Making the Switch to Cloth Diapers

Well our new cloth diapers finally arrived, the day before yesterday. I ordered them two weeks ago when we decided to try and make the switch from disposables to cloth. I decided to go with a pocket style diaper, which has the convenience of disposables, you simply stick an absorbent insert into a pocket within the diaper. Pocket diapers are nice because you can adjust the absorbency by using as many inserts as you need at night time or for naps or long trips. I have always been somewhat interested in cloth diapering for many reasons and when i would see some of the modern cloth diapers it looked appealing. During my pregnancy Landon and I discussed the option of using cloth diapers on our future baby but after watching an episode of "dirty jobs with mike row" where he worked for a cloth diaper laundry service, we were both a little grossed out to say the least. The final nail in the coffin came once we priced these modern marvels they call cloth diapers and we were blown away by the price. One diaper ranged between $18-$30, and i could no longer see how this was going to save us money, and even if it would in the long run it was going to cost us so much to get started that we just couldn't see a way to swing it. I have kept up my reading on cloth diapers and from time to time i still checkout others blogs and message board posts, and recently came across some reviews on sunbaby diapers. I read that they were an economical choice because they claimed to fit from birth to potty training by adjusting the rows of snaps.

They were also less than $5 per diaper including the inserts. So after much consideration and reading many different reviews on these diapers, Landon and i decided to give them a try. We ordered 10 diapers, which should be enough for one day along with the 3 other cloth diapers that we have owned as back up diapers and never really used. It has taken two full weeks for my diapers to come and in the mean time i have been doing tons of research on cloth diapers and I'm very excited to give this new adventure a try. Yesterday when my diapers arrived i prepped them by washing twice on a hot/cold cycle with Charlies Soap (a special laundry detergent recommended for cloth diapers) then i stripped the 3 older diapers we already had, because i had been washing them with regular detergent and didn't realize that i was causing detergent build up in the diapers that would cause absorbency issues. Regular detergent is not great for cloth diapers, there are brands that are better than others, and using about 1/4 the amount of detergent that you would normally use in your laundry can also help prevent problems. The Charlies detergent was $17 for a small 2.64 lbs bag, which made me apprehensive to buy it but it claims to do 80 washes and you only use a tablespoon per wash, so in that case it should last me about 5 months, since I'll be washing my diapers every other day.

We started out with 10 diapers just to give this brand a shot, but we are going to be purchasing 10 more soon so that we will have 23 diapers total and will only have to do laundry every other day. I will update more about our new experiences with the CD but so far we have had great success!! I'm excited that i don't have to worry about chemicals and carcinogens on my baby's butt anymore, that I'm not going to be contributing 6,000 diapers per child to the land fills, that he'll be more likely to potty train quicker, and that these diapers seem to fit masons legs better and so far have had fewer leaks. We typically leak out the legs of every disposable diaper multiple times a day and i am so tired of getting peed on!! lol! It's still early for us to tell how this is going to workout in the long term, but so far so good. A lot of people don't think they can handle the poo diapers, and that was honestly my biggest concern, but now that mason has started solids his poops really aren't that messy and it comes off of the diapers easily. I bought some heavy duty cleaning gloves just in case i need to use them, but so far i have just used a wipe to pick up the poop and bag it (then i put the bag in the diaper genie), some people shake it off into the toilet and some people buy a sprayer to spray it off into the toilet, any method works fine and then I have a separate laundry pail just for his diapers. As far as going out, i just pack the diapers in his diaper bag and i also take small plastic diaper bags from the dollar store and a small waterproof zippered pouch. When i change him i just roll up the dirty diaper and bag it in a small plastic bag, tie it shut, and toss it into the zippered pouch. When i get home in the evenings i take the zippered pouch to the bathroom, get rid of any poop, and throw all the diapers into the laundry pail. I plan to wash them every other day, it's only about 1/3 of a regular size load, and i use a half cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle, the use of vinegar comes highly recommended by other cloth diaper moms to help with the smell, stains, and bacteria, and it keeps the diapers bright. We machine dry the inserts and hang the diaper shell to dry (because they dry quickly and we dont want the heat to damage the waterproof PUL lining) a lot of people machine dry both, but we dont want to take any chances so landon put this adorable octopus (from ikea) thing up over our dryer for me to clip the diaper covers on. Anyone else cloth diaper or plan to cloth diaper their babies?? I'll update more about our cloth diapering experiences soon!! Here are some pics of his super cute diapers, i love all the colors!!

our stack

you can see the white inserts on the machine and our drying octopus

Ch-ch-changes!

