New Blog Design!

Although everything is not updated I am super excited about the new redesign my sister did for me. I hope to get it all finished soon in the meantime here is a link to the photos my sister Michelle took of my darling boys.

http://mlphoto.blogspot.com/2013/03/its-been-awhile-but-it-was-worth-wait.html

Baby Face

Where did the time go? I swear yesterday I was nine months pregnant, cleaning my house like a crazy person getting ready to become the mom of two little boys. Then a day later it was off to a month of NICU ness where time stands. Then Christmas, then this last surgery, and BOOM! Hoden is six months old I cannot even believe it.

Hoden is a lot like Mr. B and also very much his own unique self. Mr. B didn't really see the point of toys and preferred being held and jumping in his jumperoo. Hoden loves to be held too but he wants to lick every toy/object that comes near him. Mr. B hated being on his belly and took forever and a day to crawl while Hoden rolls around and plays on his belly and sleeps that way too.

Mr. B had hair like a cockatoo that would not stay down even with full on gel whereas Hoden has long whisps of hair that you can only see in the sunlight. They both have blue eyes but Hodens have brown in the middle whereas Mr. B's are much lighter. Both at this age measure in head wise in the 95th percentile but Hoden is in the 80th for height and 60th in weight whereas Mr. B never in his life has had his height venture into the above 50th percentile group. Bless his heart at 2 and half years old Mr. B is still in 18-24 months that need help being held up by his cloth diapers.

Oh how I love my little boys, what freaking cuties :)

Liebster Award- 11 Facts about me

My 11 Facts About Me:


- I eat a bag of marshmallows every two days.


- I think I photograph best while pregnant, something about not having to suck in your stomach or loving that I get a cute round ball, who knows. I know this makes me super weird though.

- I have probably taken 5000 photos of my children.

- I would rather sing or speak in front of a very large group thank have to lead music or play the piano for any size function it just gives me panic attacks thinking about it.

- I picked out my wedding dress three days before my wedding, I was alone at a rental shop and the dress I had ordered came out terribly wrong. I literally picked the only dress my size that they had available that weekend. As such I am addicted to Say Yes To The Dress :)

- I am way more shy and sensitive than people realize and cry way too easily.

- I am a total water baby and would spend the entire summer at the pool.

- I actually avoid Pinterest. I find it leaves me fealing unfashionable, bad at cooking and terrible at being crafty.

- My hair is so thin that I could use the little girl half ponytail holders with no trouble.

- I actually weighed more on my wedding day than when I delivered my second child (thanks to healthy eating, and sleeping way more than I did in college).

- Second to being a Mom my dream job is to be a Customer Service Consultant. I would travel giving lectures and seminars on how to provide better customer service. I would also work by contract with various companies to work one on one with their employees.


My 11 Questions for You:
1. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

. I really think the amazing marriage relationship my husband and I have is a huge accomplishment. We may disagree but we never yell or speak harshly to one another and have never really fought ever, 4 years in that isn't too shabby.
2. What's your favorite ice cream?

Mint Oreo, I make it homemade, order it in milkshakes and want it every time I go to the BYU Creamery.

3.  What skill do you wish you had? (For example, I always wanted to be awesome at ice skating. Or sewing. I'll take either).

Sewing well, I can sew but it is rarely pretty.

4. What book character do you relate to the most? (Can't think of a book one? Go with movie)

Hmm,
5. What song must you always dance to when it comes on?

Jump In The Line by Harry Belafonte or Jump Jive and Wail (any version)

6. If you were brave (read: crazy) enough (and your S.O. let you) what unique name would you give your child? (Like the celebrity choices of Apple or Blanket)

Hendrix :)
7. What city (or country) in the world do you want to visit most?

Italy, between the food and the scenery I would be set!

8. Favorite birthday and why?

25, I was pregnant with my second child and just feeling cute and super content with life. I hope to have every year feel the same way.

9. If you could pick an age at which to stop aging, what would it be?

Same as above, my body is how I wished it could look, and if I actually put some work into it I could probably get in shape fairly easily too.

10. Favorite place to go on a date?

Anywhere with food :) We love to eat. I am not a super adventurous eater but I LOVE food :) ice cream, mexican, burgers and fries etc I am easy to please.

11. What's your best pickup line?

I never really heard any that I found clever enough to remember but my husband is full of them, always using them to try to make me laugh.

Blogs that I read
1. Brittany
2. Jenna
3. Cecilia
4. Ali
5. Andrea
6. Ashley
7. Allie

Remember When

I was realizing how long it had been since I had gone through our wedding photos. Oh my how times have changed. What a wonderful day :) Proof you really can put together a wedding in under a month if you really want to do it. 

Types of Cloth Diapers: All in Ones and Fitteds with Covers

All in Ones (AIO)- 

These are the diapers most like disposables, they are all one piece, nothing to stuff, no separate cover etc. While that sounds awesome there are some downsides too. For example no stuffing means limited adjustable absorbency, and more time spent in the dryer. If you need a daycare diaper these are a great option if you can foot the bill, they often run between 12 dollars for a basic microfiber inner to 25 dollars for one made out of all natural fibers. Common types include the Elemenal (on the left) and the Freetime (bottom left) and the NickisDiapers Bamboo.

If you need to add absorbency you can usually lay an insert under the soakers or some All in Ones have a pocket for stuffing in additional insert or doubler (the Thirsties All in One is a pocket type AIO). Ultimately, I find them not quite absorbent enough for my heavy wetter on their own but they work well for 95% of cloth diapering folks.

