You know that "oh my gosh" moment you have, that moment you realize you have a brilliant idea that you can't believe you didn't think of it sooner. Well that's how it was with me and cloth diapering. So I've been constantly looking into it, trying to figure out where to begin. Some days I would be excited to try to start up, and other days, I didn't really feel like doing it. I figured I would just stay with the disposable diapers and leave it at that. I asked several people about it, and looked at the different styles and kinds of diapers out there.
My Mom said she tried cloth diapering my sister (her oldest child) but ultimately chose to use disposable diapers instead. I'm sure my Husband got sick of hearing me talk about cloth diapers and how I was so interested in trying it. I can't tell you how long I bugged him about trying them. I think the real kicker was telling him how much money we would end up saving after we initially got our stash of cloth diapers built up. The only problem is cloth diapering can be overwhelming to anyone who is new to it, and it's a bit pricey starting a stash up. So my advice for anyone starting out, don't fret, there's always someone willing to help you. Luckily we have a local store that sells cloth diapers.
So the only problem we had was finding affordable cloth diapers to get started. I had been talking with my sister-in-law about cloth diapering because she asked me about it. I had been talking so long about doing it, and she asked for information and if we had started. At that point I sadly, had not started using them yet because we were in the process of figuring out which ones we wanted to use. I wasn't able to get out to our local cloth diapering store yet. So I sent her what information I had, and she sent me different information she had been finding. So one day, she sent me a message telling me about a local organization who helps low income families in their journey into cloth diapering. WIC is constantly sharing different things with their families about things that will possibly help them. I went to a breastfeeding support group one day, and had a good time. So WIC definitely looks out for their families.
So I sent in an application to see if we would be accepted into their program. A few days later I received an email that they wanted to set up an appointment with us. I was thrilled that we'd be able to cloth diaper and save some money in the process. I'm so thankful that there are organizations out there like WIC and Heiny Helpers. While I was extremely excited for this appointment, I was a bit bummed how far away the appointment was. I read on Facebook about a sale on cloth diapers at our local store, The Green Nursery. So Sunday, April 22, 2012 I went into the store and was amazed to see all sorts of diapers. I thought this trip was going to be simple. Drive there (which took me some time to find), pick up a diaper and leave. It was NOT that simple. A woman came out and explained all the different kinds of diapers. I won't get into all of them, because I don't know very much about every single one.
After hearing everything she had to say about all the different diapers, it was an easy choice for me. I picked the Flip diaper. What this is, is a shell that has two flaps, one at each end. You stick an insert in, and snap it up and you're done. When it's time to change, you pull it out and replace it with a new one. I figured this would be easiest to start out with, and it was the cheaper option to start out with. So I purchased a shell and a box of three inserts. I couldn't wait to get home and slap that sucker on Chester's bottom. I should mention, I picked a lime green shell, because greens my favorite color.
I arrived home, got the diaper put together and on Chester's bottom. Already I loved it. He looked cute as all get out, and I was just so excited to actually be doing what I had wanted to do since I could remember.
So here he is in his lime green cloth diaper:
Now, I haven't taken pictures of the process of doing it yet, because I was just super excited to get it on him, so I'll be doing that for the next cloth diaper blog. I did was his liners this evening though, and here is a picture of those:
Basically, they look like huge maxi pads. They're so simple to wash, and they so soft on his bottom.
Now, cloth diapers take special laundry detergent or you'll have problems with leaking. I used some of what I received at the baby fair. I decided not to use the wash machine, because I didn't want to run it for 3 liners and waste a ton of water. I used a bit of water in the tub, added the liners and detergent, drained the water, rinsed the liners and soaked them in clean water. Then I made sure to ring them out very well and laid them out to dry. I'm very excited to get more into cloth diapering. I want to try out different kinds. I love the one I have now, but I feel different kinds would be good for different occasions. Also, I wanted to add that I went on a search for liners, some that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, and found that Walmart sells a pack of ten Gerber pre-folds for about $14. I spent about that much on the pack of three. Now I know that money was well spent because the three liners are AMAZING, but I'm glad to see that I can buy the pack of ten.
I'm so excited to be cloth diapering. I've wanted this for so long now, and now that Craig is on board with the the whole thing, it makes it all the more exciting for me. This is just the beginning of the research I'm going to be doing and trial and error, finding which type of cloth diaper we like best. I haven't even ventured into the idea of cloth wipes, I'd like to take this one day at a time. So for now, that's a shell and three liners. After our HH appointment, I'm sure it will open my eyes to tons of different possibilities.
I'll be sharing all the details about my journey and the obstacles and fun we have along the way with this. I'm stoked to share this with anyone who reads.
