Cloth Diapers

I haven't posted anything on here for so, so long. I have been busy with our new baby:)and a million other really neat things that I would love to share.

One of the really awesome things that I started using when Cecilia was born is cloth diapers! Joe mentioned using them when Leah was born and again when Mason was born and both times I was adamant that I would NEVER use them. They sounded dirty, gross and a pain to clean. I was so wrong. I am six months into using them and I LOVE THEM! I am not looking forward to potty training at all. It feels so good to put a soft, fresh, clean (homemade:)diaper on my baby girl's bum. There are no weird chemicals in them (like there are in disposables-who knows what exactly is in them!?) and they are so natural. Cecilia has super sensitive skin and using cloth diapers and wool covers has really helped keep her bum rash free.

So, yes. I decided to make my own diapers. I started looking into buying cloth diapers when I was pregnant and I was overwhelmed with all the choices! I really liked the fitted diapers the best and I wanted to be as economical as I possibly could be. My favorite diaper was this one:
http://www.asmallgreenfootprint.com/store/Growing-Green-Diaper-9p3.htm
There was no way I was going to spend that much on diapers so I kept on looking and stumbled on a pattern that I really thought I would like. I purchased birdseye and diaper twill fabric online, used some flannel I already had and got busy sewing. Before Cecilia was born, I sewed about 4 dozen diapers.

I did buy some preemie prefolds that I use in each diaper as a doubler. I do this because I mostly use wool covers on my baby and it is important to have enough cotton to keep them from leaking.

What I love about this diaper pattern:
1. It is a one size pattern! Well, two sizes that will fit baby from newborn until she is potty trained (or 30 pounds). I don't have to buy multiple diaper sizes which saves money.

2. Sewing your own diapers is the most economical way to diaper you baby. I spent very little on fabric (about $300 for 6 dozen diapers total which included both one-size sizes). Compare that to the $2000 it costs to diaper a baby for 2 years+!

3. I have NEVER had a blowout with these diapers, never. The gussets stop the poo.

4. They were easy to sew. I sewed some on my mom's serger and some on my regular sewing machine.

5. I used the extra fabric to sew 5x7 washable diaper wipes which is so much cheaper and easier than disposable wipes. I used disposable wipes once after my baby was born and I was so disappointed with them after using cloth wipes. They just smeared the poo around. I now hate disposable wipes!

I also purchased some prefold diapers because I wanted to try them out as well. I honestly wanted to try everything! I didn't like them at all. I thought they were difficult to get on correctly and her poo would squish out of the sides. I ended up using the diapers as burp cloths.

I did not put fasteners on the diapers I made. I have tried the Snapi Fastener but I prefer diaper pins. I think pinned diapers look so cute:)

Diapers have to have a cover and I made some (both wool and PUL)that had a velcro fastener and the velcro rubbed on Cecilia's belly and made it all red. I have found two all time favorite covers; my favorite is the wool cover. The wool lets her bum breathe and I have never had a leak; I LOVE wool covers! My favorite wool cover is the Disana Wool Cover (the link takes you the cheapest place that I have found to buy it) and my favorite PUL cover is Thirsties Duo Wrap (with snaps, not velco).

The Disana Wool cover is so wonderful! It comes up really high on baby and does a fantastic job stopping leaks. I only wash the wool covers every few weeks so they really are less work than PUL covers.

Thirsties Duo wrap (I like the snaps best because velco rubs on baby's tummy and is irritating) is awesome because it has gussets and is a one size cover-very economical and a well made product. I really like these, but I don't use them as often because Cecilia really does best with wool.

Washing diapers may sound yucky, but I actually look forward to it. This is how I wash them in my Whirlpool Duet machine:

Every two or three days I take the full diaper pail liner out of the diaper pail (regular plastic garbage can with a lid) and put the open end in to the washing machine. I push the diapers in from the bottom of the liner and I never have to even touch a dirty diaper:)

Cold Soak for 30 minutes

Cold wash with vinegar

Hot wash with max rinse (I use Country Save detergent and lavender essential oil in the rinse.)

They have always come out perfectly clean.

I put them in the dryer for 120 minutes on medium.

I enjoy folding them, but I don't always have the time. I just put them in a laundry basket next to the changing table.

So that's how I do it. Cloth diapers are awesome and they save money! I want to spread the word:) Also, keep in mind that there a million different ways to cloth diaper. Green Mountain Diapers is a good place to start looking to get a feel for what you might want. She gives very comprehensive reviews and you can see pictures of many of the most popular diaper styles on babies.

New Computer!

