Paper towels are convenient, but also grossly unnecessary. So I bought a 20 pack of wash rags at family dollar for about 10 dollars. It's going to save hundreds all year. Plus I already do so much laundry with the baby that it's no big deal to throw them in with other things. I also bought a 10 pack of paper towels, thinking I would need them for really gross stuff or big messes. It's been two weeks and I haven't needed them yet! I don't know why I didn't do this sooner!
I don't think the cheap rags I bought will hold up very long but I'll buy some more durable and absorbent bamboo ones as soon as I find a good deal. Until then, I'll try and figure out a use for 10 rolls of paper towels!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Cancer Sticks
This blog is dedicated to all the people in my life that smoke. Shame on you. I quit 3 years ago when I realized that my chronic bouts with sinusitis and morning congestion fest where without a doubt in direct relation to how much I had been smoking and when we started throwing around the idea of starting our family. My loving husband wanted to quit with me. He still to this day has not gone even 24 hours with out a smoke. UGH I feel so much better now! I rarely get sick, unless guess who gets sick...UGH again.
Cigarettes are bad MmmKay? And I've had enough. It's bad enough that I have to still smell them EVERY DAY on the man I'm married to CONSTANTLY even though it's something I chose to eradicate from my life. It's bad enough to inhale the toxic chemicals into your body even after seeing pictures like this:
It's bad enough that people who did the RIGHT thing and chose to not smoke or quit smoking long ago still have to smell it in what would be PLEASANT FRESH AIR. But what really grinds my gears now is seeing someone throw a cigarette butt (that "filters out all the chemicals and carcinogens" [keep in mind it doesn't get them all]) on the ground/out the window/anywhere outdoors. The chemical cocktail that seeps out of one cigarette butt in water KILLS HALF THE FISH IN THE WATER IN LAB TESTS. TRILLIONS of these poinsonous turds are ignorantly and carelessly discarded EACH YEAR. How long does it take one butt to degrade? Hmmm, Mixed reviews - some tests suggest NEVER, some say 12 years....
Wow, just WOW. What do you think it does to the birds that drink the water? What do you think it does to the mice and lizards that your kitty cats eat? EH? If you're a smoker reading this, how many animals have died from your carelessness? Unfortunately, I smoked for 8 years. I threw butts everywhere, I wish someone would've smacked me when they saw me do it and told me about the consequences. I never even thought about it till a couple years ago. I'm sorry fishies and birdies and all Gods creatures that I harmed. I'm sorry. I will start telling people to think twice when they flick thier butts. Will you? I hope so. If people won't do it for themselves, I sure wish they'd do it for the environment!
::End Rant::
Cigarettes are bad MmmKay? And I've had enough. It's bad enough that I have to still smell them EVERY DAY on the man I'm married to CONSTANTLY even though it's something I chose to eradicate from my life. It's bad enough to inhale the toxic chemicals into your body even after seeing pictures like this:
It's bad enough that people who did the RIGHT thing and chose to not smoke or quit smoking long ago still have to smell it in what would be PLEASANT FRESH AIR. But what really grinds my gears now is seeing someone throw a cigarette butt (that "filters out all the chemicals and carcinogens" [keep in mind it doesn't get them all]) on the ground/out the window/anywhere outdoors. The chemical cocktail that seeps out of one cigarette butt in water KILLS HALF THE FISH IN THE WATER IN LAB TESTS. TRILLIONS of these poinsonous turds are ignorantly and carelessly discarded EACH YEAR. How long does it take one butt to degrade? Hmmm, Mixed reviews - some tests suggest NEVER, some say 12 years....
Wow, just WOW. What do you think it does to the birds that drink the water? What do you think it does to the mice and lizards that your kitty cats eat? EH? If you're a smoker reading this, how many animals have died from your carelessness? Unfortunately, I smoked for 8 years. I threw butts everywhere, I wish someone would've smacked me when they saw me do it and told me about the consequences. I never even thought about it till a couple years ago. I'm sorry fishies and birdies and all Gods creatures that I harmed. I'm sorry. I will start telling people to think twice when they flick thier butts. Will you? I hope so. If people won't do it for themselves, I sure wish they'd do it for the environment!
::End Rant::
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Drought up the Spout
Take a look at this map of Texas that illustrates that we basically live in HELL right now. Ok, so maybe i'm being a little over-dramatic but it sure feels like it! And looking at the map makes it LOOK like it too! We're less than ten days away from breaking a record for hottest summer EVER in recorded history. That means if we make it and break the record, we have bragging rights to alllll the generations(assuming they don't break it first) that follow us that we lived through the hottest summer EVER, walking on scorching asphalt uphill both ways, hell even chickens crapped eggs out that were pre-boiled! Am I right??? Eh.
