Sunday Thoughts

I guess they say that the first year you live in a place you catch everything. I remember when I was doing my student teaching I constantly had a cold. My father in law said the first year he was doing orthodontics he got sick a lot from being around all the kids.
It's like they say Children, like little petri dishes.
speaking of which once we visited my friends and he was growing something in a petri dish that he had scraped off of his kitchen sponge. I was fascinated and grossed out by cultivating bacteria in your closet. also glad that I refuse to own a kitchen sponge because they smell bad. always.
Kitchen sponges and rags that people use in their sinks- probably some of the most disgusting things on earth. which is why god invented the paper towel.

Well we have lived here over a year, so why does everyone have a cold again? John has some disgusting sore on the back of his throat and I'm convinced it's flesh eating bacteria. Maybe it is this same vigorous paranoia that makes me want to throw up about sponges.

My throat is totally hurting today. Although I probably should even talk because I've got nothing on open sore man.

Today I pondered how interesting being a parent can be- Danielle has decided she wanted to be carried everywhere today. Seriously I can't even carry my baby everywhere, which is probably why both of my children learned to crawl fairly early. I feel like she just realized that she has a sibling and it annoys her so she climbs up on the furniture to hide from him. Usually with his toys. Mark is also afflicted with open sores and some of the worst diaper rash ever. second only to Danielle when she was younger. It is harder to have him be a free range baby than it was with Danielle- mainly because of Danielle.
What is up with the horrible diaper rash? With Danielle supposedly it was disposables. I don't know if it's because we used disposables for a day or because I changed my cloth diaper detergent to hard rock detergent or if it's because he started drinking cows milk or because he ate some strawberries a few days ago but we have a serious problem on our hands here. Poor baby Mark is so sad, but he tends to be rather sensitive.
It is a miracle I got the dishes done today, although I didn't get the laundry put away. and since we canceled lunch with our friends today I have a lot of vegetarian bacon in my fridge that I am going to have to find a home for.

How was your Sunday?

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Cloth Diapering Thoughts

my favorite diaper ever.

So we've been doing cloth diapers for a while now. I always want Mark's diaper to match his outfit. I like how they have solid colors so you don't have some stupid little animal or character on them showing through their clothing and making it look dirty.

Sold all the G diapers online. I feel like they are everything wrong with a disposable combined with everything wrong with a cloth diaper. The cloth inserts are a little too small for him so he frequently had leaks. ALSO they have snap in liners and I just about lost it when one of the snaps RIPPED OUT of the diaper. I repaired it right away but listed them for sale on ebay that day.
One of my favorite things about cloth diapers is that Mark doesn't have as many blow outs- he would have one EVERY DAY when wearing disposables. I don't know how he does it- maybe he has the rocket poos (like his sister who one day pooed on the wall from across the room- I asked the pediatrician and she explained it but it's gross) ANYWAY G Diapers do not have the blow out avoidance that other diapers do. BUT if you are going to get flushable inserts the Gdiapers insert is the way to go- they are bigger than other options and break up better. Seriously using a swish stick to break up diapers is one of the grossest things ever. Also gross? using a diaper sprayer to spray poo off of diapers.
I have never gone through so much soap. and I love some of the new bath and body works flavors.
LOVE: Rumparooz G2 Snap Diapers. I only have two and it makes me so sad. I want more of them. they have a double gusset so they hold a lot and they are easier to clean because the mess doesn't get on the outside layer of the diaper. they are a pocket diaper which I actually really like and they come in great colors.
Also Love: FuzziBunz Perfect Size Diapers. I feel like "one size fits all" diapers a a little bit of a myth. Mark is in the Medium of the FuzziBunz diapers. They are one of the first cloth diaper companies. I LOVE SNAPS. Snaps are the best because the velcro really tears things up in the wash- it has to be pretty strong. It is also easier for children to get off later- so you might find your toddler running around with no diaper. Fuzzibunz also has a pocket at the very back of the diaper so you don't have to reach into what I call the "poo zone" to pull out the insert which is very desirable.
and Lastly: Flip Diapers. Thirsties are like these but I have more flip diapers- they are like a cover and you just lay the cotton insert on them. the shell is REUSABLE so there isn't as much laundry. I combine these with the Gdiapers inserts for a peaceful cloth diaper experience at church. The Thirsties have the double leg thing so they would probably also be good.

