helped you with your confidence level as a housewife. now tell me about your house so i don't feel so bad. we gotta stick together.

AJ's chicken

hello, fellow meal-challenged friends! i have another ridiculously stupideasy meal for you.

growing up, every sunday my mom made a roast with carrots and potatoes in the slow cooker and had the whole family over for lunch after church. such wonderful memories! one sunday she realized she hadn't bought a roast and wasn't sure what to make for lunch so last minute. my little brother, who was probably three or four at the time, said, "use chicken instead!" so she did, and it was delicious, and from then on we called it AJ's chicken and it was a regular meal in our home. now, my slightly different version is my "oh my god i don't know what to make for dinner" meal. we almost always have chicken breasts and potatoes on hand, and i'm always buying carrots and then not eating them and letting them go bad. so before the life of the carrots end, i make this super easy, throw-together meal for us. these measurements are all guestimations, and this is enough to feed john, river and i with a little left over.



3 chicken breasts
3 potatoes, chopped (or about 1 1/2 cups)
2 whole carrots, chopped (or about 1 cup)
1/2 large onion, chopped (or about 1/2 cup)
3 tbsp butter
salt, garlic, and rosemary to taste

the night before, i put the frozen chicken in a baking dish in the fridge to let it thaw. when it's time to prepare the meal, i add the chopped veggies to the dish, season everything and toss, and then cut the butter into chunks and place it on top of the mixture. then i cover the baking dish (with tinfoil if it doesn't have a top) and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour, or whenever the chicken is cooked through. it's so easy and fast to make, and i love baking food rather than cooking it on the stovetop, because you don't really have to keep an eye on it. just leave it and forget it until the timer goes off. this meal is kind of hard to mess up, so just chop away at veggies until it looks right, and season until you think it'll taste good. ;)

the minimalist baby

when i was pregnant with river, a friend told me that i would receive more baby clothes than anything else. she said before her son even made his entrance into the world, she piled up all his little outfits, covering the entire surface of her king-size bed. even though she had registered for a night light, a diaper stacker, a swing, a carrier, a playpen, a baby wrap, and so on, people still gave her clothes galore. who can resist the precious, little baby booties and adorable prints on tiny onesies?

i've talked with other friends about how overwhelming it is to register for your baby as a first time parent. you want to make sure you have everything -- after all, babies need a lot of stuff, right? i mean, there wouldn't be an entire super store dedicated to all things baby if not... right?! i've heard poor mamas say they've broken down sobbing during the process of registering (thanks to those awesome pregnancy hormones) and i can assure you john and i got into little spats here and there in the midst of deciding over crib sheets with safari animals or stripes, and similar, very important discussions.

the morning after river was born, we packed up and stayed at my grandparent's for a couple days while the air conditioner in our apartment was being fixed. since it was totally not planned and completely last-minute, and i had just given birth at home (not needing to pack a hospital bag, obviously), i didn't do much to prepare for being away from the house for two days with a brand new baby. we packed a couple onesies, diapers and wipes, socks, a pacifier, and a couple receiving blankets. i was worried that once we arrived, i was going to remember a bunch of things that we were in dire need of, and john would have to run to the store to pick it up. (the only time this happened was when we realized we didn't have a single burp cloth.)

when we arrived back at home two days later, i realized that i had not needed much to care for river. when he was hungry, i nursed. when he was discontent, i swaddled him. he slept in the bed with me and my husband. besides his hat and socks, i didn't even put any clothes on him because it was so hot. we used olive oil for his dry newborn skin, and breast milk to clean his gunky eyes. i was marveling at this to one of my midwives and she concurred -- she had raised six kids (seven? i can't remember) and it was true, all you really need to care for a happy, healthy baby is diapers, clothes and boobs (some may even argue the necessity of diapers).

with this little one on the way, i have found the desire to buybuybuy has diminished considerably. when you are a brand-new parent, the baby product ads really play on your emotions -- of course they do! preparing for a new baby is fun and super exciting, and the time surrounding the birth of a new baby is a romantic time. hello, it's like you're getting ready to play your own, real-life adult version of house (except this time, the babies actually do cry and poop and wake up seventeen times in the middle of the night).