Also see the following picture taken of the bottom of my mom's water "tank" (cowgirl for watering hole/large pond):
Water has become scarce. Even some cities have nothing but sputters when they turn their faucets on. How can you help avoid such a debacle? Well, not gonna lie, I had some help with this list from a trained professional in water science if you will, she's also a good friend of mine. Her title is so fancy I'm not even sure what it entails entirely: Environmental Investigator III (Public Water). She works for the TCEQ, yeah you heard right. (It's ok, I had to google it too, the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality). Which basically means the city pays her to regulate on people knowingly or un-knowingly misusing and polluting the waterways etc.
So here is her list of tips to conserve our precious H20:
1. If you don't like tuna, buy a can anyays and find a cat that does! Put the empty can out in the lawn and when it's full your grass will be too! Grass isn't as thirsty a creature as people think. Brown grass isn't necessarily dead grass either, and keeping it longer in the summer months can help preserve the full lawn.
2. It is best not to wash your dishes before they go into the dishwasher (double the water). However, not everyone has the best dishwasher and running it twice is just as inefficient. If you need to prewash fill the sink with water rather than letting the water run- it doesn't need to be sanitary to be put in the dishwasher. - OK I'm super guilty of this one, and I'm thinking Eeeeeeeeew! dirty stinky dish water under my nails!!!!! Eck! Solution? and it took serious googling to find these, like at least 5 minutes! Eco-Friendly Household Gloves! you can even purchase them on amazon here. I'll be buying some in small and hopefully writing a review here soon. We''ll see how that works out. Quick tip for amazon - use the subscribe and save, then cancel the subscription after you recieve the first package! Hells yeah, Savings...moving along now.
3. Keep a bucket in your shower, it will collect all the water you waste when you are waiting for the nice steamy stuff to come out. This water can then be used to water plants, mop floors, or throw on sleeping teenagers to wake them up for school!
4. Don't wash the driveway/sidewalk with a hose- if you want, go at it with a broom. Who does this in 100+ degree weather?! Maybe I'm just lazy...
5. Low flow appliances shower heads and toilets. Some toilets even have 2 buttons for flushing nowadays. 1 well for going #1 and 2 well you get it... this will help cut down your water use. Interesting side note on toilets, Jeremy says that there's a "Rule" that goes "If it's yellow keep it mellow, if its brown flush it down." The only time we follow this is in the middle of the night so we don't wake each other or the baby since the toilet in our tiny home is only about 6 feet from the bed. But hey, maybe it's time to scrub the bowl a little more frequently to save some water. I don't know it still grosses me out a little...
Thank you Liz for your awesome and helpful tips. Here's how my list was going to go:
1. Don't use so much water.
Yeah That's all!
Thanks for reading everyone, talk at you soon!
Also see the following picture taken of the bottom of my mom's water "tank" (cowgirl for watering hole/large pond):
So here is her list of tips to conserve our precious H20:
1. If you don't like tuna, buy a can anyays and find a cat that does! Put the empty can out in the lawn and when it's full your grass will be too! Grass isn't as thirsty a creature as people think. Brown grass isn't necessarily dead grass either, and keeping it longer in the summer months can help preserve the full lawn.
2. It is best not to wash your dishes before they go into the dishwasher (double the water). However, not everyone has the best dishwasher and running it twice is just as inefficient. If you need to prewash fill the sink with water rather than letting the water run- it doesn't need to be sanitary to be put in the dishwasher. - OK I'm super guilty of this one, and I'm thinking Eeeeeeeeew! dirty stinky dish water under my nails!!!!! Eck! Solution? and it took serious googling to find these, like at least 5 minutes! Eco-Friendly Household Gloves! you can even purchase them on amazon here. I'll be buying some in small and hopefully writing a review here soon. We''ll see how that works out. Quick tip for amazon - use the subscribe and save, then cancel the subscription after you recieve the first package! Hells yeah, Savings...moving along now.
3. Keep a bucket in your shower, it will collect all the water you waste when you are waiting for the nice steamy stuff to come out. This water can then be used to water plants, mop floors, or throw on sleeping teenagers to wake them up for school!
4. Don't wash the driveway/sidewalk with a hose- if you want, go at it with a broom. Who does this in 100+ degree weather?! Maybe I'm just lazy...
5. Low flow appliances shower heads and toilets. Some toilets even have 2 buttons for flushing nowadays. 1 well for going #1 and 2 well you get it... this will help cut down your water use. Interesting side note on toilets, Jeremy says that there's a "Rule" that goes "If it's yellow keep it mellow, if its brown flush it down." The only time we follow this is in the middle of the night so we don't wake each other or the baby since the toilet in our tiny home is only about 6 feet from the bed. But hey, maybe it's time to scrub the bowl a little more frequently to save some water. I don't know it still grosses me out a little...
Thank you Liz for your awesome and helpful tips. Here's how my list was going to go:
1. Don't use so much water.
Yeah That's all!
Thanks for reading everyone, talk at you soon!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Green Bum!
