Thursday, May 1, 2008
:: currently
:: my tulips are about to burst into color! (The price we pay for having very shaded tulips is that they take longer than everyone else's to bloom; the benefit of the shade is that they then stay in bloom much, much longer.) They are thriving this year, with lots more buds than last year even. So wonderful!
:: in the way of things that grow, our seeds are also doing great! Our squash plants tried to take over (surprise, surprise), so they got moved to a separate planter. The summer phlox that will be planted along the front of our porch once the tulips have died are so cute and tiny at present. So far our basil is doing the best of everything else, though a surprising amount of sage and rosemary have also made appearances. The peppers are lagging far behind with just a few sprouts, which is disappointing since we all love peppers around here.
:: tonight is our 3rd college ministry-related BBQ this spring. The predicted high of the day is a whopping 57* (brrr), so the party is being moved indoors.
:: we're embarking on birthday season around here. I have 4 siblings whose birthdays fall in May. Add to that my mother-in-law and we average more than one birthday a week. I have to say that Merrick's birthday celebration takes the cake around this house. Sorry, Jamie, but Gabriel really doesn't care what you get this year!
:: it's time to get "unplugged" around here, though I'm not quite sure when we'll start. No movies, no TV for a week. The other day Gabriel whined to me, "But we haven't watched anything today!" and I realized that we had been on a string of the kids watching a PBS Kids show or a movie every.single.day. Ugh. This is not their fault, but mine. I resort to that method of occupation all too readily, especially when I'm busy trying to get things done. It's not fair to them and I need to change.
:: I made a delicious pot of a fish chowder last night. It was the second time I've made it and it turned out much better. My problem is that I rarely follow a recipe exactly since I'm always trying to find ways to make it healthier and more inexpensive. The first time around was a bit of an error, but this time it was really yummy.
:: my friend who's having two babies soon visited me yesterday. I love her. She's a great person and an easy companion.
:: next week is officially slated as "fence week!" The wood for this fence has been sitting in our basement for... well... a year. Finding the time for projects is a challenge. But it's senior week for a number of the students (the week between finals and commencement) and they're coming over to help Daniel with building the front and side fences. To say I'm excited about this project getting started is a major understatement!
:: yes, I got on board the fuzzi bunz wagon recently. I've been seriously considering cloth diapering for over a year, but took this long to make the plunge. I can't believe I didn't start sooner! It's easy and fun and so convenient! My absolute favorite part is never running out of diapers. No more, "Oh, Daniel, you need to stop by the store even though it's eleven o'clock at night because I only have 2 more diapers in the entire house." I hadn't anticipated that benefit, but in my estimation, it just might be the best part.
:: my three friends from Pittsburgh are planning a visit for Memorial Day weekend. I can hardly wait! It's been far too long since I last had a chance to just sit around a table or living room with them and talk. I love them so much and miss them like crazy. While they're here, Daniel is planning on taking the 3 big kids to Cook Forest for a weekend with his family.
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Wait: so, they're coming UP from Pittsburgh while Daniels goes DOWN? And you'll have an all-girl house, huh? That will be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing your tulips in person. And we'll wave to Daniel and the kids when we pass them on the road! We're all very excited too! Just think, even if Riah comes, we'll out number the kids 2 to 1!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it has been too long!
I have been thinking about making the switch to cloth diapers, too. But I have a couple issues. One, how do you travel with a baby in cloth diapers? And two, they are so expensive! Do you buy a bigger size so they will fit longer? Or do you just save up and buy them more frequently? And... how many do you have to buy so that you are not running out and having to "hurry up and do a load of diapers"? Sorry, alot of questions, I know.
ReplyDelete@sarahellie - I haven't actually done a full trip with cloth diapers yet. I anticipate using disposables during those times, especially if I'm not staying somewhere with easy access to a washer & dryer.There are lots of different kinds of cloth diapers out there (which was part of the reason it took me this long to start cloth diapering; I was overwhelmed!). Some of them are one size fits all sorts. (The best brand for this, according to an expert friend, is Baby Beehinds.) For Aubrey, I have size small fuzzi bunz. They fit babies 8-18lbs or so, depending largely on the chub-factor. Aubrey is about 13lbs and I have the snaps on the smallest setting around her legs and basically on the smallest around her waist, too, because she's a long and skinny baby. I anticipate the size smalls fitting for quite some time to come.For Aubrey, I have 18 diapers. Since she's strictly breastfed, she still has lots of bowel movements every day (like 6!). Before buying the cloth diapers, I tracked how much I changed her each day for a week and found that the maximum amount was about 9 times. So I bought 18 diapers, which allows me to do 1 load of diapers every other day for her. This is very simple for me because I do laundry pretty much every day anyway...I spent almost $400 (!!!) when I started out with Aubrey. This got me 18 diapers, 18 washcloths (love them!), 1 small travel diaper bag, 2 large diaper bags (so I can have one while the other is in the wash), a wipes solution, and diaper-safe laundry detergent. The upfront cost almost made me choke, until I realized that I would spend that on diapers for her in a year anyway.The place I bought my diapers from was Kelly's Closet. Their diaper packages were about the price I found everywhere for fuzzi bunz packages, plus they have a 30-day money back guarantee on fuzzi bunz. I thought that would be nice in case I found cloth diapering to be an absolute nightmare. I haven't started cloth diapering Jackson yet because I've been torn about what kind of get him. I've considered doing a Baby Beehinds with Thirsties cover combination, but I love the ease of the fuzzi bunz. The plus with the Baby Beehinds is that even though they cost a bit more upfront, I can use them for Aubrey once she outgrows the fuzzi bunz regardless of how much smaller she is than Jackson. All I'd have to do is buy some medium Thirsties (diaper covers).Wow, I may have just overwhelmed you with that answer!
