Adventures in cloth diapering: part II

Dear Readers,
It's been a long time since I've done two posts in one day, but the stars aligned today and gave me both a long nap and an early bed time, so I'm taking advantage of this extra free time!

So we've been exclusively cloth diapering for about seven weeks now. I have to say I am really, really loving it. Okay fine--more like weirdly obsessed with it. I know it's not for everyone and honestly, it's not like I think I'm saving Mother Earth or improving society or whatever by doing it; I just find it much more enjoyable than using disposables. I change a lot of diapers everyday, so if I can find something that makes it, dare I say, fun to do, of course I'm going to be all over it.

Anyway, I just thought I'd do a little update on how things are going and what I've learned about cloth diapering, now that I've been doing it for a little while. If cloth diapers aren't you're thing, I apologize in advance because this will probably be the most boring post you'll ever read, ha.

I already wrote about how much I love the Flip system here. They are still working out great for us. I really like that you only have to change out the inserts, and not the whole diaper for most changes. The cover is straight-up PUL (waterproof material), so unless poop gets on it, you don't have to change it. Just pop in a new insert (the white part, below), and you're good to go. The Flips are great for on-the-go because you only have to bring a couple clean inserts and maybe one extra cover when you're out and about, and that really doesn't take up much room in a diaper bag.

The only issue we've had with these is that they don't hold enough to last more than a few hours. Now that Elliot is sleeping 10-12 hours at night, with just one 15-minute nursing break in there, we need something that lasts all night long. I've found that if I change his diaper after his middle of the night/early morning feeding, he wakes up and it takes forever to get him back to sleep. So obviously we want to avoid having to do that. Using two Flip inserts was making his diaper so bulky, so I ended up buying these 'hemp doublers' from someone in the MN cloth diapering group I'm in on facebook:

They are really absorbant but very thin. We have been using two of these, plus a Flip insert in a Flip cover for night time, and so far its been working really well. The brand of these hemp doublers is Runpkinz, but I think any brand would work just fine.

In addition to our Flips, I've tried out a couple other types of diapers recently. I got some Alva pocket diapers through a co-op group on facebook. I ended up only paying about $2.50/diaper and $1.50/insert (super cheap!!). The pocket diapers have--you guessed it--a pocket that the insert goes into:

The nice thing about this type of diaper is that the insert can't slide and move around like with the Flips. The downside is that you have to change the cover and the insert pretty much every time you do a diaper change, since the inside of the cover, the part that goes against baby's skin, is a soft fabric and not the exposed waterproof PUL like the Flip covers. 

I actually really like these diapers, especially for at home. They are really nice and trim-fitting, and absorb surprisingly well. The liquid (pee) gets sucked down into the insert, and the fabric touching baby's skin somehow stays really nice and dry. Pretty cool. They are also pretty adorable and super fun for no-pants days around the house :)

El rocking his cow print Alva. We also got denim (hilariously adorable), giraffe, and bumblebee prints

If anyone out there is interesting in ordering some of these on the cheap, let me know and I can add you to the co-op group I am in :)

Along with the pocket Alvas, I also got three 'all-in'twos' (AI2s) from Cow Patties Cloth Diapers. I first heard about Cow Patties back when I first started Faces of Loss, and the wonderful woman who owns the shop contacted me because she wanted to do a charity auction to benefit Faces for Oct. 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day--super awesome :). She does custom diapers (meaning you choose the style and fabric you want) for really reasonable prices, and her stuff is incredibly cute and well-made. The AI2s have soft inner and outer (the waterproof PUL material is hidden between layers), and the insert snaps in and out:

These are really fluffy and comfy, but obviously less trim and take up a lot more room in a diaper bag. That said, I love love love them for around the house. I put Elliot in a t-shirt and one of these diapers all the time and its like he's wearing the most cozy and comfy pair of little shorts ever:

Dolla bills

Star Wars

Trees and rainbows in one diaper?? Of course I had to get this one :)

And finally, I've tried using 'fitteds' which are basically a fabric diaper that needs a cover over it because there is no waterproof PUL material around it:

I know some people really love fitteds, but I kind of don't get them. It takes forever to snap up the fabric diaper, then snap on the cover on top of it (I just use our Flip covers), and they always leak all over the place for me. Elliot soaks the whole thing super quickly and then he has this wet fabric diaper pressed against his body. Maybe I'm doing something totally wrong, but I just don't like them.

Oh! And a couple people asked for more details on the cloth wipes. I use cheap baby wash cloths from Babies R Us, roll them up, and put them in my wipes warmer. Then I mix about a teaspoon of cloth wipes solution with 16-20 oz of water and pour it over the rolled up wipes. I can usually get 2-3 days worth of wipes each time I refill the warmer. The wipes come out nice and moist and they seriously work so well. 