It's really hard for me to think of all the things we do to conserve off the top of my head. Probably the biggest thing is cloth diapering so I'll start there. Why are disposable diapers or "sposies" bad? Firstly they have what they call absorbent gelling materials, or AGM, in them. AGM has been linked to increased asthma in children and a lower sperm count among boys. Even some/most(don't know for sure) organic sposies have AGM in them. And even the organic diapers require the same amount of water, energy and fuel to make them as other non-organic sposies. I won't bore you with all the actual statistics, but you can find them HERE but here's some highlights:
I'll stop there because I think you get the point.
I've found that you can also make cloth diapers even more environmentally friendly by keeping in mind that bamboo grows at a very quick pace and requires less pesticides in order to do so, making it an even more renewable resource. It's just an added bonus that its also more absorbent than cotton and just as soft! So when possible I opt for bamboo over cotton. You can also opt for organic cotton to avoid the pesticides. I also opted to use mostly prefolds or fitted diapers with a cover separate that way I can avoid having the synthetic fibers in each diaper. This way I only have 5 covers with the synthetics rather than 30 pocket diapers or all in ones (AIO) with synthetics in each. My favorite bamboo fitted is the little known Pooters one size fitted. I do have a few pocket diapers as well, but hey, I'm not perfect!
My next step to making cloth diapers even more green in our household is the baby wipes. I didn't really think about it when I stocked up when I found a great deal on baby wipes on Amazon.com because Jeremy had said he didn't want to do cloth baby wipes. Well he changed his mind when some friends of ours told him they use cloth wipes. Now I still have about 3 cases of disposable wipes left to go through before I make the switch. I will be doing some research soon, and emailing that friend to see what the best material is. I'll report back more on that later!
Oh and I almost forgot. Studies have shown that cloth diapered babies potty train up to a year earlier than sposie babies!
Special thanks to my baby boy who sat on my lap through the duration of this blogging endeavor very patiently! But now he says its time for a change of scenery! Toodle-loo!
I'm going to leave you with this blissful photo I took when I was line drying(another eco-friendly practice) all my colorful cloth diapers/covers when I was 8 months pregnant!
1 http://www.diapernet.org/whycloth.htm
- since sposies have been introduced to baby bottoms, diaper rash occurrences have raised by alarming percentages
- those clear beads you find on your baby when changing a sposie is the CHEMICAL sodium polyacrylate
- dioxin is in bleached sposies from the bleaching process which has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases
- it's estimated that 18 billion single-use diapers are thrown in landfills each year
- sposies can take as many as 500 years to decompose, and usually contain raw, untreated sewage.
- to manufacture the sposies, it takes more than 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to cover the bottoms of 90 percent of the babies born in the US1
I'll stop there because I think you get the point.
I've found that you can also make cloth diapers even more environmentally friendly by keeping in mind that bamboo grows at a very quick pace and requires less pesticides in order to do so, making it an even more renewable resource. It's just an added bonus that its also more absorbent than cotton and just as soft! So when possible I opt for bamboo over cotton. You can also opt for organic cotton to avoid the pesticides. I also opted to use mostly prefolds or fitted diapers with a cover separate that way I can avoid having the synthetic fibers in each diaper. This way I only have 5 covers with the synthetics rather than 30 pocket diapers or all in ones (AIO) with synthetics in each. My favorite bamboo fitted is the little known Pooters one size fitted. I do have a few pocket diapers as well, but hey, I'm not perfect!
My next step to making cloth diapers even more green in our household is the baby wipes. I didn't really think about it when I stocked up when I found a great deal on baby wipes on Amazon.com because Jeremy had said he didn't want to do cloth baby wipes. Well he changed his mind when some friends of ours told him they use cloth wipes. Now I still have about 3 cases of disposable wipes left to go through before I make the switch. I will be doing some research soon, and emailing that friend to see what the best material is. I'll report back more on that later!
Oh and I almost forgot. Studies have shown that cloth diapered babies potty train up to a year earlier than sposie babies!
Special thanks to my baby boy who sat on my lap through the duration of this blogging endeavor very patiently! But now he says its time for a change of scenery! Toodle-loo!
I'm going to leave you with this blissful photo I took when I was line drying(another eco-friendly practice) all my colorful cloth diapers/covers when I was 8 months pregnant!
1 http://www.diapernet.org/whycloth.htm
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Fertility Friends...
365 days ago I woke up at 5 am. I took my basal body temperature, noted that it was still elevated, and trudged to the bathroom ready to see another pregnancy test laugh in my face. I had tested just two days prior and received a Big Fat Negative. I had little hope left. I had learned to not get too hopeful at any one month, after getting let down 20 times before. As I stared at the little white window I started to see something I never had before, a very faint second line appeared. I immediately started crying and trying to wipe the tears out of the way to make sure it was really there. I put the test down and paced the tiny bathroom giving it the full time to develop(and tried to compose myself so I could see!) before I made my conclusion and announcement to my husband. The second time I looked, I decided it was time to freak out. It was true, I wasn't just dreaming anymore. I was pregnant! Here's a little about infertility and what I went through to get here, and what makes me thank God every day for my little blessing...