of course, there are a few things that really came in handy, but if we don't get our hands on them for baby girl, i won't be disappointed. for one, i love exersaucers and swings. in those first few months, our swing helped me keep my sanity. and when river started wanting to be upright all the time, it was nice to stick him in the exersaucer for a bit when i couldn't necessarily carry him or put him on the floor. (but a brand-new exersaucer and swing that you will only use for a few months, a year at the most? not worth it to me. that's why gently-used is the way to go!) a stroller is a life-saver and i know there are quite a few anti-stroller people in the attachment parenting community, but let me tell you... when you are lugging a purse, diaper bag, camera bag, and an 18-pound baby while rushing to your next flight that is leaving in three minutes and happens to be on the complete opposite end of a giant airport, a stroller really comes in handy. just sayin'. oh and toys? pretty unnecessary for a baby, in my opinion. we never did the whole lights & music thing, and river was always way more interested in things that weren't toys at all.

what am i passing up this time around? a baby bath tub, pacifiers, a playpen, bottles, disposable diapers, a bouncer, a crib, a changing table... you name it. this baby has clothes, cloth diapers, a sling carrier, and breastmilk. (of course, i do realize that every family and every situation is different, so what may be realistic for one mama may not be realistic for another.) so far we don't have a swing or exersaucer. and i'm okay with that (for now... ask me in a few months ;). i want to get the hang of wearing this baby a lot the first few months, something i rarely did with river but always wished i could. and a bonus is the less "stuff" your little one has, the more his needs are met by human contact, which is what nature intended and how babies thrive!

wordless wednesday: the breakfast of lazy moms

changed

i'm not writing about this like i'm the only person this happens to. i'm sure it happens to all moms, which is why moms "lose" themselves (the person the were before they had children, when the only person you have to really answer to is... you). who am i beneath the title "mother"?

i would have never thought to describe my relationship with my baby as this, but i think all mothers become "obsessed" with their children. i don't mean like everything in my world revolves around him, or he is the main joy of my day, or everything i do is based on his part in my life, or he's changed me or made me a different person, or that i find it hard to do things for myself because he comes first, before everything including myself, sometimes including my husband, including god. oh... that's exactly what i mean.





a few weeks ago at a visit with my dear midwife, she asked, "how are you? not whitney the mother, or whitney the wife, but how is whitney the woman?" and being the complete emotional wreck that i have been during this entire pregnancy, i almost wanted to cry. i don't know why i wanted to cry. it wasn't like i was mourning, or sad at all. i guess it was... overwhelmed. almost like, there's whitney the woman? i am someone outside of a mother and wife? i'm sure you can relate.

how can a mother find herself again when she is faced with such passion? how can her life ever mean anything else when her child becomes her very world? what i mean is, practically every decision i make is weighed first on how it will affect my child. most of the time it's really not a big deal. i love everything about being a mother and making a few sacrifices doesn't mean much to me. but then i don't think about how it has affected me. in small ways that i have to really think about to discover. like... i don't wear a million bracelets anymore because it's kind of inconvenient when you're trying to deal with a kid. and before i weaned river, i hadn't worn a dress in over a year because i couldn't breastfeed in one -- and i love dresses. and i don't draw anymore, because i'm afraid my toddler will grab my paper, and it's hard to keep an eye on him when i'm concentrating on a drawing. and i'm not going back to school yet because i'm pregnant and i have a hard time pumping milk and therefore can't store milk for a baby to drink while i'm at a class. maybe that sounds really selfish, but it's something you don't realize is even happening. at least i didn't. they change your life in a sneaky, unnoticeable way.

i'm not complaining. just observing. i love, love, love being a mommy. it's the one thing i've always known i wanted to be. i wouldn't trade it for anything. who knew a small person could have such an enormous impact on your complete being? it's the most beautiful thing in the world, and i'm honored that god trusts me with these little souls.