So far all my blogs have been about Chester, and being a Mom. As much as I love Chester, being a Mom and a wife, that's not all I am. I'm my own person, and have my own likes and interests. I've been thinking about what I should blog about next, and mostly it's been parenting things. Things like, cloth diapering, circumcision, a blog all about being a Mommy, and so on. While I love all of those things, and want to share my thoughts, I've decided my first post back after being away for so long should be one all about me. While that sounds kind of self-centered, I want people to know there's more to me than just being a Mom and Wife. I started an "I'm back" sort of blog already, but never got it finished. Who knows if I ever will. Anyway, so thinking about what to write, I've decided to go back to the beginning. I feel like sharing about childhood and my fondest memories. This will be a great trip down memory lane for me, and will make my family smile.
So lets see, I was born December 1989 in Frankfurt Germany. My Mom told me she was in labor with me for 24 hours. God help her! We lived in Germany because my Dad was in the Air Force, and we moved to Indiana when I was 3 years old. I don't remember anything about Germany, and it would be nice to go back one day so I could see exactly where I'm from. I had a pretty great childhood. I had two wonderful parents, who weren't perfect, but did the best with what they had. Growing up, they were pretty perfect from where I sat, though. They worked hard for us, and made sure we had everything we needed.
I remember growing up the the most beautiful gardens. One giant food garden, and a few flower gardens. The only part I hated, was when we had to go out and pick green beans. Not only did we have to go pick them, but we had to clean them, and cut the ends off so my parents could "can" them. The children in our family always loved to go to the garden and pick the fresh fruits and veggies and sit out in the garden while eating them. One day, I remember the four oldest of us walked through deciding what to eat. We picked up a cantaloupe, some strawberries, and some tomatoes. The things we picked from the garden were always so fresh and delicious. The strawberries hardly ever made it to the house. Thinking back to that garden makes me want one of my own once we get out of this apartment and into a house. I would love for Chester to have that in his childhood since it's one of my favorite memories.
The flower gardens also were a great part of my childhood. It was always such a great, calming feeling walking out the back door to a beautiful garden full of flowers. It was like a scene from a movie. The sun shining, birds chirping, walking out to the warmth from the sun on your skin, and seeing different kinds of flowers surrounding you. I know, I know. It sounds really lame, or even made up, but I loved it. I'm a girl, so I'm a sucker for some beautiful gardening. I always loves picking small bouquets of flowers for my Mom, but hated that they would wilt away and die. They always lasted longer outside and we could enjoy them more. Especially since they usually attracted some kind of bugs or flies as soon as they started dying.
We lived in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house, it was my parents and 5 kids. Things got pretty crazy at times, but it was life. I miss that house. I miss the memories. Everything was so easy then. Do your chores, then go outside to play. It's crazy how different things are now, you tend not to enjoy those kinds of things once you get to a certain age. I want Chester to enjoy those things like I did, for as long as possible.
Sometimes thinking back to my childhood is sad, sad because it's over and it seems like it was so long ago. Thinking back to Christmastime in that house, all of us kids surrounding the Christmas tree, excited to see what "Santa" brought us. Thinking back to summertime, the doors and windows all open so we could let the summer breeze in. I just hope to create a childhood Chester can look back on with pride and joy and want to pass those things along to his children.
I'm thinking about all the pets we had there. You could say it was like we were a home for all the strays. We always wanted to keep animals that were wandering the neighborhood, and typically we did. We would either convince my Mother, or feed the thing so it knew to stay. We had heartbreak, and love, anger and happiness, and we all had each other. Even though we all went our separate ways, and my parents divorces, those were some of the best times of my life.
Riding around on our bikes in circles around the house and driveway acting like we were NASCAR drivers, because that's the one sport we always watched as a family. Playing in the yard and on the play set, playing- don't touch the grass because it's lava. Climbing in the trees, and picking out "our" specific trees, or climbing in the garage because dinosaurs were going to eat us and the safest place was up in the rafters where we believe they couldn't reach us. Playing Super Mario with my Mom, or when I got stung by a bee and ran in front of the television and made her lose. [I wish my sister was awake to share some of her thoughts on this.] On snowy days when we would take our sleds across the street to the church to go sledding, then coming home to hot chocolate Mom made. Taking the baseball and bat up to the ball diamond to play a few games while waiting for dinner. Sitting upstairs with Rachel in the "small bedroom" playing a game of BS singing some Britney Spears (quietly so our parents didn't hear us) while it was storming. Having to sleep in the hallway (which we thought was so awesome) because IU lost an important game, and because not too long before that us girls had a rock thrown through our window.
These are all tons of memories that I miss about being there, being around my giant family. Even though we didn't always get along, I appreciate all the time we shared.
I'm sure I'll be adding to this one, whether it's in future blogs, or just returning here to jot down a good memory I forgot to include. I'll always come back here to remember these things and smile. I just wish I had pictures handy to share. Growing up then, was so much different than kids growing up now. I hope I never lose sight of that, and am able to recreate some of those things for my children. I know they would love it just like I did.
I will add though, I never thought I'd be where I am today. You know something though, I wouldn't trade any of this or my past for the world.
