Cloth Diapering Starts NOW!

I don't know exactly when I decided that I wanted to start cloth diapering my kids, but I know it was around the time after Vivian was born. Charles and I need diapers for each girl. When the total was over $60, I looked at him and said that we needed to do some serious changes in how we diaper our girls. We talked to a few friends about switching from disposable diapers to cloth. Now, cloth diapers are not like the ones used back in the day! They are new and awesome! We decided in December that we would use our income tax money to kick-start our new adventure with cloth diapering.

I looked online for some tips and what would be needed to start cloth diapering. I was overwhelmed in a matter of minutes. It is a lot of work. A lot. But having to choose between gas and diapers was becoming a standard issue in our home. Caitlin is still potty training, but she is not ready just yet. We simply cannot afford $120 worth of diapers a month when our extra income is only about $40. Although I was overwhelmed, I found that Cotton Babies was an amazing site that gave me all the information that I needed to start cloth diapering. I also stumbled upon Mama Natural and she has got a ton of YouTube videos that inspired me to want to make the change. That woman and her husband are amazing people! And funny!

I signed up for Cotton Babies and started to fill our cart up with the basics that we'd need for our girls. We bought:

1 x	Flip Potty Trainer Pack 1 trainer, 5 organic cotton pads   - Shell Color / Side Panel Color: Lovelace / White		$34.95
2 x	bumGenius Flannel Baby Wipes		$23.90
1 x	bumGenius Freetime All-In-One One-Size Cloth Diaper 24-Pack		$399.95
1 x	bumGenius Diaper Sprayer		$44.95
1 x	Flip Insert: Stay Dry 3-Pack		$11.95
1 x	Wipe Warmer		$29.99

Then the issue of washing came up. I posted on Cotton Babies' facebook page and asked other Mommas out there what they used for detergent. We found a fantastic deal with Amazon.com for our detergent! We bought:

  Bac-Out w/Foaming Action Sprayer - 32 Ounces - $11.51
 
  Country Save HE Laundry Detergent, Powder, 160 load, 10-lb Boxes (Pack of 4) - $74.99

After some hunting around, we found a good deal and a HUGE drying rack from Walmart! We bought:

  Honey-Can-Do 3-Tier Mesh Top Drying Rack - $28.47

Dealing with the dirty diapers had us trying to decide if we wanted to buy a diaper pail or a hanging wet/dry bag. So I posted on Cotton Babies' facebook page and asked the Mommas what they used. I was referred to Planet Wise Inc. and told that they have some amazing products that make dealing with dirty diapers quite easy, whichever way I wanted to go: diaper pail or wet/dry bags.

We went with the wet/dry bags. Only time will tell if we made a good choice, but we wanted the ease of being able to carry the bag with us to the toilet to spray off the poo from the dirty diapers! We ended up buying:

  Owl Hanging Wet/Dry Bag - $29.99

  Orange Woods Hanging Wet/Dry Bag - $29.99

  Orange Woods Wet/Dry Bag - Medium - $21.00

  Owl Wipe Bag - $10.99

  Lime/Chocolate Wipes - 10 pack - $12.99

All that was left to do was wait for our stuff to come in the mail after we ordered everything! The total cost was around $800, but we will never need to buy disposables again! We are very exited about that!

Our detergent came 2 days after we ordered it! It was 40 lbs worth of detergent! Heavy, heavy box!

I got a call on the 11th that told me that the Lovelace and Albert designs for the bumGenius Freetime All-In-One One-Size Cloth Diapers were on back order. Not gonna lie, I was sad. They wouldn't send my order unless I replaced the diapers with a different color. I replaced the Lovelace with Zinna and the Albert with Moonbeam. But the color that I wanted was actually Mirror. I had the colors switched in my head! But it's all good! When the Lovelace and Albert are available, I will be buying them!

We left for Walmart and picked up the drying rack from the site-to-store counter.

We finally got our diapers in on the 13th! I couldn't wait to open the box!

I blurred our address! :) For privacy reasons!

We opened the box and got very excited to take everything out! It was so neatly packed inside!

We set everything out on the couch while going over the order list and checking off each diaper as we pulled them out of the box. Everything was right! We were happy!

One of the Cloth Diapers!

Caitlin's Flip Potty Trainer pack in Lovelace! (I LOVE it!)

I immediately read up on what I needed to do to prep everything before we used them. Luckily, I had a day to get all the washing done! I had to wash the diapers 5 times in hot water to be sure I'd get the maximum absorbancy from them! I washed the lights, then the darks.