my experience with detergents

i want to start off by saying that our wash routine in the beginning was bit different than the recommended cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse, to avoid spending the time and money on three washes [since we didn't have our own washer and there is no "rinse" option at the laundromat]. then we got a front-loader and well, that was just the biggest headache i've ever had while cloth diapering. finally, about a month ago, we traded the front-loader for a top-loader and i finally feel i have my sanity back. so it could have been that the problem i had with some of these detergents had more to do with the wash routines or wash machines than the actual detergent. also, keep in mind that for whatever wild, unexplainable reason, some detergents work great for some people, and not for others. two people could have the same kind of water, washer, and wash routine, and a detergent will work great for one mom and not the other. i don't know why. but here is my experience with detergents i've used.

charlie's soap: one cold wash with no detergent, one hot with detergent.

we decided to start off with charlie's soap because it is what is recommended in the green mountain diaper booklet that is sent with the diapers (very helpful by the way, if you are new to cloth). we used charlie's for about five months, and i can tell you that i was not in love with it. my diapers always smelled musty. sometimes when they dried outside on the line, they had that outdoor smell. and not the pleasant outdoor smell, but the smell your kids smell like when they've been playing outside in the heat for a while. yeah, that. they were always very crunchy (i could hold one up straight in the air after it dried -- if you can do this, your diapers probably aren't getting rinsed out well enough) and i never felt they were really clean, but i never had leak, rash, or build-up issues with this detergent. i wouldn't buy it again.

member's mark (sam's) ecoresponsible liquid laundry detergent: one cold wash with no detergent, one hot wash with detergent.

we used this detergent for a short amount of time in between charlie's and tide. surprisingly (especially now that i know what conventional detergents can do to cloth) we didn't have any rash, leak, or build-up issues with this detergent. the diapers seemed to get pretty clean, but were still pretty crunchy on the line. i wouldn't buy this to use with the diapers again; personally, i would not recommend a regular detergent to wash your diapers.

tide free powder: one cold wash with no detergent, one hot wash with detergent.

at just over $3 for a big box of powdered tide, i figured it was well worth it to at least try it! after the first couple times i washed the diapers with tide, using half the recommended amount of detergent as often suggested, the prefolds diapers stunk horrible -- not just ammonia, but of poop. we stripped them, thinking maybe build-up had finally caught up with us, but they didn't just have build-up, they were not even clean. i consulted the ladies on diaperswappers.com and many of them told me that using the full amount of tide would solve my problems. i started using the full amount for every wash, and after months of using charlie's, my diapers finally smelled and felt as clean as i always thought they should. they were so clean in fact, i didn't feel the need to use detergent for both washes. river was not getting a rash and all seemed to be going well, but out of the blue one day, he started leaking horribly at the leg gussets! i didn't know at the time that this was attributed to the detergent, but i stripped the diapers (again), and when i started using a cloth-diaper friendly detergent, they stopped leaking.

regular tide liquid: cold wash with no detergent, a hot wash with detergent, and then two more cold washes to rinse the diapers. and i guess i hadn't learned my lesson, because when we stayed at a friend's house for a week i just used whatever detergent they had on hand to wash our diapers, which happened to be regular liquid tide. sure enough, within just a couple days the diapers started leaking again. this time i knew it was because of the detergent, and as soon as i (once again) stripped the diapers and started using my diaper detergent, the diapers went back to their normal absorbency. (moms, just know that if your diapers are leaking every hour or two, they are NOT doing their job and something is wrong! cloth diapers are not supposed to leak like that.)

rockin' green: in my front-loader, i would do two delicate warm washes without detergent, one hot heavy-duty wash with detergent, and seriously, like 4 or 5 rinses. each time.

rockin' green is HE compatible, but it did NOT work in my front-loading machine (honestly, i don't think anything would have worked). my diapers leaked if i did any less than the above wash routine, and i just didn't feel like they were getting clean. i won't go any further into explaining, because i tried everything in the book, from adding water to the machine to washing with giant, sopping wet towels. my best piece of advice: don't get a front-loader if you plan on using cloth. sigh.

