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Sunday, July 31, 2011

For my memory!

Today the sweetest thing happened with Lindsey and I had to write it down so I will not forget it! Ya'll are just lucky to get a sneak peak! 

I was picking up my room and Lindsey was in the room with me "helping!" She found a small green book and climbed up in her daddy's work chair and started flipping through it. She was quickly frustrated because there were no pictures and the words were really small. She looked up at me and asked what kid of book this was. I told her that was momma's Bible. She got really excited and said I read it to you mom! I said o really what does it say. She started singing Jesus Loves Me and then transitioned to My God is so Big and ended with Jesus Loves the Little Children. After she finished I asked her is that what it really said and she very seriously said yes mom! I love it! We stopped picking up and climbed up in bed together and she read the Bible to me for a good 15 mins! Such a sweet evening with my little love!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Cloth Diaper. . . Laundry

Sooooooo I got all my diapers washed (or so I thought)! I followed the directions that the diaper store gave me and it took 2 days! The natural fiber diapers took all day! They were supposed to be washed 3-4 times so that for the first use all the natural oils would be gone and they would have maximum absorbency from the start. That was a little annoying but will be worth it when they don't leak! The synthetic fibers took one load. The bad thing was that they took forever to dry. I was instructed to dry on low for 30 mins and that was not near enough time. So I dried for 20-30 more mins on low then laid them out in the baby room to air dry. I can see this being an issue when we start using them because I do not have a good place to air dry things! The one thing I did that made it take longer was wash each type of diaper separately. There was no need to do that, I just did for me as I was putting them away.

The only problem I really ran into was not reading the label clearly enough to see if it was natural or synthetic fibers. So when I went to buy the last needed inserts for my All-in-2's the sweet girl reminded me to wash multiple times! I had a slight panic attack because I thought I was all done. So now I have to go wash 4 inserts on top of the ones I bought again. I am glad I found out now instead of after baby E gets here!

My advice for washing is 1.read the labels for the fabric type and remember cotton is natural, 2. be ready to be patient but don't run small loads just cause you are anal, and 3. have a space to air dry some of the more stubborn one's!

I was really pleased with washing. After all was said and done I felt very confident that this is totally doable once we start using them.

Next time I will let you in on the choice of cloth wipes! I am still working through that idea!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Quick thoughts!!

My head is full and I need to dump enjoy the bullet points!!!
  • All my diapers are washed. Not too bad. Another post about it soon.
  • 3rd trimester hormones are getting to me!
  • Jay is amazing!!! He loves me even when I snap!
  • Today felt like a Monday! I just could not please everyone!
  • I think there is such a thing as being to flexible! I need to start piping up and saying no instead of rearranging my life!
  • Tuesday's rain was so refreshing! We were even able to eat outside!! Wednesday's cloud cover was amazing, we were able to play outside.
  • Thursday and Friday the heat returned and well it is murder for this prego lady!
  • I am toying with homeschooling Lindsey. I am praying about it and experimenting with it! The more I try to "teach" Lindsey the more I realize I could do it!
  • I am getting nervous about E-C making her debut! How do I incorporate her our family and still make sure Lindsey feels as loved as she does now! The pressure is mounting!
  • My aunts, mom, and grandma are on their way to see me this weekend!! I am beyond excited! 
  • Dang these 3rd trimester hormones I am done with them!! Can I take a valium?????? 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Got my Stash!!

Yesterday I saw on facebook that Green Bambino was having a one day sale!!! So I begged Jay to take me there so I could add just a few diapers to my stash! While I was sitting there trying to figure out which sale items I wanted Jay pipes up and tells me to just get the stash now! So, I grabbed the first employee I could find and started my shopping before he could say no!!! Warning lots of pics! If you stay tuned to the end there is a cute surprise!

 This is the whole stash!! I have everything I need to diaper Ella-Clair to potty training!!! The sweet girls at the store recommended me not to put my eggs all in one basket and get a variety! They said I will find that I like some better than others and some will work better for night time, travel, outings, ect. I also bought some that Jay thought would be better for him to use!

These are my pocket diapers! I only got two because they were on sale! They are my least favorite so far! But I may end up loving them!

