A drive-by blog post.

We're home. Things are good. I just want to say that I am so thankful for my amazing, wonderful husband. I have no words.

Things went great at the hospital. Not totally according to plan but, His plan is the only one that matters, right?

I did tap out a quick birth story before I forgot the details. I might post it later after I find time to look it over... you know in between finding time to pee.

The Stash - Part 2

When we originally started discussing cloth diapers we thought that we were going to use disposables until our little one grew into the "one-size" diapers. But after doing all of the research I got really into it, not just for the cost factor, but for the environmental factor as well. (If cost was our only reason for using cloth we would probably just do prefolds and covers, with a few all-in-ones for the church nursery and grandparent visits.) So we decided to jump in head first and try cloth diapers with a newborn. That's what the entire previous post featured... our "newborn stash."

From about three months (or whenever he starts fitting into them) we'll mostly use BumGenuis one size pocket diapers with some prefolds here and there. These diapers feature snaps that make the size adjustable. They say they fit from newborn to potty... but they don't really fit newborns that well, from what I've read.




My good friend Jen got us started with our first two BumGenius diapers as an excellent shower gift. I purchaced four more from Target.com. They are kind of expensive, but considering how long they fit, it's worth it. Target sells them in packs of two for $35.99 and their color selection is limited. We plan on using our registry completion coupon to purchase several and get 10% off. I'll also be ordering some different colors from cottonbabies.com and jilliansdrawers.com. I can find them used for a little cheaper but think that since these will be used for longer I don't feel so bad spending more for the initial investment.

Each BG diaper comes with a regular insert and a newborn insert/booster. The regular insert has snaps to make the size adjustable or you can strategically place it to add more absorbency in the front for boys. The newborn insert can be used alone for a trimmer fit or coupled with the regular insert for extra absorbency.




I also have some extra hemp doublers that can be stuffed in a pocket diaper or simply laid inside any other diaper to give it added absorbency.

I can't remember how much I paid for these. Maybe like $5.00 for a pack of 3?

Accessories
When you change a cloth diaper you don't just throw it out, so what do you do with it? We purchased a regular stainless kitchen garbage can with the pedal-operated lid to use as a diaper pail. Some people just use a pillowcase as a liner. We splurged on two waterproof Planet Wise pail liners. Let me tell you, they really are waterproof. I threw them in the washer when I got them and when I took them out I had to dump the water out of them before tossing them in the dryer. I don't know why that fascinated me.

If you're out somewhere and change a diaper you have to put it somewhere until you get home. You can't just throw a dirty diaper back in your diaper bag. You could recycle plastic grocery bags but the best option is a wet bag. I bought two small Planet Wise wet/dry bags. There are cheaper wet bag options out there but I really liked the zipper and these had great reviews. I'd like to get two medium sized ones in the future.



We're also going to use cloth wipes. We may not use them all the time but at least we will at home.

These are specifically sold as wipes. They're $9.99 for a pack of 8. We got two packs using a gift card, but I don't think I'll purchase any more. Regular baby wash cloths are cheaper and work just as well so I bought several packs of those to use.

...So that's what we've got. I can't wait to actually use it all.

Adventures In Cloth Diapering: The Stash.

Soo... I'm going to attempt to blog about our cloth diapering experience. Most of my research has been done on message boards and blogs. I'm all up on the Eco-Friendly Family board on thebump.com. I looove reading tips and about people's experiences. I'm starting out with the best of intentions about blogging this whole thing, but we'll see what happens when we bring home an actual newborn. Let me begin by showing you our stash...

This is everything all together...

Now let me break it down for ya...

Prefolds
We have 48 of the "old school" prefold type of diapers. 24 size newborn. 24 size small. These require a snappi and a cover. (More on covers in a minute.) We've got 4 snappis that I forgot to take pictures of... so if you're curious click the link then click "more images" to see one in action. If we wanted to take the super-economical (and possibly more difficult route, depending on who you ask) we could use all prefold diapers. I picked the Green Mountain brand. They cost $1.75 a piece for the newborn and $2.00 a piece for the smalls. I bought 2 used snappis for $1.50 a piece and two new ones for $3.49 a piece. Looking back, I really don't know why I even paid full price for two of them. Maybe I wanted to feel them in the package? haha...

Prefolds are the style that people automatically think of when you say "cloth diapers." You have to actually fold them and secure them with pins or a snappi. Some people might find them more difficult, but I've spoken to several people who actually prefer them to the newer styles. We'll have to see how they work for us.

