This weekend I spent a lot of time doing 'baby prep.' I figure it's going to get crazy busy with the holidays coming up, so why not get some things done while there's nothing going on?
The first thing I did this weekend was finish up blanket #2 for you. Blanket #1, the Charlie Brown blanket, ended up looking exactly how a Charlie Brown anything should look--scraggly and not quite perfect. Totally reminded me of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree! So I decided to try again, and my second attempt turned out much better:
Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of myself! I just used the same yarn I had left over from the tree/leaf mobile I made you last month. My friend Brandi pointed out that it kind of looks like a little Rastafarian blanket, and while that wasn't my intention, she's totally right. I really hope you like it, Baby!
On Saturday morning I shopping with two of my good friends from college, Jill and Jenny. Jill's favorite boy name is Elliot, so you might just have a friend that shares your name one day. We decided you can be 'Big E' and he can he 'Little E.' :) Anyway, after walking around a craft fair for awhile, we stopped by this place called The Cottage House. It's basically a house full of awesome, antique-y, shabby chic, unique furniture and decorating items--and the best part is, everything is really cheap! They are only open one weekend a month, and I guess people line up to get the best stuff the first day it opens each time. While I didn't get any furniture (though I was really, really tempted!), I did score some super awesome old suitcases to use for photography shoots (think kids sitting on them in the woods), and this fence thingy (really, I have no idea what it is) that I am going to use in your nursery to hang things on:
I also got a cute little wooden table that I am going to refinish for your room for a whopping $4. Seriously anyone who lives in the Minneapolis area should definitely check this place out (their next sale starts the day after Thanksgiving!).
Yesterday afternoon Dad and I went to his brother Bill's home pottery show (quick shameless plug: you can check out his awesome pieces here!) Your Grandma was there and brought us four bags full of baby boy clothes from one of her coworkers who had her son last March. When we got home last night, we had so much fun going through and organizing everything. Let me tell you kid, you are set for clothes for at least the first six months! We're talking like at least 30-40 onesies, tons of adorable little outfits (T-shirts and shorts sets, etc), lots of PJs, a huge pile of adorable little polos, 10-15 pairs of jeans, khakis, and plaid shorts, about a million little pairs of socks (God, I love baby socks for some reason!), and more. I have no idea if the person who gave us all this stuff reads this blog or not, but if you're out there reading this, THANK YOU! This is going to help us out big-time. What a blessing!
E, I cannot tell you how excited I am to stuff your chubby little arms and legs (believe me, they will be chubby!) into this stuff come spring.
After playing with all your new clothes last night, I decided to work a bit on our online registry (we're also going to do Target, but seeing how often they change merchandise there, I'm thinking we'll wait until after Christmas to tackle that one). It's kind of overwhelming for me to do this again. I mean, part of me feels like an idiot for assuming we're going to actually have a need for all this baby stuff. I spent all sorts of time doing this stuff for Stevie, after all, and never even made it to my baby shower. I guess I will just continue to hope and pray and plead and wish with everything in me that this time we'll have a need for all the bottles and bibs and diapers on our list.
Speaking of diapers: I am leaning toward trying the cloth diapering thing. Now that I am going to be home with you fulltime, I think I might actually be able to do it, but I am pretty overwhelmed by all the different options out there. If anyone reading has any cloth diapering advice/resources, that would be awesome! Right now I am kind of trying to decide between doing regular cloth or one of the hybrid options (ie: Gdiapers with the disposable inserts). I have no idea how much laundry time is involved when you go the straight-up cloth route, and I really hate doing laundry :).
Okay, so this post is sort of all over the place. I'll end it with a few pictures of us at 20.5 weeks:
My view these days
I love you, Baby Boy. Keep growin' and movin' like a champ--I love nothing more than feeling your little kicks and punches each day.
Talk to you soon,
Mom
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11 comments:
You can google Diaper Services in your local area - it is cheaper than disposable diapers and they come and pick up the soiled diapers and replace with the clean ones (i.e. NO LAUNDRY (well for diapers anyway)). :)
Prefolds, flats and covers are the cheapest easiest option. I cloth diaper my 15 month old and have been for awhile. If you need advice or would like some feedback email me, I'll be glad to help. n.moses1002@gmail.com
I'm a working Mom (well, part time) and we CD. For starter help, check out greenmountaindiapers.com. They have great info on everything you need to begin the CDing experience :)
As for the laundry, it really isn't that bad. The diapers are small and get all washed together, so really it's only one extra load that you're doing if you have enough diapers and covers to last you a week. It was an expensive investment (well over $300), but we bought enough diapers and covers to last us a week specifically so that I didn't have to constantly do small loads throughout the week.
