Diaper Tips Tuesday!

What was your budget and how did you spread it out? If you didn't set an initial budget how much do you think you spent per child on your stash?

We did not start off with a budget... my initial purchase was a few XS BumGenius diapers. From there I started making some size XS fitteds (I probably made about 2 dozen). Each paycheck while I was pregnant I either bought a diaper or I bought some fabric.

I've spent alot of money on my stash & fabric! My recommendation to people is to just buy 3-4 different brands and only one diaper / brand until you know what you like. Right now I have quite a few diapers that we never use that I need to sell!

Fluff Talk Thursdays: Wipes, wipes, wipes!

So you ask, since we use cloth diapers how do we wipe little Lacey's bum up? Cloth wipes of course!

I am terrible with photos so of course I do not have any. Our wipe system is very simple... scrap flannel (bought super cheap from Joann's) cut with pinking shears into little rectangles. We do use any solution or anything fancy... just run them under warm water and wipe Lacey's little fanny off.

At home we have a Wahmie's wipes warmer. We use it mostly to keep the wipes damp, not necessarily warm. It's fabulous! I even want to wipe my butt with those wipes!

On the road the wipes just go in the bag and we run them under the facet when needed.

Our wipes get washed right with the diapers! It is super easy!

I have tried disposable wipes on a few occasions and fount them to be a big hassle. First, they are nowhere near as thick so you need about 3 of them to get a messy poo, they are wasteful and they would require some sort of waste receptacle separate from my diapers.

Cloth Diaper Carnival Part Deux!

What is your wash routine?

Sorry, this isn't going to be anything fancy... I only have a few minutes to write a post!

• We collect diapers in a plastic pail with lid using a Planet Wise pail wetbag
• We wash diapers every other day (except on the weekends - we do not wash on the weekends)
• First we run a cold rinse
• Then we run a hot wash
• All pockets are hung in the basement overnight to dry and stuffing goes in the dryer

Diapers organized and ready to go in changing table!

Diaper Pattern Review - Very Baby Snug Wrap Cover

This post is a first in a series of diaper sewing patterns that I am going to review. Stay tuned!

Pattern: Very Baby Snug Wrap Cover

Price: $8.95

Photo: (top left) Pink 2mm PUL cover with aplix and fold-over elastic, Purple 2mm PUL cover with aplix and fold-over elastic, Patterned fleece cover with white PUL inner, snaps and fold-over elastic.

The best feature about this pattern is it's variety of sizes. The newborn sizes ranges from 6-12 lbs. with the XL going up to approximately 50 lbs. The newborn cover size fit great with my Very Baby Cloth Diapers.

Another great feature of the pattern is that it comes with multiple options such as using snaps or aplix. This is great if you don't have a snap press, or have one but want to make different types of covers. From this pattern you can make regular covers, side snapping, etc. I like the variety!

The biggest pitfall of this pattern is that it does not have leg gussets. I have pretty much found a any cover without gussets to be useless. However, you can easily get creative using this tutorial and add them to the pattern yourself!

Feel free to share your comments on this pattern or ask questions!

Happy 4 Months Lacey!

In honor of her 4th month birthday, Lacey wanted me to share her new discovery with you - her upper lip! How funny is this? It is her new obsession!

Things have been SUPER busy around her. Long weekend at the cottage with family, trip to Atlanta then coming back to being slammed at work. Here is a quick update on what's new with Lacey (besides her upper lip).

Lacey at 4 months...

• Is still exclusively breastfed (whoo hoo, we also have 700 ounces in the freezer!)
• Is still wearing cloth diapers full time
• Has not yet started solids and will not likely start them until 6 months
• Doesn't seem to have any desire to roll over... no matter how much we bribe her with toys
• Laughs, laughs and laughs some more
• Makes us laugh with her squeals and screeches
• Is around 15 lbs (probably greater than)
• Is wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothes
• Can push her self up on her arms, lift up her head and arch her back realllllyyy high
• Now is allowed one arm free from the swaddle at night (she can get her fingers in her mouth well now, so she doesn't wake herself up poking her eyes)
• Is consistently sleep 8 hours at night with a record of 10.5 (knock on wood)
• Has two little bottom teeth bumps accompanied with LOTS of drool
• Plays in the exer-saucer

As a note on bullet #1 - I am now committed to exclusively breastfeeding for 8 months (or more). It is going really well and I have grown to love it. I believe it is best for my baby and best for me! Recently I have ordered a Medela Freestyle pump. Look for a future post on my review of it!