Fitteds: 

A fitted is a type of cloth diaper made out many many layers of absorbent material on all sides, they are usually the most absorbant of all cloth diapers especially if made out of hemp (the most absorbent of all or bamboo). I highly recommend them if you have a child that needs a good overnight diaper. Even if not cloth diapering but you need something for overnight when disposables are not cutting it these are what you want. However, they are not waterproof on their own and therefore require the additional step of a cover (you can learn about covers here). On the left is a Bamboo fitted diaper from Nickies Diapers. On the right is a Workhorse fitted that is more for newborns and light overnight wetters sold by Green Mountain Diapers. 

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We made our own fitteds for overnight. They were made from large prefolds and I sewed in bamboo doublers flap style to make them absorbent enough for my super peeing kiddos. They are easy enough to make for any sewing ability.

You can make them easiest with a serger but a regular sewing machine is plenty too. I find the best sewing tutorials here.

Ultimately if you want a easy and bulletproof night solution you want fitteds with covers. 

Cloth Diapering Odds and Ends: Doublers and Wetbags

Inserts and Doublers: 

Diapers like All in Twos, Pockets and Covers need to be stuffed with something absorbent. In a pocket you can literally stuff them with anything absorbent and you are good to go, because their is a suedecloth or fleece layer between the baby and the insert. However, if you are using something where the insert goes against the babies skin you CANNOT USE UNCOVERED MICROFIBER, it will literally absorb the skin oils off the baby's bum leaving it very irritated. So make sure only fleece or natural fibers are against the baby's bum. 

If your baby is an average wetter you can stuff with microfiber and be good to go. I however have super peeing children that always needed a doubler. So if we used microfiber in a pocket Hemp, or Bamboo needed to be underneath it. Microfiber acts like a sponge so if a child is going to be in a carseat or carrier where the diaper can be compressed, a doubler underneath the microfiber is a good idea to prevent "compression leaks."

Hemp- Is the most absorbent fiber, it is a little slower to absorb then others so it makes a good bottom doubler, it is excellent in overnight diapering. I have some from Hemp Babies that are hemp/cotton and a no name kind that are hemp jersey. I find hemp cotton to be too rough to go straight against a baby's skin but it can if needed. 

Bamboo- Second to hemp in absorbency but it my mind superior because it is sooooo soft it can go straight against baby and for some babies it is all their diaper needs inside. We however use it under microfiber or under prefold inserts. I like the bamboo from Alva and Kawii 

Wetbags: Although in a pinch a ziploc or grocery sack can hold a poopy diaper or wet clothing a true wetbag is an awesome thing to own. They are made of PUL, a waterproof fabric. Some like the kind I own are called wet/dry bags because they have a pocket that is waterproof for the dirty diaper and a cloth pocket for the clean diapers. I love them because it keeps all my diapering stuff together in my diaper bag. The one on the left is a small wet/dry bag that fits 2-3 diapers and the right is a medium that fits 4-6. 

Types of Cloth Diapers: All In Twos and Classic Covers

All In Twos

Left-Diaper Safarai, Middle-Flip Right-Blueberry Capri

 An "All in Two" diaper cover or system can be a lot of different things. It can be a diaper where the insert snaps on top of a one time use shell (Like Best Bottoms Grovia and Soft Bums). 

I have only personally used Best Bottoms, which I have mentioned probably too many times, they have snap in inserts. They make hemp jersey and microfiber stay dry fleece topped inserts. Easy peasy, but a but on the pricey side for me, their overnight doublers under their stay dry inserts really are a bulletproof nighttime combo. They save my bacon. I mentioned them way back here if you are interested. 

Likewise a All in two can also be a reusable cover with flaps that you can tuck in a insert, prefolds or flat. Most people have heard of the Flip system by Cottonbabies (Bum genius's maker) I would say that it is probably  the most common All in Two. They sell  inserts that lay in (I don't have any of theirs but the Best Bottom inserts work well in it), disposable inserts and you can use prefolds or flats that get folded then laid inside. Diaper Safari work the same way. (The top diaper cover in the first picture). Diaper Safari and the Blueberry Coverall work the same way.  I love them because they are so versatile you really can mix and match the covers and the inserts/prefolds etc. 

Flip cover with Best Bottoms insert

Diaper Safari with Best Bottom insert

Using a prefold in a All in two is super nice, unlike a normal or traditional cover like mentioned here, a Diaper Safari or Flip (I call them flap covers) they hold the prefold really well. You simply trifold as pictured below then lay them under the flaps.

You can also do the same thing with even a simple kitchen Flour Sack towel like you can get at Walmart. 

The left is the Diaper Safari and the right is a Blueberry Capri (size 2)

In a nutshell the All in Two is probably the most versatile and economical type of cloth diapers. They are less scary then they look, I promise :)

Model Shot :) Flip cover with prefold in the Albert print

Classic Covers

 These are the covers that first replaced the vinyl or plastic pants they are the most basic cover you can buy. Don't get me wrong thought they are still awesome. I think every stash should at least have one classic cover. They are amazing for over fitteds (super absorbent but non waterproof diapers used for nighttime or snappied prefolds/flats). As you can see, unlike the All in Two covers they don't have flaps or snaps. The left (or top) is a Rumparooz, the middle is a Thirsties Size 2 and the right (or bottom) is a Blueberry Coverall. 

 Just like with a All in Two you can lay in a padfolded flat or flour sack towel.

 But my favorite is over a snappied prefold (or fitted). Give them a try. They are cheap and easy to use.