When my husband and I decided we were ready to have a baby, we had no idea what we were in for. Not for the normal reasons but because we didn't know it would be one of the hardest things for us to do. This Trying To Conceive (TTC) thing proved to be the biggest hurdle we've had to jump, er, run at full force and face plant into again and again. I read a part of a book, probably on that amazon sneak peek thing, that was written by a psychologist that studied couples with infertility. He said that for couples with infertility, the emotional pain associated with each month's period can best be described as the loss of one's sibling. And while I didn't necessarily feel like I lost my big brother every month, there were times where this statement was undoubtedly true. Times when I was tired of hoping, trying, putting on a happy face, looking for answers that I already knew weren't there...times when all I could do was collapse into an insurmountable heap and sob until I passed out. All my husband could do was hold me an tell me it was going to be ok. I knew it'd be "ok" though. I didn't want it to be just "ok" anymore. I wanted what every mom, regardless of whether she wanted it or not, had the pleasure of being blessed with. I wanted what I was taught was so "easy" to accidentally get; Pregnant. I wanted what I had always dreamed about, while playing with dolls, while holding other people's precious bundles of JOY.
I didn't understand why nobody ever talked about how "some people" can't get pregnant. By some people I mean the 7.3 million people old enough to reproduce in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most people with children take it for granted. Then they tell people who can't get pregnant or are having trouble, that "Children are overrated" or "Stop trying and it will happen". DON'T EVER SAY THAT TO SOMEONE EXPERIENCING INFERTILITY! 80% of people experiencing IF(infertility) have a PHYSICAL DIAGNOSABLE REASON! They can't fix bad eggs or low sperm count and motility by just "letting it happen". Then there's the 20% of people with IF that doctors cannot diagnose with an actual issue.
Which brings me to my next topic. Which is worse, knowing whats wrong with you or not knowing what's wrong. It's arguable, but for me not knowing what was wrong was worse. I had no "direction" to go in. My hubby's count was amazing, I seemed to be ovulating and had no abnormal hormone levels. I was lost. There had to be a reason that for 20 months in a row with perfectly timed intercourse that his super swimmers were not making it to my young eggs and making an embryo. NO MATTER HOW RELAXED I WAS! Some women have 4 perfect embryos implanted into a young and supple uterus and the lining is still shed resulting in a very expensive(sometimes upwards of $10,000) depressing, absolutely earth shattering realization.
Sometimes it doesn't happen for 8 years with hundreds of thousands of dollars of failed attempts. Sometimes it happens when you have your tubes tied...That's why its called a miracle. Let me stress that I did not put my life on hold. I still did things that made me happy, I still had fun. But there was always a yearning I couldn't seem to shake. I wrote this next tid bit 2 weeks before I got my BFP (Big Fat Positive).
"I love you. Even though your heart has yet to beat, your limbs have yet to form, I Love You. I pray you find your way to me every day. I will never give up wanting and praying for you, despite the pain it causes me to wait. I love you and know that you are out there; the perfect beautiful soul to compliment and challenge your Daddy and me. I will wait eagerly anticipating your arrival and sending you all my Love however long it takes. You are worth it. I just know I will hear you say "Mommy" one day and all of this pain and sadness will no longer matter. I promise to fully appreciate you because you are a miracle and to Love and care for you to the best of my abilities until I draw my last breath and in the afterlife if I am so allowed...There is a special hole in my soul reserved for you whenever you may find it. I will wait for you to complete me. Always...With Love, Mommy"
Well I was right! He brings out the best in both of us. After looking back on the whole journey, I'm glad we had to wait. I think it' made every sweet moment sweeter. I feel like I have cavities! I also met some of the best women I have ever known through infertility. Forums where I spilled my guts and found friends who understood. I didn't feel alone with them. Seeing their strength in suffering, and also their vulnerability, was comforting. The "veterans" were there for advice. Some women who struggled with infertility for 9 years and somehow got blessed with child. Women who suffered through 5 or more miscarriages before getting their take home babies. Some women still hoping to get pregnant after countless years and some who decided adoption was the way to attain their dream of a family. Others were going through the exact same thing as I was right along with me. These women are my idols! I love them so much and I think of them everyday and I pray every day for those still hoping for a baby. I hope that everyone going trying to conceive and not having any luck can find a group to support them like this. It truly is a insurmountable help.
To my son August, I hope one day you understand just how special you are to your Daddy and me. I prayed over my belly every day for 38 weeks after I found out you were inside me because I knew we still hadn't made it all the way yet. The day you were born was the best day of my life so far and you will always be my baby boy! MUAH! I still thank god for every day I get to spend with you! You are amazing!