For the solution, I started out using Magic Bum solution (sooo nice!), but you can make a similar one of your own with coconut oil, teat rea oil, olive oil, and a little bit of baby soap. I have also heard that Dr. Bronners castile soap diluted with water works great as well--that's next on my list to try!

Well there you have it. Hopefully this was helpful to at least one person out there! Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them in a future post. As always, tips and recommendations are always welcome too! :)

Have a good Friday!

XO,

Kristin

Lazy days of summer

Dear Elliot,
Summer is officially here and we've been having so much fun together. I am absolutely loving having all this time to just hang out and get to know you. Time is going so, so fast and I feel super behind on documenting everything. I never want to forget a single moment of these long and lazy summer days.

I've been trying to take you out on some sort of adventure everyday so you (and probably more importantly at this point, I) don't feel trapped in the house. Thankfully you are a really relaxed, 'go with the flow' kind of baby who really enjoys car rides, to its been really easy to spend a lot of time out and about.

My new favorite thing to do with you is BYOB (bring your own baby) yoga at Blooma. We've been going almost every day for the last week or so and it is such a blast! You love it, and its a nice little workout for me too (doing squats while lifting a 16-pound baby up and down is no easy task!)

Exhausted after a good workout

Me and my goofy boy ready for our yoga date :)

Fellow baby yogis-cousin Maddie and friend June

Catching a ride in bridge pose :)

We also went swimming for the first time the other night and you loved it. You are a big fan of baths, but I wasn't sure how you were going to react to the colder water. Well it didn't bother you at all. You had such a great time kicking and splashing around in the pool and were all smiles when Dad was lifting you in and out of the water. I am excited to see what you think about the beach next!

Already picking up cute chicks at the pool, thatta boy! ;)

We've had a couple ridiculously humid days where its just too gross to be outside, so we've gone and walked around the Mall of America. You really enjoy sitting face-out in your carrier and just looking at all the new colors, lights, and people. You are such an inquisitive little boy, always very focused and alert, soaking up the world around you. Earlier this week we met up with Auntie Jersa for yogurt and shopping and you seemed to have a great time. You are really the most content when you have lots of unfamiliar things to look at and study and I love that about you.

Snoozing in your carrier after an afternoon of window shopping :)

You also really love laying outside. Especially in the evenings when it gets a little cooler. The breeze on your face seems to really delight you because you are extra smiley and happy whenever you're out getting fresh air.

And of course there have been lots and lots of naps this summer. Glorious, long, cuddle-filled naps. 

These are the days, they really are. 

I love you so much, baby boy. But do your mom a favor and stop growing up so fast! :)

Always,

Mom

PS. I feel like I need to apologize for my last post (which I removed yesterday morning). The story that I was asking for prayers for turned out to be an elaborate hoax. None of it was true; just a very sick cry for attention I guess. I became suspicious of the whole thing shortly after posting about it, but didn't want to call anyone out in case I was wrong. I feel like an idiot for being duped, but you know what, in the end all that person got out of me was some undue sympathy, and my son got lots of extra kisses and lovin', so...it didn't turn out all bad I guess. I'm sorry for getting people upset over nothing. This is exactly why I'm usually more careful about sharing stories like that; this one just pulled at my heart strings because of how similar it was to my own. Anyway, I apologize and hope you all aren't too mad at me. XO

Happy Father's Day!

Thank you to Andy for being an awesome daddy to Stevie and Elliot. I have to say, we really do make beautiful, adorable babies together.

I'll write more about the day soon, but right now Elliot is out cold in his bed and I would be an idiot not to take advantage of that fact and get some sleep myself :)

Hope everyone had a nice, peaceful Father's Day today.

XOXO,
Kristin

These are a few of my favorite things

Dear Readers,
Like any good 'mommy blogger' (ew, I seriously hate that term!), I figured I'd better do the old baby product recommendations post. I often find these really helpful myself, so I thought I'd throw my own two cents in as well :) As a special treat, you can also see lots of pictures of Elliot modeling many of these must-haves in his dollar bills diaper because clearly a dollar bills diaper is an absolute must for any ballin' baby.

Here are a few of our favorite baby items for babies 0-3 months old:

Skip Hop Treetop Friends Activity Gym

There are like 8,000 options out there when it comes to play mats, but this one caught my eye because it has a big tree on it (and we all know how much I love trees!). Aside from being super cute (I mean if I'm going to have baby crap all over my house, it might as well be somewhat pleasing to look at, ha), it has a lot of great developmental activities included with it. El loves batting at the toys and looking at himself in the mirrors. It also comes with a nice little pillow that works great for tummy time:

Rockabye Baby 

Rockabye Baby has instrumental lullaby versions of pretty much any band you can think of, and they are awesome. I stream them through Spotify, but you can also get the albums on iTunes. My favorite is probably a toss-up between the Weezer and Beatles albums. It's really fun to rock Elliot to sleep to all the songs I grew up with, and he really responds amazingly well to the calming tunes. 

