One year ago....

One year ago, I found out I was pregnant!  It was such a glorious, crazy, shocking, strange day.  We were blessed enough to get pregnant the first month we tried.  I was charting and temping.  Since it was my first cycle, I thought for sure it would never happen the first round.  I remember wanting to wait until the weekend to test because on the off chance it was positive, I would not be able to go in to work right after!  My plan was to test on Sunday the 27th.  On Saturday the 26th however, I woke up...took my temp and just could not go back to sleep.  I was 15 days past ovulation.  I decided, what the heck....I am just going to go and test, find out it's negative....then I can go back to sleep and sleep in on this Saturday morning!

Well, clearly.....I could not go back to sleep.  I came back from the bathroom, woke Phil up and said "honey, I just took a test." Phil started to reach over to rub my back and comfort me because he also thought it would be negative.  Then I said..."and it was positive."  We said a prayer together. I had him recheck the test for me.  Instead of going back to sleep, we headed off to a very early breakfast at our favorite breakfast place.  It's usually packed on Saturday morning, but we were able to beat the crowd.

These weren't actually the first tests that I took, I'm not sure I even have a picture of the very first one.  I know it was an EPT with the plus sign.  In the coming weeks after that first test, I took 11 tests.  Yes, you read right....11.  It wasn't that I didn't believe the tests, I just loved seeing it every.single.time.  



The day we found out, we went over to Phil's parents house for the quarterly birthday celebration of all the family members.  Phil's grandparents were also in town.  We ended up telling everyone there, because all of those people are people we would likely tell if something had happened.  We also called my mom and told her. Luckily, we never had to break any sad news.  The pregnancy was a dream, and now there is a stunningly beautiful, smiley 3 month old who is sleeping away.....for now.  What a tremendously happy year we have had.

Goodness, it's been a while! Cloth diaper accessory review

Well, my last post I talked about wanting to do a review of all the accessories that go along with cloth diapering.  So, here's the low down:

Wet bags/pail liners:
You need a place to store all those dirty diapers before laundry day.  Most people tend to use either a trash can with a water proof pail liner, or a hanging wet bag....which takes away the necessity of using the can.  I use both, but I prefer the hanging wet bag.  I use the pail liner in the nursery in a step can, and the hanging wet bag I use downstairs and I hook it on to the pack and play. The hanging wet bag also has a separate "dry" side to it so I can also stick Noelle's clothes in there if I change her outfit on the main floor of the house instead of in the nursery. Most of her diapers are changed downstairs on the pack and play.  It's also great for weekend travel.  I took it to Cleveland once leaving on Friday and coming back on Sunday, and it fit all the dirty diapers perfectly.  I have the planet wise brand.....highly recommend.  These both work pretty well.  The reason I prefer the hanging bag method is because the
pail liner does not stay around the edge of the step can very well because of the hinge.  If I used a can that had no hinge, I think it would work great.  Also, in the nursery the step can kind of gets in the way.  If I used the hanging wet bag in there, I could just hang it on the knob.  I may be putting 1 or 2 of those on my wish list when people ask me for ideas, then I would discontinue use of the pail liner for the most part.  I have 2 of the pail liners though, so there is always one clean.

I also have a kangacare wet bag.  My daycare provider recommended this one as her top preference.  It's plenty big, but small enough to transport easily.  It is smaller than the planetwise hanging wet bag, but it does the same basic thing.  I just got it very recently, and it is nice to have while the other one is in the wash.  It's also small enough that it can go in the diaper bag...though I prefer even smaller ones for that.  The nice thing about this is that it does have a nice 3D design so it's easy to get into and dump into the washer.  I think it will also be nice to store in the bathroom once the poop is more solid and needs to be sprayed.  Here's a picture.

In addition to these, I have 2 smaller wet bags that go easily into the diaper bag.  One is another planet wise brand and the other is a momma kitty brand.

CJ's products:
CJ's is all the rage amongst CD'ers as a CD safe way to treat diaper rash.  You have to be careful about what products you choose to treat rash because the wrong thing can cause your diapers to repel.  Desitin and A&D are the biggest no-no's.  There's several safe options though, one of which is easy to find:  California Baby.  I've also used Aveeno though, and just used a flushable liner and it's been totally fine.  But, I digress.

