Baby wearing, cloth diapering, and all that is crunchy

Hello from the crazy world of living with an infant! I am loving every minute, but there are days where I don't have time to check my email, let alone blog! (Not that I was very consistent before...). I am considering suspending the blog temporarily or indefinitely, just because I want my energy and focus to go solely into Noah (he is growing so fast) and our family, but I enjoy communicating with long-lost friends (and new ones!) through the blogosphere so we will see. I go back to teaching part-time in the fall and I maintain a classroom blog, so fall might be the time where it really stops. We'll have to see.

Here are some updates!

1. We are finally booked for our Hawaii trip in July. This is my pushing present. Even though I never really pushed Noah out. So maybe it should be called my pregnancy present. Or pain present. Anyway, my last 10 months were so super hellish that my dear husband decided that a little reward was in order. It just so happened that my sister's BFF is getting married in Maui, so off we go with my family for a little vacation! My parents took me to Hawaii when I was five months old, so the tradition continues. It is a bit overwhelming trying to figure out how to travel best in a warm climate with a baby, but I am getting a lot of sage advice from seasoned mammas. I am expecting this in the mail soon (from oldnavy.com) along with this cute outfit from Gymboree!

2. I LOVE being at home. I am so blessed that I don't have to go back to work until next school year, so I have until mid-August to get used to parenting, establish routines, and just enjoy my baby. I definitely miss my kiddos, and can't wait to go back part-time next year, but for now I am enjoying long walks with the dogs, hanging out with friends, meal planning, and helping to take the load off of McSexy for awhile as he prepares for the MCAT and takes his final classes before applying to med school. I feel like 10 months of my life were lost (and definitely the final 9 weeks before Noah was born) and my energy to get out and do things is unparalleled right now!

3. I am excited to start working out again. My six week appointment is tomorrow, and I hope to get the okay to start lifting and training again. Training for what, I am not entirely sure (besides Hawaii and my friend Megan's wedding!). I am trying to keep the expectations of myself moderate and kind, because as of July it will be a whole year since I have seriously hit the gym! I do want to work out as often as possible, because I know it will get tough again once I go back to work! But summer is coming, and that makes it so much easier to exercise. I am hoping to start using the Bob for actual running instead of just long walks, but I am scared of starting up because of my c-section scar.


4. I am LOVING cloth diapering. LOVING. We got started later than I wanted, because Noah didn't fit the Thirsties covers I had purchased for his newborn fitteds (should have gone with the extra small), but now that he is a big boy (waaaaa) he can fit into them. We are primarily using the fitteds Shanda gave me (see above - Noah in his OSU fitted!) and the Thirsties covers, which I love, but I also am using Flip covers (love them, too, they are a great one size cover and do actually fit little babies, unlike most one size diapers! They are so stretchy!). I am not sold on the Flip stay-dry inserts, though, as when I use the inserts (as opposed to homemade fitteds) he seems to get poo-poo on the covers every time. That does not happen with the disposable inserts for the Flips, so I am hoping as he grows that we can actually use the stay-dry inserts??? He is just now fitting his Bum Genius all-in-one diaper (sized, which they are getting rid of!), and I am loving it. We are moving towards all pockets or all-in-one diapers because McSexy does not like the two-step system of the fitteds and covers. So I have more Bum Genius coming (sized and one-size), some Fuzzi Bunz (both perfect fit and one-sized), a Thirsties pocket diaper (in Blackbird, eee gawd!) and a Bum-Ware all-in-one. I also have seven Kawaii pocket diapers on order. I want to order a Rumparooz but I went a little nutso this past week, and need to get control over myself. Cloth diapering is definitely an addiction!!!