Leachco Podster Infant Seat

My friend Courtney recommended this and I can't thank her enough. Definitely one of the best $40 I've spent on baby stuff so far. We use this chair for everything. He naps in it, sits in it in the bathroom while I shower, and just loves to sit in it and be entertained :). We use it way more often than our bouncer or swing because it is a) so comfy and b) so easy to move around to wherever we need it.

Arms Reach Mini Co-Sleeper

I have loved having Elliot right next to me at night. It's almost like he's sleeping in bed with me, but I don't have to worry about the dogs jumping on him, or his 6'10, 300 pound giant of a dad rolling over on him :) The top bar can be lowered for easy access, and the side facing me is mesh so I can look right in and see my boy sleeping (or not sleeping...haha) whenever I want:

We are going to have to switch to the full-sized version soon because my kid is crazy long and heavy, but most normal-sized babies should be able to stay in it for longer I would think!

Cloud B Gentle Giraffe

This cute little guy plays four different soothing sounds, including white noise, and can be easily attached to anything. El loves the white noise for sleeping, and its really nice that we can easily take it with us in the car or wherever we're going if we need to. 

Udder Cover

Okay, so this is the dumbest name for a nursing cover ever (like you don't already sort of feel like a cow when you're nursing, thanks for rubbing it in!), but I literally couldn't live without this thing. It makes nursing in public (which I do often) so much easier and more enjoyable. The material is nice and lightweight so Elliot doesn't get all hot and sweaty under it. And the best feature is that the top has a plastic piece sewn inside that makes it so you can easily look down and watch your baby while they nurse. I've used this at friend's houses, at the mall, at restaurants, everywhere. Hands down my favorite nursing-related item I own.

Brica Day and Night Light Musical Mirror

If I didn't have this car mirror, I'd still be sitting in the backseat with Elliot during every car ride. What makes this one especially nice is that it has a remote control that clips on the front visor so that you can turn on a light to check on baby at night, and even turn on lullabies if they need some help calming down while you're driving. Love it.

Baby Buff Rattle

In addition to being ridiculously cute and hilarious, Elliot really enjoys playing with this toy. It was the first toy he was able to hold onto and move around, and seems to really like the sound it makes. Doubles as an awesome photo prop :)

Dollar Tree pinwheel

This pinwheel from Grandma has provided literally hours of entertainment. El loves to stare at the colors and watch it spin around and around. A $1 baby toy? Best value you can get anywhere--so much bang for your buck with this one!

...and one thing I wish I would have thought of:

A deep freezer for all my frozen breastmilk

Our regular freezer is currently overflowing with bags of my milk. Its shoved in next to the frozen corn, snuck in behind the chicken sausages, everywhere. I started looking around on craigslist for a cheap used freezer, but no luck yet. It would most definitely come in handy right about now!

Alright, Elliot's squirming around on my chest and I can tell he's about to wake up screaming for food any second now, so that's all for today. Happy Friday everyone!

Love,

Kristin

My little rainbow

Dear Elliot,
I was never a huge fan of the term 'rainbow baby.' It's not that I minded it, or disliked it, I just felt kind of stupid using it myself.

But now...I just can't think of a better representation of what you mean to me. My rainbow after the storm. The light of my light. A reminder that things always get better.

A blog reader named Liz and her mom sent us the most amazing sweater right around the time you were born. Not only is it rainbow-colored, the buttons have little trees on them in honor of your big sister Stevie. I am obsessed with it.

People who don't know us see you in it and say things like, "oh how cute! A little amazing technicolored dreamcoat!" or just "that sweater rocks." And it does, but it is so much more than that. Not only to I love that it's the perfect sweater for my sweet little rainbow baby, I love that it was made with love by someone who knows about both of my babies. Liz (and Liz's Mum!)--thank you so very much for such a special and thoughtful gift. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

I love you so much, baby boy. You have brought so much joy and pure happiness into my life with those chubby little cheeks and those big blue eyes.

XOXO,

Mom

Work it Wednesdays: overalls edition

Dear Readers,
Is it really already Wednesday already?! Well okay then. Time for another peek into the exciting world of infant boy's fashion :)

So I love overalls. Like I am super sad they are no longer cool for adults to wear. I have a pair of Old Navy 'ralls safely tucked away in the back of my closet and am anxiously awaiting the day when they become acceptable to wear again. It will be a glorious day. Even better if the one-strap-down look makes a comeback as well!