now, with a top-loader, i did one short cold wash with no detergent, one hot heavy-duty wash with detergent, and two short cold washes without. i got to experience the glory of it when i visited my mom and used her washer for our diapers. the diapers came out smelling like... nothing! which is what cloth diapers are supposed to smell like! and they were softer and for the first time, i felt like they were actually getting clean. check out my full review of rockin' green here.

country save: now that we have a top-loader, i do one warm wash with no detergent, one heavy-duty hot wash with detergent followed by two warm rinses, and a cold wash with no detergent.

i decided to try country save because it is so much cheaper than rockin' green, and i'm pretty happy with it. the wash routine is a little trickier than what i wrote above. i still haven't figured out the right amount of detergent to use. river is not using diapers as much so we are doing smaller loads (about 6 diapers), so using the full 2 ounces of detergent is way too much. i've been using 1 tablespoon, but i don't think that's enough because often, i have to do another wash (i gauge this by sniffing the diapers after the hot wash -- if they are still slightly smelly or musty at all, i do another hot wash with 1 tablespoon of detergent). the only thing is, when i use more detergent, there are tons of suds in the rinse cycles and i have to keep rinsing and rinsing until the suds are gone. sometimes this takes forever! however, my diapers are very clean and soft, even after hanging on the line. i do notice the microfiber inserts are harder to get clean than the prefolds, and this is a little frustrating. and lately, river is a little red in the bum, so i think he may be a little sensitive to this detergent. i'm not sure why.

this is why my favorite detergent ends up being rockin' green. 1) it rinses very well 2) he never got a rash and 3) i feel like my diapers were cleanest. as soon as the country save is all used up, i plan on getting more rockin' green.

so, now you tell me, what's your favorite detergent for diapers, and why?

wordless wednesday: genuinely perturbed

affordable, doable prefolds

with a new baby on the way, we've been stocking up on more diapers, mostly pockets. most of these diapers we've received as gifts, or have purchased with baby gift money, so i've been choosing nicer diapers i wouldn't normally spend my money on, like adorable grovia all-in-ones and rumparooz pockets. i'm realizing how expensive these diapers are, and how unrealistic it is for people to completely fill their stash with these types of diapers. it's reminding me of how affordable prefolds are, and what a great option they are if you want to cloth diaper but can't afford to spend $20 or more per diaper.

if your only option is to use prefolds you are not getting the short end of the stick. they work wonderfully and are not difficult to use. we used prefolds for river exclusively for over a year and i have plenty of friends who actually prefer prefolds over any other type of cloth diaper. cloth diapering in itself is a little more work than using disposables, and i haven't really found prefolds to be that much harder than using pocket diapers.

how affordable are prefolds? in this hypothetical cloth diapering scenario, i'm going to give you an example of a diaper stash using what i've found to be my favorite products after two years of diapering -- not caring about cost, but not spending more than i would realistically if i were starting a prefold-only stash from scratch: chinese cotton prefolds (infant), clotheez prefolds (medium), thirsties duo wraps, happy heinies hemp inserts (for night-time diapering), snappi fasteners, a home-made diaper sprayer, and a planet wise wet bag. wash day is every three days.