When my husband and I decided we were ready to have a baby, we had no idea what we were in for. Not for the normal reasons but because we didn't know it would be one of the hardest things for us to do. This Trying To Conceive (TTC) thing proved to be the biggest hurdle we've had to jump, er, run at full force and face plant into again and again. I read a part of a book, probably on that amazon sneak peek thing, that was written by a psychologist that studied couples with infertility. He said that for couples with infertility, the emotional pain associated with each month's period can best be described as the loss of one's sibling. And while I didn't necessarily feel like I lost my big brother every month, there were times where this statement was undoubtedly true. Times when I was tired of hoping, trying, putting on a happy face, looking for answers that I already knew weren't there...times when all I could do was collapse into an insurmountable heap and sob until I passed out. All my husband could do was hold me an tell me it was going to be ok. I knew it'd be "ok" though. I didn't want it to be just "ok" anymore. I wanted what every mom, regardless of whether she wanted it or not, had the pleasure of being blessed with. I wanted what I was taught was so "easy" to accidentally get; Pregnant. I wanted what I had always dreamed about, while playing with dolls, while holding other people's precious bundles of JOY.
I didn't understand why nobody ever talked about how "some people" can't get pregnant. By some people I mean the 7.3 million people old enough to reproduce in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most people with children take it for granted. Then they tell people who can't get pregnant or are having trouble, that "Children are overrated" or "Stop trying and it will happen". DON'T EVER SAY THAT TO SOMEONE EXPERIENCING INFERTILITY! 80% of people experiencing IF(infertility) have a PHYSICAL DIAGNOSABLE REASON! They can't fix bad eggs or low sperm count and motility by just "letting it happen". Then there's the 20% of people with IF that doctors cannot diagnose with an actual issue.
Which brings me to my next topic. Which is worse, knowing whats wrong with you or not knowing what's wrong. It's arguable, but for me not knowing what was wrong was worse. I had no "direction" to go in. My hubby's count was amazing, I seemed to be ovulating and had no abnormal hormone levels. I was lost. There had to be a reason that for 20 months in a row with perfectly timed intercourse that his super swimmers were not making it to my young eggs and making an embryo. NO MATTER HOW RELAXED I WAS! Some women have 4 perfect embryos implanted into a young and supple uterus and the lining is still shed resulting in a very expensive(sometimes upwards of $10,000) depressing, absolutely earth shattering realization.
The miracle of life isn't an exact science. That's why they call it a miracle.
Sometimes it doesn't happen for 8 years with hundreds of thousands of dollars of failed attempts. Sometimes it happens when you have your tubes tied...That's why its called a miracle. Let me stress that I did not put my life on hold. I still did things that made me happy, I still had fun. But there was always a yearning I couldn't seem to shake. I wrote this next tid bit 2 weeks before I got my BFP (Big Fat Positive).
"I love you. Even though your heart has yet to beat, your limbs have yet to form, I Love You. I pray you find your way to me every day. I will never give up wanting and praying for you, despite the pain it causes me to wait. I love you and know that you are out there; the perfect beautiful soul to compliment and challenge your Daddy and me. I will wait eagerly anticipating your arrival and sending you all my Love however long it takes. You are worth it. I just know I will hear you say "Mommy" one day and all of this pain and sadness will no longer matter. I promise to fully appreciate you because you are a miracle and to Love and care for you to the best of my abilities until I draw my last breath and in the afterlife if I am so allowed...There is a special hole in my soul reserved for you whenever you may find it. I will wait for you to complete me. Always...With Love, Mommy"
Well I was right! He brings out the best in both of us. After looking back on the whole journey, I'm glad we had to wait. I think it' made every sweet moment sweeter. I feel like I have cavities! I also met some of the best women I have ever known through infertility. Forums where I spilled my guts and found friends who understood. I didn't feel alone with them. Seeing their strength in suffering, and also their vulnerability, was comforting. The "veterans" were there for advice. Some women who struggled with infertility for 9 years and somehow got blessed with child. Women who suffered through 5 or more miscarriages before getting their take home babies. Some women still hoping to get pregnant after countless years and some who decided adoption was the way to attain their dream of a family. Others were going through the exact same thing as I was right along with me. These women are my idols! I love them so much and I think of them everyday and I pray every day for those still hoping for a baby. I hope that everyone going trying to conceive and not having any luck can find a group to support them like this. It truly is a insurmountable help.
To my son August, I hope one day you understand just how special you are to your Daddy and me. I prayed over my belly every day for 38 weeks after I found out you were inside me because I knew we still hadn't made it all the way yet. The day you were born was the best day of my life so far and you will always be my baby boy! MUAH! I still thank god for every day I get to spend with you! You are amazing!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Fluffy Butt!