Charles took the Diaper Sprayer and hooked it up in the bathroom. This thing is amazing! The pressure from the sprayer is surely going to get the nasty stuff off our diapers quick!

We got our Wet/Dry bags and Bac-Out Spray the next day!

Orange Woods & Owl Hanging Wet/Dry bags, Orange Woods Wet/Dry bag, Owl Wipe bag, Wipes

I LOVE both designs! I wanted a gender neutral design.

When the first 5 washes were finished, I got out the HUGE drying rack and put all the diapers on it to dry! I put the inserts and wipes through the dryer.

I put the dark diapers in the wash and got 2 cycles in before bed time!

This morning I did the last three hot washes and hung the diapers up. About noon, Caity ran out of disposable diapers, so she was the first one to try out the cloth diapers! (Her trainer inserts weren't dry yet)

Feeling the snaps and giggling!

The diaper is on the biggest setting it can be on! Good thing we bought her the potty trainer!

She's wearing the Mirror color. LOVE IT!

It was nap time then, so Vivian and I got some play time in!

After about an hour of that, she tuckered out on me!

 

That gave me some time to fold all my reusable wipes and figure out a wipe solution I could make homemade!

Wipes stored in a small storage box I bought from Walmart for $0.97!

I ended up calling the Cotton Babies hotline and talking to a representative. I posted on the website, too, and got the same advice. 1 cup of distilled water with a few drops of baby wash mixed in. Soak the wipes in it, squeeze out the excess, roll them up, place them in the wipe warmer. Use within 48 hours. Simple enough for me!

By the time Vivian woke from her nap, she needed a change and we were out of disposables for her, too! She was next up for a cloth diaper!

Happy girl! She went through that diaper in about an hour! But she's been nursing quite frequently the past 2 days! Growing girl! We went to the store and got supper, came home, I made it, we ate it, then it was off to Jenny's house for her birthday party! I was in the process of showing my sister-in-law the inside of the Freetime diaper, when as soon as I opened it up, we saw poop everywhere! I wasn't even at home to spray the diaper off! Charles and I just laughed! We had a disposable diaper leftover in the diaper bag and put that on her to get her through the party. I put Caity into her trainer and brought along a few inserts for her along with the Orange Woods Wet/Dry bag. I put the poopy diaper inside to rinse off when we got home.

As soon as we walked through the door, I headed over to the toilet to spray that beast down! It was fun, I'll admit! Call me crazy! But I think I'm gonna enjoy this cloth diapering thing!

I will continue to post about our tranistion from disposables to cloth as we go! Rosalie still has quite a few disposables left, so that will allow me some time to get into the swing of things before all three girls are wearing cloth! We are very excited and a little nervous, but I know we can do this!

We're gonna get a little dirty along the way! But this is going to be a fun ride! Buckle up!

February Lovin'

February has been great to us so far! We've got a lot accomplished! We started the "Member Missionary 21-Day Promise" on the first and have kept to saying our morning and evening prayers each day praying for the people listed on our list and reading the suggested scriptures for each day. We have already begun to have opportunities to share the gospel with some other friends not on our list and we've had a few opportunities to set righteous examples outside of our home! It is amazing to me just how the Lord works through Charles and I sometimes! We have found so much happiness, peace, and understanding with the Lord's gospel, and we want others to share in our happiness, too! (If you wanna know more about our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, check this site out!)

The girls have been awesome so far this month! They are doing a lot better now that Charles and I have been working on not yelling so much and disciplining with love and patience. The result was almost instant with the girls! They are a lot calmer, they don't yell as much, and they have learned how to be quiet! We have read and feed time which allows them to eat a snack while I read them a book or four! Usually an hour before nap time. Although our nighttime routine is becoming our nap routine! Charles and I sing "I am a child of God" to each girl when we put them to bed. Caitlin is now helping us when we sing to Rosalie. This is her singing to Rosie a few days ago right before nap:

I love my Caity! She's so sweet with her little sisters! :) She is always giving them kisses, hugs, and loving on them! She always wants to hold Vivian! As you can see here:

So sweet! Vivian is officially 4 months old, which seems crazy to me! It's gone by so, so fast! With each child, the first 6 weeks are the longest and shortest of my life. Time seems to be going all crazy and I'm sleep deprived, so I lose all track of it. So to say that 4 months ago I gave birth is kinda crazy! It feels like she's always been here and yet she's so new! She is talking, cooing, rolling over, and doing fantastic!

