Cloth diapering

As the time goes on and I learn more and more about being a mom, I have gotten a lot of good advice regarding cloth diapering. While it might seem a lot more difficult, it really isn't how people think. There are new things now that are nothing like what most imagine when you say cloth diapering.

When I first starting talking to a friend about cloth diapers, I thought, wow, what a time consuming hassle. Not to mention after looking at the cost of the covers, liners, and inserts, there was no way I could afford all that! Eventually though, I came around to the idea that it wouldn't be nearly as expensive as disposables because its a one time deal. It's roughly $200 to get started and have a good supply so you aren't doing laundry all day long.

Kaylin in her Gdiaper!

There are several different types of cloth diapers out there. I got the BumGenius 3.0's at first thinking they would be pretty good. Well, they are, but I wasn't a fan of how thick they were on my baby. So I looked into the GDiapers. Not only are they effective, but they are really cute! There a several colors and I love the design. The velcro part goes toward the back so when a baby gets a little older, they do not pull the tabs.

For this type of diaper, there are 3 parts. The cover, the liner (it snaps in) and the insert which comes in cloth or disposable/flushable. The disposable/flushable inserts are much more expensive, and will not save you money in the long run, but they are better for the environment since they can be flushed or composted. The cloth inserts are cheaper in the long run, but expensive up front. Like I said before, the tabs go on the back side of the baby, but think of it this way, you "pre-load" your cloth diaper, its essentially the same as a disposable.

There are several types of detergents you can use with the inserts and covers, the kind I have found that works well is Arm and Hammer Essentials. It smells great! I walked into my daughters room this morning and that's what it smelled like!

It might seem like a lot of work, and it is, but it really is worth it. Babies don't get rashes as often with these either! Happy readings!

And so it begins...

Just a little bit about me, I am a 26 year old, happily married mom of a beautiful baby girl named Kaylin. My family is my life and everything I have ever wanted.

A little back history, I was born in Illinois in 1983, lived here until 88' and my mom moved to Beloit Wisconsin with my ex-stepdad. We lived there for roughly a year and then moved down to southern Indiana. The town was Tell City. We moved to 10th street into a white house with green shutters (or so I remember). I went to school at the elementary school, and eventually we moved to Rome Indiana. I started my 3rd grade at Perry Central where I would later graduate from. My mom ended up marrying my step father Bryan and has been married to him ever since.

In 93' my first little sister was born. She is graduating this year and is one of the smartest young people I have ever met. In 95' my other little sister was born. She just so happens to be one of the most talented people I have had the pleasure to know. Both of my sisters mean the world to me and I wish them both the very best in life.

In 2002, I graduated from high school and the day after my graduation moved back to Illinois to live with my dad and go to college. Well, college didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped. I did meet my first husband in that time, got married and joined the Navy. Wow, talk about a mistake! Getting married at 19 is the worse idea for anyone! We will talk about the pros and cons of getting married young at a different time. To make a really long story short, that relationship and career choice did not work out too well. However, out of every bad situation something good comes.

In November 2005, I met Alex! Of anyone I have met, he is by far the one who has helped me grow as a person. Without him, my life just would never have been the same. We met on Yahoo Personals as crazy as some may think that is. I remember the day we met like it was yesterday. It was a cool day, we decided to meet each other at a gas station (for safety reasons), we went to breakfast at what was Spring Garden in DeKalb IL. We were both kind of nervous, him more so, he ended up getting coffee creamer all over me... After breakfast, we went back to my dads house and walked Chloe and Rose, the two American bulldogs I bought when I was in Washington state. We got back from the walk about 20 minutes before he had to go to back to school for the day and we stood outside talking and dancing around each other until we finally had our first kiss! It was magical, I had the butterflies in my belly like I still do to this day.

In May 2006, he graduated college, we were living at his moms house and both looking for jobs. We both landed jobs, mine is at a company doing technical support for online college students and he works for Verizon Wireless. We moved out of his moms house in May 2008 and got our new place! Ahh, fresh starts are wonderful! We have a dog named Riley too! He's a hyperactive almost 2 year old Collie.

Now the real adventure begins, September 2009 rolls around, I started having dreams about babies and my sister having a child. Something seemed a little off to me and I was starting to wonder, "Could I be pregnant?" Well, after waking up at 520am on Sept. 4th, I smoked a cigarette (to calm my nerves) went to the bathroom and took a test and sure enough, it said Pregnant! I'm sure I could have waited to wake Alex up with the news, but forget that, I was excited and nervous and wanted him to know. So I yelled at him to wake up and because he didn't have his glasses on, shoved the test (that I just peed on) in his face and said READ IT! That was the very last time I have smoked and have not looked back since. My soon to be baby was worth way more then an addiction.

We got married on my birthday, September 18th 2009, not because we were having a baby, but because we loved each of course! It was a plan to begin with, just didn't want to make a huge production out of having a wedding. In December, we found out this little baby we were having was a girl! Here comes the need to buy everything pink for my little girl!

Moving along into May 2010, our little girl was born! She's our Cinco De Mayo baby! Her name is Kaylin and has brought so much joy to our lives. From the moment I first laid eyes on her, I realized just how much love I actually had inside. This little girl has made all my hopes and dreams a reality. It is very hard to describe the words to express just how much she means to me. So now, we have almost come full circle from when we found out about our new addition. What a wonderful way to spend the last four months!

We have what some would call unconventional methods on parenting like co-sleeping and cloth diapering. This is all a new adventure for us, and hopefully I can get some people to read the blogs I post and give their views and ideas. Thanks all for visiting!