Fitteds
These require no folding and just snap on the baby. They do require a cover. I picked Kissaluvs Size 0 for the newborn stage because of all of the wonderful things I've read about their absorbency and excellence in containing newborn poop. We've got 10 of them. Most people say you shouldn't need that many if you plan on using prefolds and all-in-ones as well but I just kept finding good deals!


I bought all of these in excellent used condition for $5.00-8.00 a piece and received two as a gift. New they cost about $12.95 a piece.

Covers
These go over the prefolds and fitteds to make them waterproof. We have 4 Imse Vimse that I bought used for $5.00 a piece (regular $15.00 a piece) and 4 size one Thirsties duowraps. I got the Imse Vimse simply because they were so cheap and the Thirsties because they have excellent reviews. The Thirsties also have snaps that adjust the size so that they can be used for longer.


All-In-Ones
These are basically like disposable diapers that you wash. We've got 3 Thirsties AIO's in extra-small and three size small. They also have pockets to add inserts to make them more absorbent.




I bought them all used for $10.50 a piece (Regular $16.95 a piece.)

That big picture includes some other things but for now... I'm tired and this is loooong. More to come at a later date... stay tuned.

A non-update..

I've wanted to write but I've been scared of what will come out. My feelings change wildly from one moment to the next. One day I'm content to stay pregnant forever and the next I am soooo ready to have this baby. Yesterday I did lunges around the pre-admit office! haha!

I can't explain it...

I'm ready to have my baby. But I'm not ready to have him. Considering the fact that I can count on one hand the number of days that I've not been sick since the morning sickness started, I'm ready. But I'm not ready to to share him with the world yet. Right now I feel like we have this special bond. It's just me and him, you know.

Who knows, maybe in a week or so I'll be ready to give him an eviction notice. He'll come when it's time and I'll be glad... but right now I'm cherishing these moments... every kick and hiccup, and even the way he gets all crazy after I get sick in the morning.

Happy Halloween!

This is probably the most boring Halloween Alex and I have spent as a couple. We didn't decorate the house or carve pumpkins. We didn't even bring out the big cauldron that we put the candy in. I really just didn't feel like dragging all of that stuff down from the attic in the shed and putting it up, just to have to tear it all down and pack it away again. But we have candy! :D (As long as I don't eat it all before the kids come around.)



Puppy likes to bark at trick-or-treaters... so he's banned from the living room.



We do have a gate... but it's stored away in the shed, too. It's been a long time since he had to be sequestered.

Even though we haven't been spending time getting the place decked out for Halloween, we have been getting ready for the baby.

All of his laundry is washed, most of the diapers that we have are prepped, and Alex finally painted the nursery.
(I probably should've turned the lights on for these pictures. Meh..)



The nursery is kinda organized. I won't be able to really get organized until we get our furniture, which Alex's parents are getting us as a gift. I'm soo thankful that they're doing that for us, but it's highly likely that we won't have it until after he's born. I'm trying not to let myself get stressed, but it's hard because everything doesn't have it's "place" yet.

My coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower, which was nice... and last weekend we had our shower with Alex's family.

There was food...


and cake...

(Alex's mom made it!)

and gifts...


and people...



...But not too many people because EVERYONE was sick or had sick kids or didn't have a babysitter or forgot. We still had a wonderful time... but we had a lot of food left over.

I'm "off the schedule" at work after this scheduling period. (Which ends around my due date.) They're just going to have me come in and call pre-admits until I pop. If I go very far at all after my due date I'll either be really thankful that they have me scheduled like that or I might die of boredom. We'll see.

There have probably been a million other things going on around here that I could write about... or could've been writing about here and there... but I just haven't had the words. So I'll leave you with this:



Mini butterfingers! Nomnomnom...

Baby Shower #2

On Saturday I had my second baby shower. It was a joint shower with one of my favorite people and former coworkers, Stephanie, who is due three days before me. Boy, did it make me miss my VTU peeps. I cried almost the entire way home because it was just such a wonderful time and those people are truly amazing. Yeah, that old job was stressful... but I worked with a group of people who became more than just coworkers. Ugh... I'm such a big emotional baby. I'm going to stop myself now or I'll wind up bawling. I already cried once today on my way home from work over some cheesy country song. So I'll leave you with some photos of the festivities...



We played a game that was actually fun and quite hilarious. (I'm not a huge fan of baby shower games.) I'll tell you that it involves toilet paper rolls and plungers and leave the rest up to your imagination.


This picture is funny to me for several reasons but the first thing that jumped out at me is that I am the palest person to ever walk the earth.