Rosalie has a new thing going on. She will dig into her diaper whenever she poops. When Caity was around 2, we stopped putting her in onesies. We had a few that would fit her, but there was no need. So when Rosalie got a bit older, we started putting her into t-shirts and pants. We were sitting on the couch watching a movie when I smelled a dirty diaper. I looked over at Rosalie and she had poo all over her hands. I jumped up off the couch and ran her into the bathroom to give her a bath. It. Was. Everywhere. All over her hands, clothes, legs, and all over our coffee table. She was so quiet during the movie that we didn't watch her that closely. After her bath, I put a clean diaper on her. Within seconds, she was putting her hands down the back. I went into her room and pulled out all the onesies I could find in her size and bigger.

Wearing those worked for a week. Then it happened again. Caity, Rosie, Vivi, and I were all on the couch watching Caillou when I smelled a dirty diaper. I looked over to Rosalie first and she had poo all over her hands AGAIN. Round two. Rosalie had gotten into her diaper from the side. I laughed out of anger, disbelief, and because she's so darn clever. I gave her a bath, put a diaper on her, then I had a stroke of genius! I decided to grab a pair of tights and put them on over her diaper. Then I snapped her onesie on over the tights!

So far, so good! She tries and tries to dig into her diaper when she's dirty, but now she just gets frustrated and starts to cry. This is the look she's styling these days:

Whenever we go out to the store, to church, to the library, etc, we just put a pair of jeans on over the tights and onesie! She was digging into the side of her onesie right before I snapped the photo above! I was hoping to catch her in action, but no such luck! Hopefully she grows out of the phase soon. I don't like poop.

Winter finally decided to show up! The girls were thrilled to wake up and see a lot of snow on the ground! Caity kept asking me to go outside and play in the snow! I told her that we'd all go outside after Daddy got home from work. So as soon as he walked in the door, Caity came up to me with her boots and mittens! Gotta love snow suits!

All ready to go outside!

Caitlin climbing over the pile of snow that Charles scooped out of our driveway!

Rosalie trying to walk in the snow! She needed Daddy's help!

Making and throwing snow balls!

Caity picking up snow and dropping it!

Rosie doing the same thing!

My girls just playing in the snow!

They had a blast! They came inside and I had a warm bowl of soup ready for them! Caity kept asking to go back outside, but the sun had gone down. I am glad they got a good snow to play in! We haven't really had a good snow this year! But it's here now!

We took Vivian in for her 4 month appointment and weren't surprised when she came out in the 95th percentile for height and weight! The girl is HUGE! She weighed 15 lbs 13 oz and was 25 1/2 inches long! Although I'm positive she's hit 16 lbs since then! She's doing so well with everything! She's right on track developmentally and she crazy strong! She's my Chubbers!

Getting some quality Tummy time!

I thought this was a cool picture!

After a major diaper explosion, she's changed and having a staring contest with Elmo.
Vivian won. She always wins...

Along with the no yelling rule, our girls have found that it's easy to get along! Teamwork is now seen around our house! Just the other day Caity was helping Rosie color a picture! It was the first time my girls have ever colored the same picture without any yelling, screaming, or fighting. I'm still shocked! I knew they could do it!

We have watched Beauty and the Beast about 8 times a day since the 5th. I don't mind it so much, because it makes the girls happy. They sing along with the songs (which is SUPER cute) and they don't fight. I do leave it on when we read or play games, because when I turn it off, the girls start crying and wanting to watch "Beauty/Beast". So for the most part, it's just background noise until a song comes on. Then the girls will watch and sing along!

We had a "bed party" the other morning! Vivian woke up and was still kinda sleepy, so I decided to feed her while lying in bed. Caity and Rosie joined us and watched Vivi eat. When she was done and burped, I put her back on the bed to change her diaper (on a portable changing mat!). After she was clean, Caity laid next to her and covered up. Then Rosie copied. Then the all started snoring and being silly! I captured some of the cuteness!

For about an hour or so, we all just lounged on my bed and played peek-a-boo, giggled, and I let the girls bounce! It was a lot of fun, especially since we don't usually let them on our bed! Every now and again is fine by me!

