Adventures in Cloth Diapering

Last night, Andrew had a brilliant idea: why don't we try cloth diapers for Holly? The thought of spending oodles of money on disposables (especially when the time comes when we have 2 kids in diapers) is not appealing to either of us, especially since I'm not working. I thought it was genius and set to work researching cloth diapers online. This all happened around bedtime, and when I get a new idea I cannot sleep. Therefore, I was up until 1:00 a.m. looking at diaper options.

Early this morning, I went shopping for cloth diapers, diaper covers, and diaper pins. When Holly and I got home, I excitedly put the diapers in the washing machine and did some more online research on how to fold them, wash them, etc. Well, the first problem was the cloth diapers that I bought (the only kind available in South Texas) suck and are totally not absorbant. I found this out after reading several reviews. Oh, great. Well, I decided to try it out anyway. Holly was more than happy to oblige and be my guniea pig. Here was my first attempt:

Um, hello? I'm sure you can see the obvious problem here: the diaper is way, way, way too loose! I actually used 2 diapers because they are not very absorbant, thinking that 2 must be better than 1, right? Right? After I folded the diaper nicely I put Holly on it and had to wrap it around her and then fasten it with diaper pins. Uh-huh, that's right. Diaper pins. Which were terrifying because sharp objects and squirmy babies definitely do not mix. I almost had a heart attack when Holly almost grabbed the pin in her fist and then flailed and kicked the entire time the pin was exposed. Once I got the diaper on, I put on the cover and got her dressed.

I know this is not a flattering photo of her, but I wanted to emphasize how bulky and silly she looked. I mean, the onesie barely snapped over the two diapers and the cheap plastic cover. (I didn't want to invest too much up front in case things don't work out--if they do, I will get some better equipment.) I laughed out loud when I saw how funny it looked. Then she was in the thing for about 5 minutes and then guess what? She pooped. As you can probably guess, the cloth diaper leaked all over inside the diaper cover, but at least it was contained. Yikes. Anyway, all the rest of the diapers are still in the washing machine so I put Holly back in a disposable diaper for now.

On a happier note, here is a cute picture of the little one:

The chubs! I love it!

The Terrible...Zeros???

Last night, we were giving Holly a bath and had to take some pictures of her post-bath wrapped in her cozy towel. She saw the camera and started smiling! It was a cute, shy smile. She was totally ready to oblige and cooperate with the photo shoot. One of her happiest times is in the bathtub and when just getting out of the bath. Would you believe that a mere 10 minutes after this picture was taken, she had the biggest tantrum (crying spell, fit, whatever) of her life?

Yes, that's right. Someone kidnapped our sweet, mild-mannered baby and replaced her with a monster who cried, no SCREAMED, for 45 minutes straight. Why, you ask? No idea--from our perspective, it was completely unprovoked. We had no idea what to do. It was crazy. I have never had to deal with a baby who literally screamed herself hoarse before. It was a little frightening. Anyway, after Holly's fit was over, we were all exhausted (Andrew and I from passing her back and forth; Holly from crying). Luckily, Holly went pretty much right to sleep after that--who wouldn't?--and slept for five hours. Thank goodness! I am happy to report that our sweet baby was back again this morning. Hopefully we will not have a repeat visit from that demon baby ever again.

Other goings-on at the home front: I am really getting started on food storage! I'm really excited about it and Andrew is (reluctantly) indulging me and letting me jump headfirst into this and probably get very overwhelmed. My goal is to get a year's supply of GOOD food and actually live from it and, yes, rotate our food storage. This means cooking from scratch every day, baking bread, and eventually canning my own fruits, veggies, and meats. Am I crazy? Possibly. But if my plan works, I will be saving our family lots and lots of money, feeding everyone more nutritious foods, and obtaining a generous year's supply of food!

My first step this morning was to go up to the attic (yes, the attic) and get down our little food storage that we do own--a couple of cans of wheat, rice, oats, etc. Next I'm going to rearrange our pantry and purchase...a wheat grinder! So I can make lots of yummy things out of our wheat and other grains I've started stockpiling. I will make updates on my misadventures of breadmaking and other experiments.

Two Months Old

Last Tuesday (August 4th), Holly turned 2 months old! I can't believe that all this time has passed already. I took her to the doctor on the 6th for her well-baby visit. She weighed 11 lb. 12 oz. and was 23 1/4 inches long! This put her in the 70th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height. Our little girl is growing so fast! She also had her first big round of shots. She was such a trooper! She was being perfectly cheerful and cooing away until the nurse stuck her the second time. Then she lost it. Who can blame her?

In honor of Holly being 2 months old, I thought I would do a post on things that she enjoys in life. Here are some things Holly loves:

1. Her pacifier. Probably almost as much or more tham she loves her parents.

2. Bath time! If Holly is cranky, a surefire way to make her happy again is to let her splash around in the tub.

3. Being swaddled. We swaddle her every night for bedtime, sometimes for naps, and also if she gets a little cranky. Combine this with the above-mentioned paci and...bliss.



4. Cuddling with mom or dad. Holly absolutely adores being held, as all babies do.

5. Sucking on her hands. Holly has discovered the yummyness and sheer joy of hand chewing. A good alternative to the paci.



Things we love about Holly:

1. Her smiles and funny faces she makes at us. She is so cute! (We may be biased because we are her parents, and if that is the case, oh well.)



2. Her cuddliness. She is so soft and cozy--impossible to resist!

3. The way she "talks." Holly has quite the little voice and coos all the time! It's pretty entertaining.

4. Her easy-going nature. Holly is usually a very happy baby. At night, all we have to do is swaddle her, put her in the swing for a bit, and she's out like a light.

Another Day Wasted Away...

Yesterday (okay, okay, AND Thursday) I wasted at least a few hours online looking at crafting and sewing blogs. My sewing machine is now fixed, so I have been looking for projects to do! And neglecting my poor daughter at the same time. :) Please tell me that I'm not the only one who does this! I now have a long list of projects for Holly and for myself. I can't wait!