Anyway, thankfully overalls never went out of style for babies. I'm not a big fan of overalls with matching shirts underneath (just a bit dorky for my stylin' guy you know!), but I am obsessed with them on their own for summertime. Totally reminds me of Little Rascals or something.

Here is Elliot in a couple of my favorite pairs:

These Oshkosh overalls were a gift from my good friend Lisa. They are seriously so cute I am going to buy them in a size that fill fit him into the fall and winter too. I mean really, how adorable is he in them??

These Gymboree shortalls are so great for summer. I think they came with a matching shirt, but like I said, I much prefer this look :) Because he's so cute in them, here's a couple more pictures:

And just for fun, here he is in some little Kermit shortalls from his Uncle Brandon (my little brother), taken a couple weeks ago. I'm not usually a fan of characters on clothing, but when its the Muppets you can't really go wrong :)

I looked around to see if I could find a picture of myself in overalls, but this was the closest I could find:

Elliot, I solomnly swear to never humiliate you like this! Hahaha...

So, Mamas, what cute things do you have your little ones in these days? If I started adding a link-up thingy to these fashion show posts, would anyone be interested in sharing your favorite clothing finds? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great rest of the week,

Kristin

10 weeks

Dear Elliot,
I decided I am going to start making a little Instagram collage for each week. That way I can make a sweet photo book with one page for each week to document your first year :)

We had a really fun, really busy week last week. You went to your first Twins baseball game and your first bluegrass concert. You also enjoyed your first walk around Lake Calhoun, your first time laying outside on the grass, and you got your first pair of sunglasses! We had something going on every day last week, and by the time it was over, you were exhausted!

I can't believe you're already in the double-digits! You are quickly losing your newborn look and turning into such a fun, unique little person. It is absolutely amazing to see you change and grow and develop day by day.

Here's a little video of you smiling for your mama. Please excuse my dorky baby talk--I'll gladly make a fool of myself if it gets this fun of a reaction! ;)

Thanks for another wonderful, crazy, tiring, fun, amazing week, Baby Boy. I love you so very much.

XOXO,
Mom

Work it Wednesdays

Dear Readers,
I have become a little bit obsessed (ok, a lot obsessed) with finding cute clothes for Elliot. So much of what's out there for boys is, well, crap. So when I find something really adorable, I get really excited. I know there are far more important things than what a baby wears, and obviously he couldn't care less about it. But whatever, its so much fun dressing him up!

In case there are other mamas of little boys out there who share my desire to find clothes that are cool and fun and not covered in cars and puppies and stupid sayings, I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite finds on Wednesdays from now on. I'm doing this partly to help other moms, but mainly because I need an excuse to dress up my boy and show him off somewhere! :)

So without further ado, here is what El rocked today.

For hanging out around the house, running errands, and going to our play groups, Elliot usually wears some variation of this outfit.

The leg warmers are made by Baby Legs (these are the organic version and run $12/pair retail, but they are often on sale at babysteals.com). I seriously can't rave about these enough. I love, love, love them. Super cute, and super convenient--no pants to take on and off during our 8,000 diaper changes every day! We have 8-10 pairs in different colors and patterns (I'm sure the rest will show up in other posts like this!), and they look adorable even if they don't really match the onesie they're paired with.

The lemur (at least that's what I think that creature is called!) onesie is actually from Whole Foods. Did you know Whole Foods sold baby clothes? I'm not sure why, but they do! This is the first thing I bought for E when we found out he was a boy. I love animals on clothes, but not the standard cartoony  kind that cover most of what's out there, so this is just perfect!

The hoodie is from good old Target (Circo, $5). I've actually been pretty disappointed with Target's boy selection lately, but we wear this basic hoodie all the time. I take it in my diaper bag whenever we go out in case it gets chilly (sometimes in the summer, stores have the AC just blasting!).

The pacifier clip is a Bink Link ($14). I love how it adds some fun color to everything he wears. Plus, without it, I'd go completely crazy searching for his paci throughout the day!

So, after he spit up all over outfit #1, we put on this little ensemble:

I just love this lightweight summer cardigan from H&M ($10 I think). Actually, I love pretty much everything from that store. Tons of 'little man' style clothes for excellent prices. 

The 'this is the life' T-shirt is from Target (on clearance right now for $3). 

Jean shorts were also from the Target clearance rack (Oshkosh, $4). Check out Target right now--they have a lot of summer stuff for super cheap!

Okay, that's all for now. Join me next week for more fashion fun, and let me know if you have any great tips/finds of your own to share! :)

Love,

Kristin

Making my life

Dear Elliot,
Yesterday you were giving Grandma smiles and I said, "his smiles can really make your day, huh?"

"They can really make your life!" she replied.

All I have to say is she is so, so right.

Oh how I love you, sweet little boy.

XOXO,
Mom