We finally broke down and bought a new computer, so I'll actually be able to blog again:) It wasn't even worth it with the old one. It was soooooooooo slow! Hopefully I can get some pictures up today. I am so excited to be able to blog again! These pictures on here are OLD!

Leah's Performance at the Pythian Home

Leah started violin lessons with a new teacher this year (Her teacher is wonderful!). I didn't realize how much she was missing in regards to the quality of her lessons until she began Suzuki lessons. Anyways, Leah is doing a wonderful job and we are proud of her accomplishments this year.

Here are pictures from the December 9th performance at the Pythian Home.

The Zoo! The Zoo!

Here are pictures from our trip to the zoo on November 11th. We invited the kids from Mason's preschool co-op group and Leah and Mason's friends, Dylan, Kenneth, Olivia and Ethan. The weather was wet, rainy and windy but the rain stopped and the weather warmed up a bit after a little while. Leah and Mason had a great time and they were so excited to see their friends at the zoo!



The tractor!



Mason was so excited to see this tractor! Last time we went to the zoo, I couldn't even get him to sit on it. This time, I couldn't get him off of it!



Leah and Mason on the 'horses'





Leah, Mason and Olivia




Leah, Mason, Kenneth and Dylan



Grumpy, hungry Mason



We have a preschool co-op in our ward and Keslee is one of the little girls that is in it with Mason. Mason loves Keslee and he was so excited that she came to the zoo! They walked around holding hands until it was time to go.



Mason always wants to do two things at the zoo and this is one of them (the other is riding the train which we unfortunately did not get to do this time).





Leah with the Giraffe



Here is Mason, Kenneth, Dylan and Keslee walking around the zoo holding hands.

Leah Loves Uncle Carson

Here is Leah, talking to Uncle Carson on the phone. She just loves him and as you can tell by the smile on her face, she eats up any attention he pays to her.

The American Girls Club in November

Wow! We haven't been on here in a while! We have been really busy with a million different things. Anyways, I thought I'd take some time today to catch up on what we have been doing.

Here is a picture from one of our American Girl Book Club meetings in November. We are reading the Kirsten books and as this meeting, the girls were learning about St. Lucia Day. They made St. Lucia Day head wreaths and ornaments out of straw.

Our Halloween-Trunk or Treat at the church

Here are pictures of our family at the Trunk or Treat at the church. Mason dressed up as Speed Racer and Leah was an Indian.









Here is Mason going through the "Haunted House".



Here is a picture of the kids with their very tired daddy (he worked 160 hours in 2 weeks!). We're glad it is all over with and that he could come and celebrate Halloween with his family.

Fall Family Pictures

Work

Joe has been working some insane hours for the last couple of weeks and the kids have missed him a lot! Here is a picture of the kids after one of our Thursday night dinners with daddy. (This weekly dinner is the only time the kids get to see him, except on the weekends because Joe gets home so late at night). Mason has taken up the role of 'man of the house' while Joe has been gone and he has been doing his best to protect his mom and sister by killing spiders, helping to take out the garbage and trying to do anything else that Joe usually does. He has been very cute and it has been fun to watch him try to be just like his dad. The project will be over at the end of the week and then we can settle back into a normal routine!

Pumpkin Patch

Mason's Family

Mason is a part of a preschool co-op of three girls and three boys in our ward and he absolutely loves it! This week, he learned about families and he made his own family out of marshmallows, chocolate chip eyes, toothpicks and umbrellas (because it rains a lot here). Above (left to right) is Mom, Mason and Dad (he forgot to make Leah). He was very proud of his creation.

Our Weekend in Astoria with Josh, Katie, Collin and Hadley

We took off last weekend to stay and Katie's parent's home in Astoria and we had a wonderful time! Here are a ton of pictures from our trip (also check out the pictures katie added to facbook. She got some really great shots!):

Saturday

Hadley was pretty excited about my camera

Leah could run and run in their backyard all weekend long

Mason was really excited to play with Collin again

Collin and his Grandpa

Leah's fort

Katie's dad somehow talked me into letting everyone try out the ATVs. It was a lot of fun, even if it did make me nervous.

Campfire and Marshmellows

Katie's dad made a fire in the backyard and we roasted marshmellows over it. It is so beautiful out there, without the city lights. All the stars were crystal clear and beautiful.

Sunday-Trip to the Beach

This was my favorite trip to the Oregon Coast. It was pretty warm, even though it was right before sunset and their was hardley any wind. The kids played in the water while they watched the sun set. It so beautiful that I had to include all the pictures that we took:

The last picture of the day, just as the sun set:)

Thanks Josh and Katie!