These are my fitted diapers! These are my favorite so far! They are so cute and suppose to be great at night when you put a cover on them! I can not wait to put her little tush in them!

These are my covers. I can use them with the fitted's and the prefolds! I think I bought a few too many but they are too cute!

 This is my wet bag for the diaper bag! So cute!

No more pins!!! This little contraption will hold a prefold without sticking the baby! My mother-in-law would call this cheating!

I bought 12 prefolds! They are supposed to be great for newborns. Fold one and put it in a cover and voila! I am really excited about these!

These are the all in 2's! I am not too sure about these yet! Jay really liked them and they are supposed to be awesome for traveling! So we will see! I will be testing these out in Sept on a road trip to AR!!!

Pail liner! I still need a pail! Wal-Mart this week!

Soap and butt cream!

I told you there was a cute surprise!! She is my big helper in this diaper journey!
I am going to start washing today!!! New post to follow washing! I am so excited!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Cloth Diaper Journey

With this baby I have decided, and Jay is reluctantly agreeing, to use cloth diapers for baby number 2! Jay says my hippy side is coming out. I just want to be a wise consumer! This is a whole new process for me so I want to blog about it and share my experiences with whoever can find it helpful! I am hoping to be able and look back and see the ups and downs and track some memories too!

I originally wanted to do cloth with Lindsey. After months and months of researching on the internet I became overwhelmed with all the information and just went with good ole' fashioned Pampers! Don't get me wrong Pampers were great and all but dang they were expensive! See, I have a little "tree hugger" in me and the thought of throwing away 12 diapers a day to rot in the landfill was heart breaking! Then the cost each month for diapers is just ridiculous! I knew the cost for cloth upfront is great but the overall cost for disposable is even greater! Also, Lindsey's skin was so sensitive that even Pampers would break her little butt out from all the chemicals. So when we found out #2 was on the way I rediscovered my desire to use cloth and I discovered this local store that was dedicated to cloth diapering. Green Bambino is this amazing store with all these diaper options and the staff to walk you through step by step. As soon as I knew E-C was coming I stopped by the store and talked with the owner for probably 30 mins. She answered all my questions that I could not answer on the internet and walked me through step by step. Jay and I have attended a free diapering class to become more familiar with the diapers as well. I have bought a couple of diapers so I can't back out of my decision but have yet to go in and buy the mother load. A part of me is scared of this new journey. I have little family or friend support. In fact most think I am crazy! But I am one to take the hard road just because I can so I am stepping out on my own! I can not wait to capture this journey on this blog! I know it will be an adjustment but I know that the reasons I am doing it are enough to keep me going! I feel as a stay at home mom I need to be extra cautious of the money that comes in and dang it this is one way to do it! I hope ya'll enjoy the ride with me!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The countdown!

We are down to a month and a half till Ella-Clair makes her arrival! I can not wait!
Last weekend we were in Arkansas for my cousin Mitch's wedding and I felt this incredible peace about her name and incredible anxiety about her birth! Lets start with her name! Now, sadly I did not get to spend much time with Ella-Clair's name sakes but I had plenty of time to sit at the reception and watch these two women. As I watched them I  just felt peace that if E-C can take their parts that make me love them so much she is going to be such an amazing person. Heck maybe then she can compete with Lindsey's full personality!
The same weekend my sweet sister baby sat Lindsey for 2 evenings so Jay and I could have a couple much needed nights out. Date #2 we went to the Drive-In. . . soooooo much fun! As we were sitting there people watching we started talking about the "plan" for when E-C was I began to get extremely uncomfortable. How are we gonna do this, who is gonna take care of Lindsey, who is gonna take care of Jay, what about dinner, grocery shopping, ect. Poor Jay all he could say was I can take care of it all! NOOOOOO I want to take care of it! I threw my fit for a few mins and then just closed my eyes and prayed for God to just take care of it! The worries slowly drifted away. This week I feel as though God has shown me how all the things I allowed to so strongly consume will be taken care of. He knows I love to plan and He keeps reminding me to keep planning all I want but this is all in His timing and He is gonna jack-up my plans anyway! So, I am quitting planning! I can be prepared and ready for the unknown and trust God to see us through this crazy journey! He took care of us with Lindsey why not E-C????