So my newborn 4 month old(!!!), 7 pound 15 pound, 2 ounce baby boy, August Paul, is an exclusively cloth diapered and breastfed silly little guy. I cannot believe he is already so big! He's already teething too, but that's a whole other post. I wanted to just put out there how happy I am that we decided to cloth diaper! I figured I better write a quick review of how the newborn diapers we used worked for us rookie parents before he turns one and is potty trained and I forget completely....good lord. The first week DH(Darling Husband for all you non bloggers) did all the nighttime diaper changes while my tummy healed from the cesarean and so we used disposables because it was a little too much to handle without the lights on. But once we got acclimated, we had no issues. Our newborn arsenal included:
On the flip side of fitteds, we LOVED the swaddlebees newborns. They are snap closure (which i thought would be SUCH as hassle beforehand) and also have a snap for the umbilical cord. They are also super soft and the fit was great! They absorbed very quickly and he didn't seem to mind being wet in them. They contained even the biggest poop-plotions as long as they were snuggly snapped on (daddy likes to leave them loose but that's ok ;) ).
The Thirsties Duo fitteds were super comfy for Auggie, easy to use because of the velcro closure, but he quickly outgrew them and I felt like the extra 7ish dollars cost over the swaddlebees wasn't really worth it. I would probably buy them again, but in snaps rather than velcro. The velcro for some reason got worn very quickly and just didn't stick very well by the time(remember is was a a short time, probably by 2 months) he had outgrown them. The absorbency was very good and he seemed to stay very dry despite them being soaked.
The prefolds were great, the plus side of prefolds is using the outgrown ones as burp cloths! And my little goober has reflux issues so we have used them religiously. I use a snappi and once we got the folding technique down, rarely had blowouts. A little less absorbent than the swaddlebees, but still plenty absorbent. The orange edge newborns only lasted 3 or maybe 4 weeks which really surprised me. But as aknew mom, I had no clue how quick he was going to grow!
Thirsties duo covers fit my 7lb little guy on the smallest settings, I just had to pull them up over the umbilical stump (which was very stubborn and didn't fall off until around day 16) or fold the top down a little to go under the stump. At home I never really put a cover on, unless I'm anticipating a nap or visitor. I kept my newborn baby naked(diaper only) for much of the first month because he was a sleepy nurser who didn't like to nurse unless he was nakey and wouldn't stay awake unless I tickled him the entire time! So no cover was really necessary without clothes to get wet. But the thirsties size one worked great all the way until he was about 11 or 12 pounds when he out grew them. I think we've only had one blowout where the poop shot out/up the back of the diaper. The gussets on the leg holes really, really do their job!
And last but not least, the Lil Joeys AIO (all in ones). They were great! I only wish I had them from the very beggining. They were the only diaper trim enough to fit under the cutesy newborn outfits. The only setback was the dry time, they probably took 90+ minutes to dry which is annoying. I got them second hand from re-diaper.com when Auggie was 2 weeks old, they worked for about the next 2 weeks, then the fit/absorbency just wasn't enough anymore. I would definitely buy again from re-diaper, but not new. But that's just because I'm frugal like that! Plus, I've heard it takes plenty of washes to get them into their prime absorbency.
Lets talk dry time. Cloth diapers don't dry on the "Auto dry time" settings. Learned this fast. The dryer always said they were dry when the seams and soakers were still damp. So we fired the auto settings. I then found out after some testing that the prefolds dry in 70 minutes, the fitteds dry in 80. with the introduction of wool dryer balls(6 of them from re-diaper) they dry time was reduced by 10 minutes each. I save time and money by leaving the fitted diapers in the dryer and they finish drying with the next load that goes into the dryer. No need to turn on the dryer again for the load when half of it is already dry.
OK, here's where I sort through the over 1,000 pics on my iphone to find sample pics not originally meant for a clothdiaper review...although still cute and will probably make me cry because he's so tiny...
Swaddlebees on a 4 day old Auggie passed out from nursing :') :
Thirsties Fab Fitted Duo size one, I think he's 2 weeks old here:
Couldn't resist this one because of his expression! TeeHee
Here's a picture of a medium Dream Eze, because I already packed up the smalls for storrage and i didn't take a picture of one on him ever. You can see the two thin soaker strips that fit awkwardly, the strip on the left shows how they get kinda twisted up in the wash making it even awkward-er. LOL:
OK, that's all for now on my fluffy butt baby!
- 2 Dozen Green Mountain Diaper Newborn(orange edge) Organic Prefolds, purchased as seconds on the cheap
- 6 Swaddle Bees Newborn fitteds - also seconds from their clearance section on their website here.
- 5 Thirsties duo covers, size one
- 2 Lil' Joeys by Rumparoos
- 3 Dream Eze Organic Cotton fitteds size small- purchased on the cheap from babyhalfoff.com
- 3 Thirsties Duo Fab fitteds, Size one
On the flip side of fitteds, we LOVED the swaddlebees newborns. They are snap closure (which i thought would be SUCH as hassle beforehand) and also have a snap for the umbilical cord. They are also super soft and the fit was great! They absorbed very quickly and he didn't seem to mind being wet in them. They contained even the biggest poop-plotions as long as they were snuggly snapped on (daddy likes to leave them loose but that's ok ;) ).