CJ's BUTTer is an all natural cream that can be used to treat diaper rash.  From what I can gather, it is a compilation of different oils.  Coconut oil, sesame oil, and castor oil perhaps?  I have the vegan formula which does not include coconut oil.  It comes in a round tub.  It's pretty darn neat.  BUTTer is a very appropriate name for it.  At first, I assumed it was called that because of the obvious....it goes on the butt.  However, once you put it on the skin, it literally melts.like.butter.  It's crazy!  This is also a new addition to my CDing, but so far, so good.  I haven't had much in the way of rash...just a little pinkness/redness sometimes and this seems to do the trick.  I've been putting it on every night as a precaution to keep that nasty rash away!  I also have a spray version of the BUTTer which I stick in the diaper bag and send to day care.  That one is not the vegan formula and is also lavender scented.  I wasn't sure about using a scented product for that purpose, but CD'ers speak so highly of the CJ's brand that I took the chance because that was all the store had in stock.

Now...for my favorite CJ's product.  CJ's Carcass Cleaner!  This stuff is incredible as a cloth wipes solution!!!  3 squirts in 2 cups warm water (and I add a drop or two of tea tree oil, but I don't know how necessary that is) and voila....you've got a nice solution to wet your wipes with and really get a clean bottom.  I was using just plain water, and that was okay.  But since discovering this, I probably won't go back.  The reason I tried a solution is because my daycare provider really prefers a solution over just plain water.  She is a passionate CD'er herself so I decided to give her suggestion a try.  I was going to make my own solution from a variety of recipes available, but was pleasantly surprised to see CJ's products at Cincinnati's green store, Park and Vine....so chose to keep it simple instead.  I am so glad that I did!

Detergents:
Rockin Green:  This is a popular CD detergent that I have used two bags of so far.  It seems to work okay.  At the beginning, I felt like I had some stink issues and had to use a lot more than the recommended amount.  I think it may have been because of the crazy frequent poop that newborns have.  Once the poop decreased, I started using less with not much of an issue.  My diapers seem plenty clean.  I did have 2 random cases of 2 diapers not coming clean though....which was strange, but may have had more to do with the cycle being set too slow.  The one thing that really bothered me though, was the amount of suds left over in the utility tub after each wash...regardless of how much/little soap I was using.  Because of this, I decided to try Charlie's Soap.  To be fair to Rockin Green, I think I figured out where the suds were coming from.  We have this detergent dispenser in our washer and I discovered that I was getting a ton of suds if I just poured water down the dispenser and ran a totally empty load.  So all the extra suds are coming from years of detergent build up in the dispenser I think.  This is a picture of what one cycle looked like when I poured vinegar in the dispenser to get rid of some of the residue (this is an empty load.)  Yikes!

Charlies Soap:  I've only used it once so far....but I really really like it.  There's no scents but the diapers just come out smelling soooo clean and fresh.  It also does not leave residue and has lower suds.  I think this might be a better fit for us than the Rockin Green.  I will caution however, that there is some scary stuff on the internet about Charlie's soap causing these horrible burns....which is why I avoided it for a while.  If you have hard water, it might not be the best choice...or you should use Calgon with it.  From my research, it sounds like the reactions some children have are due to reacting to bacteria left on the diaper.  No detergent disinfects, however, some detergents leave a film that apparently keeps the bacteria away from the skin but doesn't rid the diaper completely of the bacteria.  The downside is that this residue can eventually cause your diapers to repel.  Charlie's does not have this residue, therefore, the bacteria can cause a reaction.  It is recommended to use either vinegar or bleach once a month or so on your diapers to make sure they are getting disinfected.  Of course, I started reading all this 2 days ago when my diapers were in the wash with Charlie's for the first time and got immediately paranoid, so I ran another wash with vinegar to be safe.   So far, no outrageous burns on Noelle's bum....so hopefully all the stuff on the internet is just sensationalized and we won't have any issues!