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking a lot about starting with cloth diapers. I liked the one size fits all option for cost reasons. Why did you choose the single size diapers verses the one sized ones? Also, when I mention using cloth diapers, people tell me that I'm going to wish I didn't and only use them because of the money that went into them (coming from people that haven't used them). Not that convenience is my only deciding factor (health is important too). Does the washing process use a lot of energy (hot water etc) and do you find it difficult/annoying to have to clean them every other day?
ReplyDelete@MelissaLange - The reason I chose fuzzi bunz is because they are so simple. They are "pocket" diapers, which means that there are inserts you fit inside them for absorbency (I add a second insert at bedtime since Aubrey no longer needs diaper changes through the night). Then, when I go to do diaper changes, it is no harder than with disposables-- just put it on and snap it up and good to go! Fuzzi Bunz are also trimmer than many cloth diapers, which is nice for not overhauling wardrobes (if you start out using cloth, this wouldn't be as much a problem).The Baby Beehinds I referred to in my comment to sarahellie are one-size diapers, which is a great cost-effective method. You pay more up-front, but they will last your child's diaper-using years! With Baby Beehinds, you need a separate cover, which you have to buy according to size, but at $10.50/piece for a Thirsties cover (and you probably only need 4-6 total since they can be reused before washing), this is still cost effective over the long-run. The separate diaper with a cover is a little more work to use (though I doubt very much). Daniel was very skeptical about cloth diapering, so picking fuzzi bunz with their ease was a great way to get into cloth diapering because he thinks it's so simple.I have to say that by the time I pay for the diapers themselves, the energy to clean them, and the special laundry detergent, it's probably not cheaper than disposable diapers. I think you probably have to use cloth diapers for the long-haul (like 2-3 kids!) before really seeing the savings. And, yes, there is question about whether or not the use of so much hot water and electricity (for drying-- air drying, indoors anyway, seems to be a joke, in my experience) is actually better environmentally. I can't really say since I'm pretty clueless about what goes into water & sewage and all that. You probably could educate me!I don't mind washing them at all. But like I said, I've been doing laundry just about every day for the last couple years, so having to do a load of diapers every other day is no work or extra thought.As for people saying you won't like it, I think if you're willing to spend some money up front and get a system that works for you, you will love it! I knew from changing my younger siblings diapers that I would hate the old-fashioned prefolds with pins (you know, the flat diapers that you have to fold and pin onto the baby). Some people love doing that system, but it's just not where I'm at.For me, the real clincher was the number of diaper rashes Aubrey had. And while she did have a weird diaper rash the first week of using cloth (I think her skin was adjusting), I really feel like it's better for her. That's really important to me.I think I sent you my email address (yes?), so email me if you have more questions or want specific links to places I found helpful!
ReplyDeleteThat is my favorite part of cloth diapering also. Hands down the best! My favorite part about fuzzi bunz? Well.. they're so Fuzzy!!! So soft and snuggly.... simply baby.What type of fencing are you putting up? I really want a fence in our backyard.
ReplyDeleteOur tulips still haven't opened either (because of the shade, too), but we seem to have a lot fewer buds than usual...Tim thinks rabbits have been snacking on our flowers :(. And Tim just finally finished getting our fence all done...definitely a relief. I thought I would mention, too, as far as water and electricity costs for doing laundry - Tim calculated it out when we decided to give cloth diapers a try and it came out to only being around $10 a month...which for us was less than a third of what we spent on disposable diapers each month...so each month pays for 1-2 cloth diapers (depending on the brand). I am curious, too, since you mentioned that Aubrey is long and lean, have you had any problems with leaking around the legs? I ask because I have used Happy Heiny's diapers with Bethany and briefly with Nathanael, but I didn't continue because even with 2 inserts and a hemp oval, they always leaked around the legs. Maybe I just need to switch brands...
ReplyDeleteI regularly read The Simple Dollar, a personal finance blog. He's posted a great analysis of cloth vs. disposable diapers costs and considerations. http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/03/17/cloth-diapering-a-real-world-analysis/
ReplyDelete@loribruehle - Since fuzzi bunz are the only cloth diaper I've used (and I'm still very much learning about this whole world of cloth diapering-- though I am the sort of freak who will research it all, ask a million cloth diaper-users questions, etc. before I actually commit to anything!), I can't say what they're like compared to other brands, but, no, I've not had any leaking issues. With fuzzi bunz, there are three sets of snaps on either side of the waist and at each leg opening, which allows for quite the variety of baby shapes and sizes. I pull it as tight as it will go to the innermost snap around each leg and we're fine. During the day, I use one terry cloth insert for Aubrey. At night, I layer 2 and she never leaks-- even if I forget to change her first thing in the morning (which is usually around 12 hours after she got the diaper on the night before). And that bedtime diaper is a "lasix diaper," as we call it around here, which means she got her diuretic and peed quite a bit in it! It still doesn't leak. Ever. I love them.
ReplyDelete@Moira - Thanks! That was very interesting!
ReplyDeleteJust to add in my .02 - I've been using cloth for the last 7 years and it's easy. I tried out all kinds of different dipes at first, but settled on Mother-Ease about 5 yrs ago. I use a one-size diaper with a snap-on cover. After being worn non-stop by 3 dc, they were worn out enough that I had to buy new ones for my youngest. He's 11mo old and I wash them 1-2x a week. I think I have 2 dozen. I do "cheat" and use disposables for trips and long outings though.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to our trip! I can't believe it's been over a year and a half...way too long.
ReplyDelete