I planned to cloth diaper our first baby (and I still plan to do so if we're lucky enough to bring home a second baby). I found a lot of great info here: http://alphamom.com/tag/cloth-diapers/
I do have to say, despite the other ladies, my daughter is 15 months, and I did give cloth diapering a good try, but to be honest with you, after doing both cloth and disposable, it's pretty gross, especially in the summer, if you're gone all day and have 5+ poopy diapers in the heat all day.. I guess it's just not my thing, but I tried G diapers, bumkins, bum genious etc, I tried them all! And just so you know, most of these have BPA in them! all of the ones with vinyl covers or "waterproof" etc, most of them contain BPA, that when exposed to heat (washing in hot water) will expose your baby to VERY high levels of BPA, especially over time as the more they get used the more the offgas. Anyway, just thought I'd give you a REAL look at it, it might save money, and the earth (as long as it's not made of PVC or vinyl or polyurethane! which are all TOXIC). but it's a pain to be honest with you. I would highly recommend seventh generation disposable diapers, after all that we've tried, it's worked the best!
Peapods in St. Paul has a large selection of cloth diapers and info. I started CD with my 2.5 a year ago and am quite happy.
http://www.peapods.com/
I have cloth diapered a ton. I have found that BumGenius are the best fit and they work very well. The velcro ones wear out, but they fit best so I'd get a couple of those and then the rest with snaps. You will want to do laundry every other day probably. It's not too bad once you get into a routine. We did a cold wash with high water level and a little bit of soap, a hot wash with a little bit of soap followed by 2 cold rinses (like turn the extra rinse to "on") You don't need much soap at all. Google which brands of soap are good - some create buildup. We use "Planet" brand. We used the drier in the winter, and hung them out in the summer. I find that everyone thinks that something different works best for them, so you'll have to find your own system. Just don't buy too much of any one kind of diaper until you try them for awhile. You'll figure out quickly what works best for you! Good luck!
I second BumGenius!!! My daughter is 17 months and I've tried a lot of brands and types from prefolds to all in ones and BumGenius 4.0 one size snap pocket diapers (woo that's a mouth full) are my all time favorite. I hated the velcro because it wore out fast and would sometimes fold the wrong way and scratch her so I like snaps better and haven't had a problem with fit. The other good thing about the one size is that you can use them from birth (they'll probable be a little big at first) to potty training so you don't have to get more as he grows (Wow, BG should send me some free diapers for that sales pitch, LOL!)
I have about 20 diapers and wash them every other day and use disposable when we're out. I use Charlie's soap.
I will third BumGenius! They are amazing and my favorites among my stash. I also like Kawaii Baby. I have purchased a ton of diapers from Jack Be Natural (jackbenatural.com they are also on Facebook) I use pocket diapers exclusively and they work really well for us. The laundry is no big deal either. Just wash them every few days (rinse them and store them in a bucket or a wet bag after a diaper change...I do a similar wash routine to MamaE, but I do one cold rinse, a super hot wash with soap and 3 drops of tea tree oil, and then 2 rinses. Viola! :) Good luck with what you decide. It is overwhelming because there are so many choices, but do some research and you will find what is right for you, your baby, and your lifestyle.
I don't know anything about diapers. I just wanted to say I'm envious of your ability to be optimistic and to plan for the future with your son. I hope to get to that point soon.
I chose to go with gro via https://www.gro-via.com/hybrid/live-package.html . I didn't like how with bum genius you had to slide the insert in and out. But a friend of mine does really like them. I appreciate how both bum genius and gro via can last you through the entire time they're in diapers. As far as washing goes, it's about every couple days but it's really easy. We use miracle bubbles and then I know if you need it, you can buy something called Bac out if you feel they get too stinky. But make sure you have at least one pack of newborn diapers for when you get home, they'll give you a pack at the hospital too. Just to get through the icky stuff and in case he's too small to fit into them yet. I had one pack of seventh generation NB and it was perfect. Good Luck!
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