Wool dryer balls:
Wool dryer balls are great!  I am not sure what brand we use, but I am not sure there would be a big difference from brand to brand.  Wool dryer balls replace dryer sheets.  They reduce drying time and help to soften clothes.  They are usually sold in packs of 3, but you need 6 to have them be effective.  Phil is pretty funny about them...he loves them!  He has always had this weird infatuation with things like bounce sheets, and the bounce bars you can put in the dryer.  He is very attracted to these types of products for some reason.  I was nervous to tell him that we couldn't use the bounce bar anymore when we started CDing, but he ended up doing all the research for the dryer balls and gets oddly excited about them (though won't admit it.)  lol.

Wipes:
If you are going to be washing CD's it makes the most sense to go ahead and use cloth wipes.  You are doing the laundry anyway, and then you don't have to throw the wipe away separately...you just toss it in with the diapers.  I have some home made ones, made from recieving blankets.  I'd like to make some more of those, but my sewing machine keeps jamming and it's not easy to do that with a 3 month old who demands so much of my attention.  I also have bumgenious brand wipes, baby kicks brand, and cheap baby wash cloths.  I don't have any strong preferences on these.  They all work pretty well.  The homemade ones are the cutest which is why I would like to make more.  The cheap wash clothes work well because they are textured on one side but smooth on the other so you can get the bum really clean.  I prefer to prewet my wipes with the solution so they are ready to go.  Some people worry about mildew with this method, but I don't wet many at a time and have not had an issue.  I also keep some squirt bottles around to squirt a dry wipe if I have not been organized enough to wet more (and this happens frequently.)  Both methods work great, especially if you are using a solution.  The solution just seems to help the wipe glide so much better than plain water.

I use the Vera Bradley medium sized cosmetic case as a wipes container in the diaper bag.  It's not water proof, however...so if I am going to carry premoistened wipes, I stick them in a ziplock bag which I then put in the cosmetic case.  I also carry the CJ's BUTTer spray that I mentioned, and a very tiny spritz bottle of the CJ's solution in the case.  The squirt bottle is very handy for me to use to "wash" my hands when we are out to eat and my hands get all greasy.  Also, if I don't have wet wipes with me I use this to spray the bum directly then wipe.  I prefer the spritz bottle to the bigger squirt bottle if I am going to be spraying the skin directly because I imagine that is much more comfortable for Noelle.

Diaper Sprayer:
I have the Bum Genious diaper sprayer.  It works really well!  We haven't had any leaks at all with it. Phil installed it when I was still pregnant, and it sounds like it installed pretty easily.  I used it a time or two post partum as well....but man that was some cold water!   I think I will be very happy to have a sprayer once we start solids.

Well, it's quite late, and I am afraid I have ceased to be making any sense at all at this point.  So I am going to say goodbye to the blogging world for now.

Cloth Diapers Review

I am a total cloth diaper snob.  I love it to no end.  Noelle was in disposables for a bit on Friday and Saturday, and I cannot stand the chemical smell! I thought I would review the brands I have tried so far.

Prefolds:
Green Mountain Diapers: yellow edge.  These are great.  They are wide so they still fit around Noelle nicely with a snappi.  I have found that the "jelly roll" fold works best.  She is starting to outgrow them.  I think I will order some of the next size up-red edge.  I didn't think I would need prefolds once she was fitting in her one size diapers, but I find that I really like them for short term.  I use them a lot when I am doing the laundry and want all of my pockets clean at one time to send with Phil's mom when I am at work.  I also use them if, say, I am leaving to go out for a while in about an hour....and don't want to "waste" a clean pocket.  Orange edge is the newborn size.  I only have 6 of them which worked nicely, all though I was not able to snappi them as effectively.  I think that was just because prefolds did have a higher learning curve than I thought they would at the very beginning.  By the time I became a pro snappi-er, she had grown into the yellow edge.  I have 12 yellow edge.

Bummis:  These also worked well when I was using them.   I liked them at the very beginning, again, before I was a good snappi-er.  They are more of a rectangle, than a square however.  This just means that they are not wide enough to snappi around Noelle's waste.  I use them as burp cloths now.  When I first started using them, I actually liked them more than the yellow edge because they were not as wide.  I folded them horizontally instead of vertically, which then made them shorter so that the fit in the x-small covers perfectly.  This was when I was just trifolding them.  I have 12 of these.