confusing design: Bottom Bumpers- a huge disappointment for me. I guess I expected an "all in one diaper" to have only one piece, not a snap in liner.
cheap seeming: econobum is like a less sturdy version of the flip diaper- but that could work for some people.
ok but I don't like velcro: Bumgenius 3.0 (which should be on clearance everywhere because they are discontinued so maybe the cheap cost would make them more appealing)

Those are my strong feelings so far. When I got a sinus infection I switched back to disposables for a couple days because it really is more work. people who tell you otherwise are probably not cleaning their diapers properly.
Mark never gets diaper rashes though, which is shocking and wonderful. Why didn't I do this when my doctor recommended it the first time for Danielle? It may be more work but it is WAY easier than it was to leave her free range for a few weeks so her terrible diaper rash and sores could heal. Also she seems to always pee out of the toilet. I thought you only had to worry about aim with boys. It happens mostly at church. I think the split in the seat cover confuses her.
and it totally grosses me out.

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Sunday Thoughts

Main Sunday Thought: I finally worked up the nerve to ask if I could stop being assigned to visit that one cat lady.
If you can't clean up after your pet AT ALL, please find a new home for your pet, especially if that pet is a cat because they get smelly.
What I wonder if I should say: If your child looks that much like a skeleton because you weaned them, probably it is too early and you should let them nurse. Better to have child that nurses a long time than have a child with failure to thrive.

I made a friend today. It was nice. Also nice to finally feel like I know what I should be doing right now.

Today I went to church. I was really proud of myself for staying. And it was pretty calming which I liked. Also Danielle peed on her sleeve when she went potty and I almost died- I scrubbed it out in the sink and used hand soap to wash it a little because I didn't have a backup outfit and Danielle wanted to stay for nursery.
Oh so many thoughts this Sunday: Mixed, Happy, grateful- and a little bit sad that the battery to my portable device died so I couldn't distract myself with it at church.

Cloth Diapers: OK so I've got to think of something new here. I thought my house smelled funny. It was the diaper bucket. The disposable liners seem to move around a bit in the flip diapers, which I like for the cloth but not disposable.
I have never felt like I was doing so much laundry only to discover I have a room full of dirty clothes.

One of my new years resolutions is officially over- We parked a car in the garage. John helped me move the cement pallet to the side. Turns out moving 30 cement bags is hard work.

Scranton is a funny city to show people around. I can't believe I got to see my friends from Germany! It took Danielle all of two seconds to locate the candy they brought me for my birthday.

This little guy is finally sleeping through the night. I don't know how people survive with children that don't sleep. Good thing he was so sweet. Still don't know if I will survive having any more children but that's OK.

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Cloth Diapers

So I've been using cloth diapers for a while. Actually G diapers with the disposable insert.
Disposable. Flush-able. right. The first time I saw the disposable insert I thought to myself- that is going to clog my toilet.
Correct.
Which brings me to a new idea- what about a food disposal in the bottom of the toilet? They would never be clogged again. That could take the flushable inserts any day.
John told me that was sort of gross. Turns out that a little company named Shanghai Gerpman industrial company thought it was a good idea too. You can find one here. I don't think I will buy one, but it could be good for my little disposable diaper inserts- then I would never have to use the disgusting swisher stick again.
I finally went to cloth diapers since the doctors told me to- why didn't I do this with Danielle? She had persistent diaper rash all the time and was a free range baby for a while. Then my sister in law decided to cloth diaper. She told me how she does it. and Claire decided she will do it when she has babies. Sara did it in New Zealand. Buying diapers for two children pretty much broke my heart in half so I thought- if I am going to have any more children I might as well get on board. Well Danielle is potty trained (thanks Mark and Sara) and Mark is finally out of diapers- so we are continuing the transition. I still haven't purchased safe laundry detergent and thought about air drying them in my backyard (please let the fence magically be put in) so I am using the disposables I bought. Oh wait, Mark also only has six covers so far. Not quite the two dozen or so people recommend.
Thanks for the support girls- wish me the best with the washing.

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