5. I am still figuring out baby wearing. I carry him around the house when he is awake, whenever I go out shopping and when I am alone walking the pups. I have a Moby, which is okay, a Lovey Dud, which is better (stretchier!), and my Ergo, which I LOVE! I walk BOTH doggies and Noah using the Ergo and can go hours w/o even feeling his weight. It took awhile to get fast with the infant insert, but now I love it (and he is already starting to move out of the infant insert!). I love that he can see the world and what I am doing when I carry him, and I narrate my day as we move around. The big dilemma now, however, is what to do in the summer. Will the Ergo be too hot? We do a ton of walking and hiking and don't forget Hawaii! I am thinking about getting a linen or gauze wrap, but I don't think I will be able to carry him the distance that I need to. I did a trip to the mall with the Lovey Dud and I was tired after, which doesn't happen with my Ergo. Plus, he doesn't L.O.V.E the newborn positioning in a wrap, but I think he will like it alot better when he can move to the big-baby positioning. Should we just forget about baby wearing in Hawaii and use a an umbrella stroller (with shade cover, of course!)? The Ergo for the airport, definitely!

Okay, got to go! This post took me two days to write and right now Noah is done and ready for his bath! Hope I can post sooner rather than later!

Cloth Diapering

I am SLIGHTLY obsessed with cloth diapers. My friend Shanda has cloth diapered both of our Godsons, and FOR US, there is no other choice. They are better for the environment, more economical ($500 on the high end for a stash (incl. wipes) that will last for ALL your kids. As opposed to $2,000/child for 'sposies) and better for baby than disposables (no yucky chemicals or diaper rashes), not to mention CUTER! I am not judging those who go the disposable route, since we will probably rotate in some 'sposies for things like camping and vacations, but in general, McSexy and I are both committed to primarily cloth diapering (and using cloth wipes as well).

I'll admit - at first it was very overwhelming to me. All-in-ones, fitteds, pockets, prefolds, covers, PLU... EEE GAWDS! I am lucky to have Shanda to walk me through (with concrete examples) each type and her personal experience (pros and cons) of each. I can see how just trying to understand cloth diapers would be enough for people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up entirely. Seriously.

Shanda is starting us out with a whole stash of newborn fitteds (these are diapers that are shaped and work JUST like disposables, except you need to purchase a diaper cover to go on top because the diaper outside is not waterproof). If Noah is too premature, he won't be able to fit them until he grows a little bit, so we'll probably use disposables in the hospital and until he gets big enough to use them (or unless we can find something else temporarily).

After he grows out of the fitteds, I plan on just purchasing different types to see what works best for us. I like the idea of the pockets because they don't need separate covers, so we'll see how those work out for us.

Anyway, the point of this post is to provide some quick cloth diapering links that have helped me navigate cloth diapering choices or offered a wide variety of options for cloth diapering.

Cloth Diapers 101 - a comprehensive description of the different types. I don't like that they don't have pictures to match the descriptions, but at least this is a good reference.

Moms Milk Boutique - they have so many options! What I really like is their trial system that provides parents with a variety of cloth diapers to "rent" for a month (only $20) so that parents can experiment and see which ones work best for their baby. Really amazing deal and BRILLIANT!

SimpleMom.net - Have I posted about Simple Mom being the best site EVA? It is all about conscientious, purposeful, reflective parenting. Every year they do a cloth diaper series that explains the ins and outs of cloth diapering. This resource has been the single most helpful in helping me understand and navigate my choices. They also explain about how to launder cloth diapers, how to put them on (maybe for the dads? because they are pretty self explanatory!) and some of the reasons people might be persuaded to cloth diaper at least part time. I love this site.

This is one of Shanda's diapers. Noah has one just like this. I am obsessed. In the summer, this is all he's gonna wear. Don't be reporting me to CPS, m-kay?

On one blog (probably Simple Mom since I am a fanatic), a reader made a comment and pointed out that even if you substitute one cloth diaper a day and continue to use disposables the rest of the time, you will still save 365 diapers from our landfills. That put it into perspective for me - any little bit we do helps the environment (and our pocketbooks!).

I am FAR from a cloth diapering expert. But as I learn more, and find what works for us, I'll be happy to share!