Fitteds:
Kissaluv Size 0 (KL0):  These are good diapers.  They fit right away and are a great night time option.  Newborn poop will not escape these things.....that's the best thing about them.  With prefolds there is a very good chance poop will get on the inside of the cover so you need quite a few covers in the early days to exclusively CD.  If no poop escapes, though, you can reuse the cover before washing.  It would not be cost effective to use only these for the newborn stage, however.  I think they run about $12 a diaper and you would need 30-36 of them so it would be a pretty penny for diapers you only use a short time.  I think Noelle fit in these for 4-6 weeks or so.  I have 6 KL0's.

Tinkle Traps:  These are made by a local work at home mom.  They come in super cute prints.  They have a nice snap in insert for added absorbency.  They are about 10-12 a diaper.  They worked equally as well as the KLO's, but much cuter.  Also, they don't feel quite as super, super soaked as the KL0's or prefolds when you change it.  I have 2 of these.

Covers:

Thirsties:  These are wonderful covers.  I have 3 X-Small...all velcro (aka hook and loop or aplix), a few Small (someone gave those to me), and 2 "Duo's", which means they snap down and are two sizes in one diaper.  The double gussets in the legs contain the poop wonderfully!  I cannot see how poop would escape this cover as long as the diaper underneath is tucked in.  The xsmall were my favorite in the newborn days.  It was trimmer than the duos or the small.  The small worked well also.  Now that Noelle is bigger...the duo is my favorite.  It fits her perfectly when the rise is totally unsnapped.  Of course the owl and tree prints could also have something to do with why I love them so much. 

One size diapers (pocket):

BumGenius 4:  These are a very popular diaper.  It has a microfiber insert with microsuede that goes against baby's skin.  The outside of the diaper is made with waterproof PUL.  I have 5 velcro and 5 snap.  I like the velcro for overnights, because of how easy it is to change.  These are the only diapers I put on Noelle for overnight.  She can sleep 8 hours straight in one without a leak.  The microsuede does an AMAZING job of wicking moisture away from the skin.  Phil has on occasion gone to change one of these and thought it was totally dry and then felt in the pocket to find a completely saturated insert.  I have a total of 10.  They run $18 a piece and are worth every penny. 

Rumparoo:  I have 2 of these in velcro.  The prints are uber cute.  They have leaked on me maybe once or twice.  They have a very short rise, many people say these only fit until their babies are 6 or 7 months....so we will see.  They are a bit bulky.  They have inner gussets which make it so poop is very unlikely to seep out the legs.  I hang dry all my pocket shells, and these take the longest to dry.  I'm not sure what material goes against the skin, but it is SUPER soft and feels very nice.  I got these on ecobaby buys, 2 for 27 dollars.  They run about $23 dollars for one.  I am glad I got these at this price, but I would not pay full price for them. 

Mama Kitty United:  I recieved 10 of these from my SIL as a gift, they are what she uses.  They have overlapping snaps which is nice because then you can get a nice snug fit with snaps, which you can usually only do with overlapping velcro.  They have a nice stay-dry feeling.  I have to have these double stuffed to not leak, which makes them bulkier.  I have also had poo escape from the legs.....which does not happen with most cloth diapers.  There is a lot of variance in the snaps.  On some of them....the snaps work fine, on others....I can't get it to snap tightly for the life of me.  They run about $10 per diaper.  That's a great price, but the quality just is not there.  That being said, they seem to be working well for my SIL so I guess it just depends on the baby. 

Bumkins:  I have only used these twice.  The first time some poo escaped the leg, but I think Noelle was still too small to fit in them well.  The second time, it worked well....but I did double stuff it.  The insert seems very small to me.  I have 2 of them that I got from Zulily for $10 each.  The prints are cute, but I don't typically reach for them.

Hybrid Diapers:

Flips:  These are made by the makers of BumGenius.  They are a one size cover with an insert.  The top layer of the insert is flannel which goes against baby's skin, and the underside is microfiber.  The insert folds down to accomodate the size that the cover is set on.  I like these diapers a lot.  The insert wicks wetness away from the skin very nicely.  The tabs that snap are flexible.  It is pretty trim and looks cute.  If the cover remains poopless, you just switch out the insert.  It's basically a more expensive way to do a prefold.   I bought a starter pack with 6 inserts and 2 covers.  Now that Noelle poops less, this works well.  When she was pooping more, however, it kind of negated the whole convenience of just switching out the insert because the cover will almost always get dirty with newborn poop.  It's rare that I actually use all 6 inserts before both covers get dirty.  The plus side is that they fit in the diaper bag really nicely, so I usually save them for when I am going somewhere.  I usually put one on her, bring the other cover and a couple inserts.  Sometimes I throw in an extra pocket diaper too, just incase Noelle decides to poop a million times in two hours.  Hasn't happened yet, but I like to be prepared.