14 thirsties duo wraps (6 size-1, 8 size-2) - $179

2 dozen chinese infant prefolds - $45

2 dozen medium clotheez prefolds - $64

5 happy heinies hemp inserts - $15
5 snappi fasteners - $15

diaper sprayer made at home - $25

planet wise wet bag - $21

total - $364

- for this stash, i chose an excellent cover. thirsties are my fav! some people would say you really don't need 8 covers, but i prefer to have a good selection, just in case.
- my prefold choice is based on quality and how long the prefolds will be used. i have found clotheez prefolds made by green mountain diapers to be excellent prefolds. i wouldn't choose them for the infant stage though, because the chinese infant prefolds fit longer (up to 15 pounds) and aren't as pricey.
- i added hemp inserts to the stash for night-time diapering, because they are super absorbent and work great when you put them under the prefold in the cover.
- i've learned that snappis are not essential, but if you want to use them, four or five is a realistic number. not initially, but you may have to replace some (and you will lose some). however, often times i just trifold the prefold and lay it in the cover, no fastener required. i do like to use snappies every once in a while. it really just depends on my mood.
- you can buy a pre-made diaper sprayer, but it's not worth it to me when you can just put one together easily at home for half the price, by picking up a few items at your local hardware store. if your hubby (or you!) is the least bit handy, he can put one together in a snap!
- i really like my planet wise hanging bag, but i just put the regular wet bag on this list. the hanging bag is an extra ten bucks, and we don't hang ours anyway because the weight of the diapers gets too heavy for the doorknob.

add to this the cost of washing your diapers 12 times a month, and that's roughly about $60 a year spent on rockin' green diaper detergent. not bad. go ahead and add costs for shipping (or purchase from a cloth diaper website that offers free shipping, or better yet, buy locally if possible) and you're still saving tons of money. how about check craigslist or diaper swappers for gently used diapers? saving even more. and keep in mind, prefolds and covers can be used through multiple children!

 here is a medium clotheez prefold tri-folded and laid in a thirsties cover. this is a perfectly good way to use prefolds, no snappi required! and when baby starts to grow out of his prefolds, you can continue to use them in this way rather than trying get a snug fold.


here is the same prefold fastened on river with a snappi. these prefolds have fit river since he was 4 months and 16 pounds and fit perfectly right now, at 25 months and 25 pounds.

is it not crazy to you that you can diaper your child for three years for this amount of money? even though i've written about the savings of cloth diapers before and have been cloth diapering for two years, it still amazes me. 

daddy's shoes

every baby needs a picture in his daddy's shoes, right? this morning river came toddling down the hallway in daddy's shoes and hat (my husband is never without a hat) and my heart just about melted. he proceeded to go about his morning -- riding his scooter, playing with blocks, having a nice chat on the phone with blue from blues clues -- dressed in the hat (the shoes weren't quite the right fit). i love this boy.

and the little one said, roll over

sharing sleep with our son... there is nothing sweeter than being woken up to a chipper "hi mama!" and tiny kisses on the lips and little chubby hands trying to fit my glasses on my face. it is the best morning greeting, better than the sun shining on my face. i love waking up in the middle of the night and laying a hand on his chest, making sure he's still breathing in... breathing out... i love that he's right there next to me, that if he wakes up in the dark he won't be scared because he knows i'm right next to him. sometimes he snuggles back to sleep, sometimes he wraps his little arm around my neck, sometimes he stays where he is. i love how when i go to bed, he's there sleeping, looking like a little angel (like all babies and mischievous toddlers when they're sleeping) and it's my turn to snuggle to sleep. it's precious, and john loves it too...

of course i wasn't thinking this at all at five o'clock this morning as river was tossing and turning and waking me up for the forth time. he normally sleeps well, but on those off nights, it's brutal. especially since i am pregnant and can't function on less than a full night's sleep. plus every time i am woken in the middle of the night, i have to pee. it never fails. and it's not easy to get out of bed when your stomach is the size of a basketball.

we are just 6 weeks (hopefully!) away from meeting our little girl and with a queen size bed and the fact that the boy child sometimes sleeps horizontally with his heel in between my shoulder blades, co-sleeping with four in the bed is just not going to work. putting another bed in our room or moving the mattress to the floor, like many bed-sharing families do, sounds wonderful but is not an option. i am mourning this yet rejoicing at the same time. if we weren't expecting a new baby, i wouldn't even be thinking of moving river to his own bed. as mentioned above, we really do love co-sleeping. but i am looking forward to having our little girl in the bed with us, and perhaps getting a few night's sleep before she arrives without being squished up against the side rail.

you may have read about our night-weaning experience. that was fun. no it wasn't. i'm not really thrilled about co-sleep "weaning." for your entertainment, i will post how it goes. we're starting on monday, no exceptions! have you ever forced a bed-sharing kid out of your bed before? any tips?