Cloth Diaper Carnival!

“What you wish you knew then that you know now?"

So, I first came upon the idea of cloth diaper when we were trying to get pregnant. People on the Sewforums site made the CUTEST little cloth diapers and since I sewed, I wanted to do that too.

We got pregnant right away and I started sewing. I purchased terry cloth fabric and TONS of flannel from JoAnn's and went on my way to make a newborn stash that eventually consisted over 30 homemade diapers.

After I finished the newborns (and still pregnant) I started making some larger sizes. I purchased a HUGE lot of PUL really cheap and did some AOIs. I also bought some BumGenius and other brand diapers to compare patterns too.

Lacey was born on April 5, 2009 at 8lbs! Well guess what? The 30 diapers that I made just fit... and they gave her poor bum BAD rashes. I was sooo upset that I spent all the time and money making these diapers only for her to outgrow them in 2 weeks and leave a red bum. I *almost* called it quits right there.

Lessons learned: it's probably better to wait until the baby arrives to make/purchase too many diapers. Fit is always different and so are fabrics. While I am saving the 30 diapers for the next baby, I'm not hopeful that they will work any better. I would recommend anyone who wants to cloth diaper to start with a trial package to figure out what you want and then make your purchases!

Join the Cloth Diaper Carnival!

Side Snapping Diaper

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Originally uploaded by itslinds63

It's about time I posted a picture of this baby (the diaper, not Lacey).

Here is my newest creation - side snapping AOI (all-in-one). I like it because it's a bit more trim than the one-sizes however I don't find it all that easy to snap.

Lacey doesn't seem to mind. Look at that belly!

Baby shopping

I don't have any pics (yet) but this past weekend at the cottage, Lacey and I did some shopping at the local CD store - Peekaboo Bottoms.

Peekaboo Bottoms rocks! I can't wait till Nikki and Drake are here next week so I can take them! It's definitely my "rainy day at the cottage activity". They have all my fav diaper brands (BumGenius, Happy Heiny, Swaddlebees) and some other cool things.

So anyways, this weekend Lacey got a neon pink pair of Baby Bands, an Amber teething necklace (oohhh the teething... but that is another post) and a super soft Swaddlebees cow print diaper!

Photos coming soon! They are so cute!

Making Pickles, Father's Day and my Diaper Diva!

I've been meaning to post about the above topics for some time now, however my "awake" and "available" time is pretty much spent obsessing over Brian and Lacey. So, back to "Making Pickles, Father's Day and my Diaper Diva!"

Making Pickles

One of my new interests is food preservation. Odd yes, but also very useful! My mom found me a canner at the Goodwill for $3 so Brian and I tested it out by making pickles.

To be exact, we made 120 pickles. Did you know that pickling is actually quite a process? It involves slicing cucumbers, boiling them, mixing in the "pickle stuff" and then canning. We have yet to try them (I am insisting we wait a few weeks for a good BBQ) but they look yummy!

I can't wait for the local veggies to start ripening so we can do some summer salsa and peach butter! Yummm...

Here are the cucumbers cut up and ready to go!

Canning/boiling

Father's Day

Brian was certainly a lucky Daddy this year! Lacey made him a coffee mug / thermos with her photos on it and he received a Saz-all (I have no idea how to spell that!) Here is a photo of Brian, Lacey and his Grandpa. (Lacey was not very happy - she was tired and cranky and didn't feel like photos...)

My Diaper Diva

FINALLY I have finished this diaper! Thanks to a rainy day at the cottage, Lacey's hot pink "Diaper Diva" diaper is finished! Now how cute is that fluffy bum???

Also - can someone who uses Blogger please tell me why my photos are all cut off on the right?