How I fell in love with diapers

I'm a practical being. It's usually a nice feature but sometimes it just takes over and I'm going, "I'd really like to just do this the easier way." This is how it was when I started thinking about diapers. Disposables=easy, while cloth, for us,=smart.

Ty wasn't due for months but I was already thinking about how much diapers were going to cost us. While I've never had to buy them in America (beyond a pack I gave at a baby shower once), I thought they were probably more expensive here. Maybe not. Maybe I just haven't bought when there's a fantastic sale going on. Does it really matter? Bottom line: you have to have them and they're not cheap.

This is when I stated seriously considering cloth diapers. Though the very thought of going cloth stressed me out and basically had me wishing I'd birth a four-year-old who was already potty trained, the realization of how much disposables would run me over the course of at least two years was more than I could justify. My mind was tug-of-warring itself, one side pulling for MUST.RESIST.CLOTH!! while the other was all CAN'T.HANDLE.DISPOSABLE.PRICES!!

I broke down and started to face the music. Cloth it was.

I started researching, reading blogs, watching videos and talking to cloth diaper veterans. I had about 40 questions and a diaper-load of doubts, but I managed to pick up a few tips. I found the most luxurious, most cushy-tush diapers on the market and ordered two dozen. They looked easy to work with and had rave reviews. My thinking was, "if I'm going to do this, I'm doing it MY way!" I researched approved detergents (because you can't use just anything, apparently) and ordered some on Amazon, since my mom was coming for a visit and could bring it. I also purchased the perfect dirty diaper trash can to store the things in until washing day, which, by the way, happens every 48 hours. I was set.

I wanted to wait until Ty's thighs were substantial enough to hold back the masses so we didn't get this party started until he was eight weeks old. Today marks three weeks into our cloth diaper venture, and I just need to say this loud and clear:

I love cloth diapers!

Me! How did this happen? How could this happen, is the better question. There is absolutely nothing glamorous about it and I was so sure I'd hate it to death. But somehow, I don't. Somehow, every time I slap one of those *extremely thick and padded* diapers over Ty's shiny little hiney, I think about how great they are. I can hear the savings :) That's an exaggeration, but I haven't had to buy diapers in over three weeks. I've earned the right to exaggerate.

The diapers we went with are the BumGenius All-In-Ones, and they are the best of the best in my mind! One of the reviewers called them the "cadillac" of cloth diapers, and while they are the only ones I've ever used, I couldn't agree more. They are so easy, ANYONE could do it. I could probably train Ty. No, I couldn't, but seriously, these things are easy! They are one-size-fits-all, from 8-30ish pounds (please, tell me I won't be changing his diapers when he weighs 30 pounds). The snaps work beautifully and we haven't had any "instances" beyond what you normally experience with a baby in diapers. As far as I can tell, they work just as well as the Pampers he was using.

Now, I won't lie to you; cloth diapers are an investment. I ordered 24 diapers and it cost me almost exactly $400. My mom about had a cow. But when you do the math, I came out on top. While I would't pay $400 up front to put Ty in disposables, by the end of year one I would have spent probably at least that much. Then you've got year two. And as go the diapers, so goes the price. Bigger diapers, bigger price. Next, quality cloth diapers can be reused with successive children, something you definitely can't do with disposables :) Finally, the icing on the cake was that I was pretty sure we'd get a few cash gifts when Ty was born. People were very generous and at this point, we've recouped our losses in their entirety.

Our process right now is simple, since he's still nursing exclusively: put dirty diaper in trash can, put all dirty diapers in washing machine every other day, hang on line to dry, repeat. The washing cycle recommended is a clod wash, a warm wash, and an extra rinse. I don't do detergent with the cold wash, and in order to have a warm wash, I'm boiling two electric kettles-full of water and dumping them into a small amount of cold water already in my machine; I don't have a hot water connection to the washer. But this has worked great for us so far! Then the sun bleaches the washed diapers so well, you can barely tell they've been used!

Once Ty starts solids, his diapers will also start solids, pardon the graphics. At that point, I'll have to change my pre-wash routine to include a bit of scraping and swirling (sorry, I know it's gross). Todd feels my lack of having to do...that...might be why I love cloth diapers so much. He could be right; our relationship might change from one of absolute infatuation to mild disgust, but for now, I am seriously loving the cloth :)

A few pieces from our collection, awaiting the bleaching power of our strong winter sun :) 

And of course, one very cute diaper model :) This one is his "Einstein" diaper, the wearing of which gives him the world's most intelligent bum. 

Tales of *tiny* Ty

We're alive!! I know, it's been...I can't remember. That's not a unique phenomenon, by the way. I feel like I can't remember much of anything anymore. I wasn't expecting mom-brain to settle over my mind so early but it has ;)

Where to begin...well, for starters, I have a two month old. I know, right?! It's crazy! He sleeps for a good 6 or 7 hours most nights, and even did a couple of 8s last week. That was a nice surprise, and I hope he keeps it up in the coming weeks, but to be honest I can't sleep that long anymore. I wake up, check the time, and then lay there thinking: "He's going to wake up any minute now." I told Todd it's like trying to fall asleep when you know there's going to be a fire drill. Not possible.

My parents spent part of April and May here with us, and that was fantastic :) It was terribly sad to see them go. I wanted to get on a plane and follow my mom back home, partly because I miss home sometimes, and partly because I knew my babysitter was escaping. But now Ty and I have settled into some semblance of a routine and I love it! I'm starting to really learn him, I think. I say that now but he'll go and change again next week and then it'll back to the drawing board. I've learned that it's best to remind myself that everything is just a phase, and at this age, each phase only lasts a short time.

Oh, about routine: I used to think we needed to have a routine for Ty's sake, but then I realized it was mostly for me. I needed (need...) routine to keep sane. Ty does much better with routine too, but I've found that now that I have some order to my day, I feel much more confident and much less overwhelmed. Most of the time.

Right now we usually start our day between 7:30 and 8. Breakfast and play time for him, breakfast for me, and then he's ready to go back to bed a little after 9am. I am so glad he naps well during the morning. If I can just have an hour to get the chores done and read the bible, I'm satisfied! I try to manage that hour or hour and a half well and it is definitely the most productive hour in my day. The rest of the day is a mish-mash of feedings, play times, naps and whatever else I throw in. Somehow, the days all manage to fly by and I'm left wondering how.

Regarding Ty, in the past two months he's gone from a blob to a real live baby who moves and coos and smiles. Newborns are nice for holding and photographing, but that's about it. I mean, that's seriously "it." They don't do anything and you can't really do anything with them. But now I know how to (usually) coax one of his big open-mouthed smiles out of him (the trick is to get him right after he eats) or mesmerize him with his Hungry Caterpillar rattle. That's pretty much the extent of his repertoire but it's still a lot of fun.


Here's some documentation of our lives the past few weeks:

Until next time, whenever that may be, I leave you with this image: I loved this little green bear suit, and it really was a lifesaver for Ty in the early days before he could fit in much else. I was sad to part with it. Ty, on the other hand, must have felt utterly embarrassed to be caught in such garb. How else do you explain a face like this?