Monday, April 27, 2009

Cloth Diapers


We contemplated using cloth diapers for a long time while I was pregnant. It was unknown territory for us. We were quite nervous to start for a few reasons:
1. Neither of us had any experience with cloth diapers.
2. It would be a lot of "up front" costs...and what if we changed our minds about doing it?
3. Our washer and dryer was old, and I usually had to turn the dryer back 3 times before the clothes were dry.
4. My mom told me not to. I think she had tried with me, and it was a disaster.
5. Would it be a huge inconvenience in comparison to disposables?

(By the way, we are talking here about diapering my son...not Jim!)

After a bunch of research, Jim and I decided to take the plunge! I had a few requirements. I wanted a new washer and dryer, I didn't want to have to dunk Miles' diapers in the toilet with my hands, and I didn't want to have a stinky diaper pail.

So, we bought a new front loading washer and dryer. I love these!! I can go a week without doing laundry, and then do all of our laundry in like 3 loads!

We bought a "mini shower" (pictured below). This put an end to the "swishing a soiled diaper in the toilet" days. It works great. We just hooked it to the toilet, and wah-la!
As far as not wanting a stinky diaper pail, I think we found a pretty great one. It's basically an industrial strength, biohazard bucket...air tight and child resistant. It was super cheap, less than $6.00 + shipping.
I consider myself to be a "fair weathered" cloth diapering mom. If it was going to be too much of a hassle, too gross, too inconvenient, I was not going to do it. You might have noticed one of my favorite websites is www.jilliansdrawers.com. We happened upon this store and found it to be very helpful. They offer a 21 day cloth diaper trial for $10. An assortment of diapers were sent to my doorstep. I was able to sample 7 different diapers. We found that the pocket diapers suited our needs best. I was amazed how well the diapers cleaned up. They have held up quite well to this day (12 months later). I would say there are very light stains now on his diapers, but we didn't have stains until he started eating solids. And they are so light.

Another great article to read if you are interested in cloth diapering your baby is: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/09/09jun15f.cfm. (updated June 15, 2009).

I wash them with an auto soak, super hot normal cycle, and extra rinse. It takes a little over an hour when I wash. We wouldn't need the extra rinse, but Miles has sensitive skin and some eczema, so I find the extra rinse to help him. Also, about once a month (or so) I do a white vinegar wash to clear any odors.

We don't have any more problems than the usual with diaper rash. If he's teething or has had a bunch of citrus fruits, we'll see a little rash start. We use Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment on his bum as needed. I really like Vitamin D Ointment, but the company cautions against using products with petroleum in them, as they can inhibit with absorption.

In the beginning, we had quite a few leaks, but I learned that I needed to change him about every 3 hours to avoid this. We don't have many leaks or blowouts anymore.

One thing I've always meant to do was use cloth wipes. It just seemed to make sense. When I change his diaper, I put the diaper in the pail, and have disposable wipes to throw away separately. Call me lazy, but I've bought the cloth wipes, but have never put them to use with diapering. (I did, however, find them useful as washcloths!)

Needless to say, we are happy with our "nappies" and glad we made the investment. And here is my little guy in his nappy a few months ago when the Aussies paid us a visit. Thanks for taking the photos, Kris!
P.S. I read Mothering magazine, and found a couple of articles from the March-April 2008 issue very helpful. (Photo at the top is from Mothering).

Saturday, April 25, 2009

25 Things About Me


Well, this has been going around with some of my friends for awhile, so I thought I'd take this opportunity for you to get to know me a little better! We'll see if I can get to 25! P.S. my Aunt Kris took this photo of Miles and I last summer.

25 Things About Me

1. I have lived in 5 states: MN, SD, IA, OK, ND.

2. I was definitely a strong-willed child. Ask my mom any day. Then she had the nerve to pray that I would have a child like me! I hope God wasn't listening to her that day...

3. Speaking of God, I grew up in the church, but did not ask Jesus to become part of my life until I was 17.

4. I was a camp counselor for 2 years in southwest Minnesota.

5. I met my husband at that summer camp!

6. I am a very proud mama to the cutest, sweetest, charming, little guy on the planet (no biases!).

7. Jim took me on my dream vacation- a 3 week backpacking trip through Europe. We traveled through Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Czech Republic. I can't wait to go back and see more someday!

8. My sister and I became awesome friends after she turned 18. There is 5 years difference between us.

9. I am very interested in healthy natural organic living. But I will forever love Dr. Pepper, chocolate, and 409.

10. I am an labor and delivery nurse.

11. I am a certified lactation counselor (aka I help mothers and their babies with breastfeeding)

12. I threaten my dogs almost every day that they are going to go to camp (read previous posts).

13. I do love my dogs.

14. I have read the Twilight series...I know...I get a lot of guff for it too.

15. I love painting with oils. But have not done it for years.

16. I'm addicted to Target. I frequent there at least every other day.

17. I don't have cable TV in my home.

18. I love hymns.

19. I have been to quite a few concerts. My favorite was going to Bon Jovi with my old high school friends!

20. We plan to adopt some of our children.

21. My best friend Rachelle and I live 3 hours apart. We usually average an hour phone conversation daily during Sesame Street or nap time.

22. I'm mostly Norwegian and Swedish.

23. I once made my sister eat dog food- I told her it was really good, and she believed me!

24. My cousin Carin and I have mooned a cow. (Actually, we made my sister do it too!)

25. I'm feeling like this was a huge waste of time to write 25 things about me...like you really care, right!?

Saturday Bliss

What a great day it was today! Jim and Miles got up early, and let mommy sleep in till 8:30am! And this is how happy Miles was to be having breakfast with his daddy!
...he looks like he's about to get into trouble...
Well, I am enjoying our family time this weekend...next week I'll have to think of something to blog about!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Sunny Days


Miles is getting close to walking.  He's definitely a chicken though!  He doesn't like to take steps on his own when I encourage him to.  But, he will take a step without holding on from the coffee table to the sofa.  When he does, he thinks he is such a little stud!  He makes this big grunting "man sound" as to say "I'm so proud of myself.  Look what I can do, move one step without holding on!"






The snow has FINALLY melted in our town!  I thought it would be here until June at the rate it had been falling.  Today was beautiful out.  We enjoyed playing in the yard.



We are having a blast with all the birthday presents!  I, myself, am enjoying the drum set with tambourine  and maracas.  And to the fabulous uncle and cousins who got the John Deere radio- do you know there is no volume control on it?  It's indefinitely set to volume 10!  Wouldn't be so bad, but if I forget to turn it off, I'll hear a random "Moo", "Oink", or "Baa" in the middle of the night!  You can imagine what that does to me...

That's all for now!  Another day has come and gone, and the dogs have managed to avoid being sent off to camp!

   


                Lucky little girls!

The dogs...deep breath

Seems like each day I threaten Macy, our frenchie, that she's going to go to "camp" at Grandmas. For those who don't know, Grandma Kelly raises dogs and has an outdoor kennel.  We call that "Camp" and the indoor dogs usually don't care much to go to camp when they are used to leather furniture and table scraps!  J is becoming a bit of a dog whisperer and doing well with training Macy.  However, today, she is ruining my back door.  I'm a little irritated.  Her and Cozette, our cavalier king charles spaniel, are going to get a quick jog/walk in this morning so they can hibernate the rest of the day!
 This is what I'm dealing with at present.
This is what I'm hoping for in about 30 minutes!



Monday, April 20, 2009

A year in the life...

Celebrating 1 year of life, Miles!  Look how far you've come in 1 year.  From feeding tubes to heart monitors to crawling and cruising...you are truly amazing to watch!