That's all for now!  I'll do another post soon with cloth diapering accessories.

Random updates

Goodness I've been busy.  Between returning to work, going out of town, and taking care of household things I have been a very bad blogger.

Noelle's 2 month check up was on Valentines Day...also her daddy's birthday.  She weighed in at 11lbs, 14.5 oz-76th %, 21 3/4 inches-24%, 15in head circumfrence 31st%.  I'm quite certain both me and Phil would be in the low percentile for our heights and high percentiles for our weights....so I guess Noelle is no exception!

She is smiling and cooing up a storm these days.  It is so fun.  There is nothing better than her looking at you with a huge smile and knowing that she can do that because of the love and care she recieves every day....so great.  She doesn't love tummy time, but doesn't hate it either.  We try to one or two good floor tummy time sessions each day, but it doesn't always happen.  What does always happen is lots of tummy to tummy time in baby carriers and chest naps. She is in mostly 0-3 month clothing, but some 3-6 month.  I just went to Carter's today and got a bunch of 6 month onesies and those two packs of ruffle bottom pants.  I've discovered my favorite thing to dress her in is a long sleeved decorative, nice looking onesie (usually colored and/or textured with a small little bow or flower at the top, or with a collar) with a pair of pants.  It looks like an actual outfit, but is still practical and easy...easier than a sleeper actually.  Less snaps. 

Speaking of snaps.....the baby world seems to revolve around them!  I mean, between my cloth diapers, onesies, sleepers, nursing garb, pack and play changing table......how did we ever get by without them?

I am having a horribly difficult time getting Noelle's baptism scheduled.  It's the one thing that I have been most looking forward to since being pregnant also....so it stinks it is taking so long.  It looks like it might happen memorial day weekend, but that seems so far away.  I also wanted to go to Washington DC for a conference that weekend, but I doubt I could really make that work anyway.

In my next few posts, I am hoping to do some reviews of different baby products....so stay tuned if you are interested in hearing about the absurd number of things a very small person seems to require!

Flashback Friday-Big Girl Job

Sorry that I haven't updated since last weeks Flashback Friday.  I promise I will actually start talking about that sweet baby of mine soon!

This weeks flashback is actually like 5 flashbacks all in one!

This is one of my good college friends.  I went to school in New York, and moved to Cincinnati right after I graduated.  I moved to Cinci for my first "big girl" job.  A few months later, my college friend also landed a job at the same place as me!  She still lives here, and has 2 kids of her own now, and is actually who exposed me to cloth diapers.  We haven't gotten together since Noelle arrived, but I just sent her a message on FB to get that going.  Anyway, this is us at a fancy schmancey fundraiser for the job.  I'm about 23 in this pic.  I am embarrased to say that I drank a tad bit too much on this night.  I didn't make a fool out of myself or anything, but I would not drink like that at a work related function today. 

This is also a little bit of a sad picture for me.  Working there was a dream for me, a few months after this picture I was promoted to a different position.  It was my dream job.  9 months after that, I lost the job (nothing to do with my over-intake of alcohol at that fundraiser-I promise.)  I was beyond devastated.  My whole life basically fell apart.  I am still very good friends with a lot of people I met there.  I thought I would need to relocate and start life all over. All that I had worked for was....gone.  It was seriously one of the worst things that ever happened to me.

Two days after my last day there, this guy from church called me.  This guy who I had been driving to church with.  I actually had told him about some of the troubles I was having at the job in the weeks prior to this phone call.  He asked me out to lunch, and I agreed.  I showed up in jeans, a fleece, and my hair raggedly pulled in a pony tail....I was in fairly rough shape and really didn't care.  We went to lunch and chatted....and then I realized that I was actually on a date with this guy.....ooops! I ended up staying in Cincinnati.  About 20 months after this date, I married this truly wonderful man.  I had no idea in those early days that he would be the man of my dreams.  And then, 3 years TO THE DAY of losing that job, the job I thought was everything.....I peed on a stick and learned that I was going to be having a baby.  It's been a pretty remarkable few years.  It sure is amazing how things change!