The Thirsties Duo fitteds were super comfy for Auggie, easy to use because of the velcro closure, but he quickly outgrew them and I felt like the extra 7ish dollars cost over the swaddlebees wasn't really worth it. I would probably buy them again, but in snaps rather than velcro. The velcro for some reason got worn very quickly and just didn't stick very well by the time(remember is was a a short time, probably by 2 months) he had outgrown them. The absorbency was very good and he seemed to stay very dry despite them being soaked.
The prefolds were great, the plus side of prefolds is using the outgrown ones as burp cloths! And my little goober has reflux issues so we have used them religiously. I use a snappi and once we got the folding technique down, rarely had blowouts. A little less absorbent than the swaddlebees, but still plenty absorbent. The orange edge newborns only lasted 3 or maybe 4 weeks which really surprised me. But as aknew mom, I had no clue how quick he was going to grow!
Thirsties duo covers fit my 7lb little guy on the smallest settings, I just had to pull them up over the umbilical stump (which was very stubborn and didn't fall off until around day 16) or fold the top down a little to go under the stump. At home I never really put a cover on, unless I'm anticipating a nap or visitor. I kept my newborn baby naked(diaper only) for much of the first month because he was a sleepy nurser who didn't like to nurse unless he was nakey and wouldn't stay awake unless I tickled him the entire time! So no cover was really necessary without clothes to get wet. But the thirsties size one worked great all the way until he was about 11 or 12 pounds when he out grew them. I think we've only had one blowout where the poop shot out/up the back of the diaper. The gussets on the leg holes really, really do their job!
And last but not least, the Lil Joeys AIO (all in ones). They were great! I only wish I had them from the very beggining. They were the only diaper trim enough to fit under the cutesy newborn outfits. The only setback was the dry time, they probably took 90+ minutes to dry which is annoying. I got them second hand from re-diaper.com when Auggie was 2 weeks old, they worked for about the next 2 weeks, then the fit/absorbency just wasn't enough anymore. I would definitely buy again from re-diaper, but not new. But that's just because I'm frugal like that! Plus, I've heard it takes plenty of washes to get them into their prime absorbency.
Lets talk dry time. Cloth diapers don't dry on the "Auto dry time" settings. Learned this fast. The dryer always said they were dry when the seams and soakers were still damp. So we fired the auto settings. I then found out after some testing that the prefolds dry in 70 minutes, the fitteds dry in 80. with the introduction of wool dryer balls(6 of them from re-diaper) they dry time was reduced by 10 minutes each. I save time and money by leaving the fitted diapers in the dryer and they finish drying with the next load that goes into the dryer. No need to turn on the dryer again for the load when half of it is already dry.
OK, here's where I sort through the over 1,000 pics on my iphone to find sample pics not originally meant for a clothdiaper review...although still cute and will probably make me cry because he's so tiny...
Swaddlebees on a 4 day old Auggie passed out from nursing :') :
Thirsties Fab Fitted Duo size one, I think he's 2 weeks old here:
Couldn't resist this one because of his expression! TeeHee
Thirsties Duo Cover Size one:
Lil Joeys Rumparoo:
Here's a picture of a medium Dream Eze, because I already packed up the smalls for storrage and i didn't take a picture of one on him ever. You can see the two thin soaker strips that fit awkwardly, the strip on the left shows how they get kinda twisted up in the wash making it even awkward-er. LOL:
OK, that's all for now on my fluffy butt baby!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
G is (also) for Gillian
That's my name, Gillian. Jillian with a "G" as I've always had to refer to it. (Thanks Mom!) I'm 25, had my first son, August Paul, on March 29th of this year, and I've been married for 5 years to my high school sweetheart, Jeremy. We also procured three dogs and two cats in the meanwhile. Nova is our rottweiler mutt and Toby and Lucy are our pittbull mutts(both rescues). Our kitty cats are Lilo (short for "Uh-li-lo-hi" which is Cherokee for "adorable") and Ellie Mae (which is short for the fatty black and white southern belle who people always think is pregnant). I really like parenthesis, haha. OK. Things you should know about me....or us...
- Nothing has ever been easy for us. We date, we get death threats.We get a home, it burns down. We decide to have children, we're diagnosed with unexplained infertility. You get the point. But isn't everyone's life that way? To some extent? I don't even know....Moving along
- We are non-denominational, however highly spiritual. We believe that God loves all people who are good. Regardless of their religious brand.
-We're frugal. We don't need much to make us happy. I like it this way. Eventually we will move to the mountains and try to atttain a off-grid sustainable living style. Yeah, I know what you're thinking "Damn dirty hippies!" We're just trying to break the cycle of 9 to 5 back breaking labor that deprives children of quality time with their parents and forces us to be slaves to our mortgages. The definition of hippie is "someone who rejects the established culture". If that's what you mean, then yes. We are hippies. Just not dirty ones, we rather like hygiene.