Well one thing is for certain, I am not so great at updating my blog lately. I cant believe my last post was Mason's 6 month update and now here i am with his 7 month update already. I think part of the problem with keeping my blog updated is the fact that there is just so much going on right now in the Greene house.We got a new SUV (to have more room for mason), we rennovated our office, our house was vandalized (someone attempted to breakin) so we had to change our locks, and one of the biggest developments is that I am getting ready to return to school next week, to try to finish up my degree and for the last several months i have been back and forth between three different schools and three different degree options, but i have finally decided that the best thing for me is to finish the quickest degree route possible. I did a lot of praying, asking God to show me the right path because I was having trouble deciding what to do and was running out of time. I had one path open up very clearly and I felt like it was my best option, it leaves me going to school two full days and one half day a week for 3 semesters, maybe less, and that gives me the most time with Mason because raising him and watching him grow is the absolute most important thing. Mason is my number one priority in life, but i also want him to have a mom he is proud of. I want him to grow up in a home where not only is his father a college graduate but his mother is as well. I have worked hard for 3 and half years on completing a degree and i have a huge amount of student loan debt to not have a degree in my hand, so i am determined to finish now, before something else gets in my way and delays me further. If i stay on track i could graduate by next December which would be a huge accomplishment and isn't very long from now.

One of our other big challenges in the Greene house has been Mason's constant need for his momma. He is becoming attached at my hip and literally wants me to hold him, play with him, and talk to him, every second of the day. When my mom holds him or Landon holds him, he will reach out for me to take him. He throws terrible tantrums if i set him down to get things done. I've tried letting him "cry it out" but needless to say it does nothing but get him hysterical and accomplishes nothing. he doesn't want to nap on his own, will only sleep if i am holding him, and as a result we get nothing accomplished these days. I read that babies this age can start to have separation anxiety and i think that is what we are dealing with. I hope that staying with Landon and my sister in law two days a week this fall will help him some.

Now that my baby boy is 7 months old, things are changing daily. He is growing so much and although i don't have his 7 month stats i can tell that he is getting taller, heavier, and stronger. In the last month Mason can sit totally unassisted without fear of a face plant, he can crawl up on all fours, he is pulling up to standing, he can stand holding onto things/people, he has two teeth, he eats all kinds of fruit and vegetable baby food twice a day and gets four bottles a day every 4 hours, he loves to play on the floor now, and can crawl, roll, and sit on his own. He has learned how to go from laying and crawling to sitting up on his own and we had to lower his crib this past month because when you go to get him up in the mornings he is sitting up in his crib. He can crawl from one side of his room to the hallway in what seems like less than 2 seconds and can no longer be trusted to stay put. he is a mover and shaker and the biggest wiggle worm. He has learned to anticipate the flash of the camera and will cheese really big and blink his eyes if you hold up a camera or phone, he is such a ham. The other day he was laying in the floor crying and having a tantrum and i pulled out the camera phone to take his picture and he stopped his crying and smiled real big, once i took the picture and set the phone down he resumed his crying. He is such a mess. He has attempted to say the word eyeball, we got "eye-ba-ba" and looked at Landon the other day and said "Dada" very plain but has never said it again. He knows he is mason, i am mama, and Landon is Dada, and he knows ling-ling by name, but still just babbles random sounds and i wouldn't say he is talking yet. As far as favorite toys this month he is loving his walker which we have been leaving at my moms house so he has something to play with and he loves anything you put on the floor for him to get, and his new favorite thing is balls. He loves balls and so does ling-ling, so she takes most of them away from him, which he thinks is so funny and laughs hysterically. We are still using the paci but he also likes to put his hands and anything else he can get into his mouth which is a constant challenge for me, because yes i am a germaphobe. We are trying to teach him to wave bye and of course to say mama, Dada, and Nani (my mom) but so far he is stubborn and won't say them for you, even though i know he can. Mason has had a busy month, he went to his cousin Leah's 1st birthday party, which was a pool party and he had a big time, he went to Jill's baby shower, he went to our friends Erica and Maclarens pool with Riley Grace to swim and play, and he also attended his very first story time at the library (which unfortunately ended up being their last class till Sept) he did amazing at story time, it was for babies up to 14 months and he was the youngest but he was so outgoing and played so well with other babies, i was surprised that he took off and crawled across the room and was so sociable with the others. I cant wait to take him back once they resume classes. It will be a special thing for us to enjoy on our days together this semester. Here are some pics of Mason this past month!

Mason loves coupons

Playing with dad before bed

Mason at the pool

Playing with his ball

Pool time with Erica and Riley Grace


Leah's Birthday Party

Mason at the YMCA

Playing with toys