Flashback Friday-Adolescence

One of the bloggers I follow does a "Flashback Friday" for her blog.  I thought this was a great idea as a way to spark some inspiration for a blog topic.  So this week I'll talk a little about my long time friends, all of whom I met in junior high.

These girls are my best friends.  I am one of those rare people who had a fabulous adolescence....I'd go back in a heartbeat.  Not that I don't love my life now, I truly do, but I loved it then too.  I'm not exactly sure how old we were when this picture was taken.  I think it's possible that it was summer '02 after we graduated high school.  This brings back happy memories because we used to just drive around and hang out at "castle" playgrounds, swing on swings, and do whatever else we felt like. 

4 of the 5 of us (I'm not in the picture) are married now.  Two are pregnant, before I had Noelle 3 of us were pregnant at the same time! One already has a 1 year old.  I never would have thought back when I was 13 horsing around throwing food at each other at Friendly's after a school dance, that these would be the same girls that I had a few drinks with(not till I was 20, I wasn't a teen drinker), that I'd watch them get married, have babies, lose babies, still talk to on the phone for hours, get a tattoo with, and just experience so, so many significant life events with.  I can't wait to meet the new babies in May and July!

They have helped shape me as a person.  I hope that Noelle has the same experience as me as a teenager.  It's probably a long shot, but that is what I will pray for. 

Back to work

So, yesterday was my first day back to work.  I am really fortunate that I get to work part time.  I just work Wednesdays and Thursdays 8:30-3:30, and Friday's 8:30-12.  It's perfect.  Enough time to interact with others and get out of the house, but not be away from my baby so much that I can't stand it. I work as a Developmental Specialist for Help Me Grow, which is Ohio's Early Intervention program.  This means I do home visits for children birth-3 who have or might be at risk for developmental delays or disabilities.  I offer support and coaching to families to help them help their children to develop within the context of their everyday routines.  Literally, my entire life is BABIES, BABIES, BABIES!  It sure is a good thing I like them so much!

Despite this perfect set up, it was still really hard to go back yesterday.  Grandma came to pick Noelle up around 7:30.  There were some tears right after she went out the door, and a few on the drive to work.  By the time I got to work though, I was okay.  I managed to only call to check in twice, but no one picked up the phone!  As it turned out...Grandma, Grandpa, Noelle, and my 1 yo niece Caroline got to go on an outting to church that day.  I managed the whole day without hearing how she was doing.  The day went by pretty slowly, and I was OUT THAT DOOR at 3:30.  Noelle did pretty well.  She is not a fan of the bottle, but she will take it with just a little fussing (which she does occasionally at the breast as well).  The day at work was pretty low key...mostly just weeding through emails and catching up with all that I had missed. I pumped twice during the day.  My car actually is the easiest place for me to pump right now.  Everywhere else in the office that I could go, I have to figure out when the space is available to make it work.  My car, however, is my own space and I can go in whenever I want!  I have a nursing cover so it's super discreet.  Half of the milk I pumped the first time ended up leaking out of the bottles.  Apparently the "leak proof rings" or "colic rings" or whatever you want to call them (Avent bottles) are essential even if you are not turning the bottle over to feed at the moment.  At first I was very sad to lose that 2.5 ounces of milk, but decided to switch my thinking and say "that's ok, I'll make more, and it doesn't cost any money!"  Not too many things in life that you can say that about.  Neat, huh?

The hardest part was that Phil had an event at his school and had to work late.  So, I came home after working, had to walk the dog, do the diaper laundry, wash the pump parts, repack the diaper bag for today, give Noelle a bath, have some quality time with all the living things in my house (child, husband, dog, cat) and try to fit in a shower for myself.  Yowsers.....welcome to the working mom life!

This is me and Noelle yesterday morning before heading off to work.

Today was another long day of working, but Noelle seems to be sleeping well in her crib for the moment...so this momma is off to try to take a bath before catching some Zzzzz's!