-Couponing is a love-hate relationship with me. I hate shopping, but love saving money, so if i can drag myself to the store you better believe i'm getting 40-50% savings!
- We are artists. I'm a sketch artist, I just have no time to do it because of that "slave to mortgage" thing I meantioned earlier. Jeremy is a metal sculpturist among other things. If you can dream it up and it agrees with gravity, then he can make it out of metal. No really! He's a third generation blacksmith. He's amazing!
- Our son is the light of our lives- The miracle that filled the holes in our hearts left by nearly 2 years of infertility. Correction; overfilled the hole, and flooded our lives with more love than humanly imaginable(unless you have already experienced IF of course). <3 It helps that he's been sleeping through the night since he was 5 weeks old as well! He's awesome! He is turning 4 months old on the 29th, I hate that he's growing up. But he does do cool new things everyday so I guess its ok....
- Lastly, we are goofballs. We are "goobers".
- Nothing has ever been easy for us. We date, we get death threats.We get a home, it burns down. We decide to have children, we're diagnosed with unexplained infertility. You get the point. But isn't everyone's life that way? To some extent? I don't even know....Moving along
- We are non-denominational, however highly spiritual. We believe that God loves all people who are good. Regardless of their religious brand.
-We're frugal. We don't need much to make us happy. I like it this way. Eventually we will move to the mountains and try to atttain a off-grid sustainable living style. Yeah, I know what you're thinking "Damn dirty hippies!" We're just trying to break the cycle of 9 to 5 back breaking labor that deprives children of quality time with their parents and forces us to be slaves to our mortgages. The definition of hippie is "someone who rejects the established culture". If that's what you mean, then yes. We are hippies. Just not dirty ones, we rather like hygiene.
-Couponing is a love-hate relationship with me. I hate shopping, but love saving money, so if i can drag myself to the store you better believe i'm getting 40-50% savings!
- We are artists. I'm a sketch artist, I just have no time to do it because of that "slave to mortgage" thing I meantioned earlier. Jeremy is a metal sculpturist among other things. If you can dream it up and it agrees with gravity, then he can make it out of metal. No really! He's a third generation blacksmith. He's amazing!
- Our son is the light of our lives- The miracle that filled the holes in our hearts left by nearly 2 years of infertility. Correction; overfilled the hole, and flooded our lives with more love than humanly imaginable(unless you have already experienced IF of course). <3 It helps that he's been sleeping through the night since he was 5 weeks old as well! He's awesome! He is turning 4 months old on the 29th, I hate that he's growing up. But he does do cool new things everyday so I guess its ok....
- Lastly, we are goofballs. We are "goobers".
Ta Da!
So I have a blog. I'm not sure I ever thought I would. But here I go, sending some hopefully entertaining text out into the blog black hole wondering if anyone will like me. Hows that for vulnerability?
Introduction: My name is Gillian. I'm a new mommy to my son August. I have a wonderful husband named Jeremy. More on us later... I have ten more minutes before I'm on the road with Auggie to the doctor.
G is for Green, and Goobers. I try to live as green as possible. (Which will be MUCH greener soon.) We cloth diaper our son, buy the alternative cleaners when we can afford it(thus my new couponing endeavor), and well, don't live THAT green, YET. It's in the works folks. This blog will help me stay focused on our green transformation, though it will be hard, seeing as I have the little goober who takes up quite a bit of time since he insists that I make funny faces at him and sing to him and generally love him all the time. (Ok, so maybe that's me who insists on it.) But when I'm not working full time, or loving on the first or second loves of my life, I'll attempt to blog; To make some sort of obscure difference in someones life. Even if its just giving tips on green living and updates on the shenanigans of the goobers I live with to family and friends who will of course be the first followers of this blog thing.
Ok, now for that gooey eye appointment for Auggie. Ta ta!
Introduction: My name is Gillian. I'm a new mommy to my son August. I have a wonderful husband named Jeremy. More on us later... I have ten more minutes before I'm on the road with Auggie to the doctor.
G is for Green, and Goobers. I try to live as green as possible. (Which will be MUCH greener soon.) We cloth diaper our son, buy the alternative cleaners when we can afford it(thus my new couponing endeavor), and well, don't live THAT green, YET. It's in the works folks. This blog will help me stay focused on our green transformation, though it will be hard, seeing as I have the little goober who takes up quite a bit of time since he insists that I make funny faces at him and sing to him and generally love him all the time. (Ok, so maybe that's me who insists on it.) But when I'm not working full time, or loving on the first or second loves of my life, I'll attempt to blog; To make some sort of obscure difference in someones life. Even if its just giving tips on green living and updates on the shenanigans of the goobers I live with to family and friends who will of course be the first followers of this blog thing.
Ok, now for that gooey eye appointment for Auggie. Ta ta!
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