Oh my pretties...

Aren't they gorgeous?  I think so...and I know other cloth diaper mommas do too.  These are the Fuzzibunz One Size Elite diapers.  When I first started cloth diapering, my main system was prefolds and Thirsties diaper covers.  I also really liked the Rumparooz newborn covers that I had.  I had a few pockets and AIOs and of course, my FAVORITE kind, the Bummis Tot Bots easy fit.  I would definitely recommend starting off with prefolds and covers as the main system and trialing a few pockets and AIOS.  That way you don't have to invest so heavily until you figure out what works for your baby.  Every diaper is so different and fits babies differently, so it's really trial and error.

I found myself reaching for my pink Fuzzibunz elite more and more and when Clara outgrew her prefolds, I decided to invest in some pockets.  I did buy two more of the Bummis as well.  I love the Bummis, but I'm just worried about the velcro going out on them, so I wanted some snaps to round out my cloth diaper stash.  I was so excited to get home with my new Fuzzibunz bought from my favorite cloth diaper store.  And then it happened...she leaked in her pink Fuzzibunz!  In the past I've put her in the Fuzzibunz all night and never had leaks.  So, now I'm nervous to wash them, just in case they've stopped working for her.  I'm washing one new Fuzzibunz and the old Fuzzibunz to trial today.  Wish me luck, because I do not want to return these pretties!  The great thing about the Elite Fuzzibunz is that they have elastic on the inside of the legs and waistband to really adjust the fit right.  I also put in the newborn insert instead of the regular one, so I'm wondering if that's what happened as well.  I think everything will be fine, because not two hours later she leaked out of her Thirsties duo diaper, which has never happened and she also leaked out of her Pampers disposable later.  Maybe it was just a fluke?  I hope so, because I want to wash all of these pretties..

ETA:  Success!  No leaks from either her old or new Fuzzibunz.  I'm off to wash me some pretties!  I think what was happening was I was putting Aquaphor on her to protect her skin from her disposables.  She has pretty sensitive skin and gets red very easily.  I was washing the cloth wipes that wiped off Aquaphor with her diapers, which is a no no.  Only cloth diaper safe cream should be used against their skin, such as CJ's Butter rash cream.  Anything else will cause repelling and leaking.  Good to know!

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Lost: one cloth diaper...

Lost: One cloth diaper

Description: white Bummis Tot Bots Easy Fit diaper, recently dyed pink

Date: Monday, January 23rd

Location:  Somewhere in Lincoln

Yikes!  I lost one of my favorite cloth diapers!  Clara had one of them on at her doctor's appointment. I took it off and put it in my bag and now it's gone...  If you haven't tried the Bummis Tot Bots, they are my favorite diapers by far.  I love the pocket aspect of them and the lining stays attached.  And they are very absorbent and have a great fit on Clara.  I got four of them at my baby shower and they quickly turned into my favorite. I also accidently dyed all of the diapers slightly pink by washing them with a red sweatshirt.  Dumb, dumb, dumb....  When something gets washed in hot, it has a tendency to bleed...isn't that one of the cardinals rules of laundry?  I must have been running on little sleep that day, because that is indeed what I did.  And yesterday I washed the diapers with a fitted sheet and the hot water fried the elastic in the sheet!

Note to self:  Do NOT wash anything with the cloth diapers unless it's a towel.

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10 things I've learned about parenting in six short weeks..

1.  Never say never.

2.  As in never say, "I would never co-sleep with my baby".  Because pure exhaustion and a baby that won't sleep unless held in your arms leads to sleeping baby in the Moby, which leads to sleeping baby in Moby wrap and mom laying down on the couch to sleep, which leads to sleeping baby in Moby wrap and mom sleeping in her own bed, which leads to "Awwww....screw it kid... just get into bed with us".

3.  Said sleeping in bed with baby will lead to frantic searches over the Internet at three in the morning questioning if co-sleeping = bad parenting.

4.  Breastfeeding in the side lying position in bed with baby = new mom bliss and lots more new mom sleep.

5.  Realizing that baby will sleep through the night someday and today is not that day.  Expecting baby to sleep through the night at six weeks = unhappy parent.  Going with the flow and enjoying three am feedings = happy parent.

6.  Breastfeeding is hard!  Cluster feeding and growth spurts will make a mom question their milk supply and sanity.  But it's worth it!  Take it a day at a time and use Milkworks, one of our greatest resources in Lincoln.  Also the website http://www.kellymom.com/, will help to calm a new mom's anxieties about cluster feeding.

7.  Cloth diapering is fun!  Once I learned a good wash routine, thanks to the Rockin Green website, it's been a piece of cake.  We are so lucky in Lincoln to have another great resource, Circle Me, a cloth diaper store.  Visit them and buy lots!  They are so knowledgeable about cloth diapers and have a great selection.

8.  Don't have expectations about what kind of parent you will be.  As soon as little Miss Clara came into our lives, she blew all of those expectation out of the water.  I never expected it to be so hard to be physically away from her and just want her to be so close all the time.

9.  Parenting is fun!  Watching Clara change everyday and become full of personality is the best job in the world!

10.  Seriously....sleep when the baby sleeps...  Experienced parents will preach it, but new parents must follow this golden rule.  Who cares about laundry and dishes, just sleep!

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My washer and dryer keep telling me what to do..

....and boy is it annoying!!!

You see, about six months before we moved to the farm, Jon and I decided to buy a new washer and dryer.  Our old washer and dryer were hand me downs that were getting to be on their last leg.  The washer wasn't broke....yet, but it sure was making some funny noises!  Of course, we had to buy a front load washer and dryer, like this one.  Actually, I think that is our exact washer.

I remember marveling at our first load in our new washer and dryer.  Now THIS was technology at its best.  What cracked me up the most was that they played a song when they were finished.  They were so high tech that no simple buzz would do when they were finished.  I just had to listen for the nifty little song!  The only thing missing from these marvels was a self folding action.

The dryer was the first to start bossing me around.  I was washing and drying my bedspread and it was having a hard time drying.  I kept setting and resetting the dryer, but it still wasn't getting dry.  I tried putting it on Timed Dry...no luck.  Our dryer was so smart, that it was "sensing" that the bedspread was dry and was shutting off.  I had to run that dryer a couple times to actually get a fully dry bedspread.

Today I was washing cloth diapers and trying to figure out how to get more water in the machine.  Seems silly, but top loading washers are actually much better for washing cloth diapers since the cloth diapers can soak in the water.  Front load washers are so energy efficient because they sense how dirty the clothes are and only add just enough water.  I was starting to have an ammonia problem in my cloth diapers because they weren't able to soak in enough water.  Hopefully I have that problem figured out, but it's pretty annoying to have to trick my washer into adding in more water.

The dryer today was the last straw.  I came upstairs after putting in another load of laundry and told Jon that I will never be buying a front load washer and dryer again.  The stinking dryer was trying to tell me my cloth diapers were dry and they weren't!  I had to run the dryer twice and some of them still weren't dry.  My exact words to Jon were "I'm tired of my washer and dryer thinking they are smarter than me!"  Mark my words...my next washer and dryer will take orders only...none of this "sensing" business.*

*Re-reading this post makes me realize how much of a First World problem I have....

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