One of the 14 days of Valentine's gifts that Charles got was some Oreos. It was a large package, so I couldn't hid it from the girls right away. Caity saw them that morning and kept asking me all day for a some cookies. I gave her 2 cookies after lunch and this is how she came to me to ask for some more:

She had chocolate all over her face, hands, shirt, and pants! It was hilarious! I gave her one more cookie! Because I'm awesome!

On Saturday the 11th, we were getting ready to go to a birthday party for a friend's little girl. I told Caity and Rosie that we were going to go to Walmart to get a card for the little girl. Caity proceeded to draw on her magnadoodle and told me "this is what I want on the card!" What do you think?

Not gonna lie, but that picture makes me proud! She drew those little people all by herself! She even gave them belly buttons! AHH! I love her! She is getting so crafty and talented! I wonder who she inherited that from.... ;)

So when we bought the card, this is how she signed it:

The girls had a blast at the party! It had a bounce house! Of all the chaos that happened, Caity was the one to get hurt! She was bouncing and when she was coming down from a high bounce, she smacked heads with another little girl. It sounded awful. Caity cried for a little while, but she soon calmed down and got back into the bounce house. She was a trooper! Rosie kept sliding down the front on her belly and scratching up her chin on the carpet, but she'd just giggle, and go do it again! She was making everyone laugh!

Our friend Jessica came and brought her little boy so that we could FINALLY meet him! Carson is way cute and looks just like his daddy! Vivian was in LOVE from the first time she saw him. She was talking to him, trying to grab him, and she kept getting excited and giggling! It was way cute!

Charles and I got to hold him! He felt so light compared to Vivian! Caitlin and Rosalie wanted to give him some loving!

Jessica brought a small seat for him to sit in, but she let Vivi have a turn! I want one of these seats! Vivian just loved it! She didn't fuss until right before she wanted out! Her legs were a bit too chubby for it though!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day! The girls got up early to find their Twizzler hearts I made them! Rosie ate hers right away so I didn't get a picture, but I got one of Caity!

I made treats for the family during the day, and treated the girls with some Conversation Heart cake bites! I put the girls in the shirts I made using a heart doily and snapped a quick picture before they ate the hearts!

When Charles got home from work, he surprised me with a bouquet of flowers! They aren't roses, and I'm glad! The flowers he got were much more "Carie" he said! I think he did wonderful!

 

I made ribs in the slow cooker and served them with a side salad and Hawaiian rolls. We invited the Missionaries over for supper and they enjoyed the meal! We left afterwards to drop off Valentine treats and head over to Jenny's house for a small Valentine get-together. It was a lot of fun! The girls had a blast and I ate way more chocolate than I should've!

I know we're a day late, but we want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! We love you much!

Nostalgia

nos·tal·gia - [no-stal-juh, -jee-uh, nuh-] -- noun
a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former time or place

While shopping yesterday for the girls' snacks, we came across an old familiar face! We were in the cookie/cracker aisle when Charles said, "Carie! Look! Do you remember these?" He picked up a box of Barnum's Animals Crackers! "Of course I remember those!"

I don't have very many happy memories of my childhood, but once I saw the red circus box with animals on it, a very happy sense of nostalgia kicked in! I remember being rewarded with these after a shopping trip with my Mom for being good! I remember being so proud that I got to hold onto the little box by the white string as I proudly ate each cracker. I use to hunt through my box to find the animal shapes that matched the ones on the box. I remember I was happy

We decided to go ahead and buy 3 boxes! They were $1.25 each (ouch) but we wanted to reward the girls for being so good in the store with us. It made me very happy watching Caitlin walk around the store with her red box being held by the white string while Rosalie was trying very hard to get into the box and get the crackers out! The final box sat in the cart waiting to be consumed by Charles and I.

As soon as we were done and in the parking lot of the store, the girls were begging us to open their boxes. Seeing that the packaging on the inside was the same made me giggle! The girls dove into their boxes! Caitlin would tell us which animal she had and then make the sound of that animal as she ate the cracker!

Charles got our box out and ripped into it fast! I decided to savor the first cracker I ate. It was a mix of vanilla deliciousness with a hint of lemon. Such fond memories of my childhood. I remember when the boxes were only $0.15! It wasn't such a burden for my Mom to buy a box each for my brothers and I. But whatever the is cost now, making memories is priceless!

I hope that one day our girls will be grown, go shopping with their children, and have the same happy sense of nostalgia that Charles and I had when they find the little red boxes sitting on a shelf next to the cookies and crackers.

I can't wait for the day when Vivian can enjoy her own box of crackers!