Okay, so I realize that this probably falls under the category of TMI (to much information) but I can't be a cloth diaper advocate without expressing my enthusiasm with using cloth myself.
While researching cloth diapers for Erin, I liked to look at pretty much everything any given website had to offer. My opinion is that if I'm going to order something from a website, I might as well see if there is anything else on that particular site that I want and order everything at once (especially since many sites have free shipping is you order so much). So on my favorite site (Kelly's Closet) I found the category "Menstrual Care" and thought what the heck could that possibly be?! When I clicked on it I found cloth pads.
Cloth pads?! Ewww, gross, like I want to touch that!! Was my first thought. And then I began to think about it a little bit more....
I was looking into cloth diapers for two reasons: 1) cost savings and we plan on having more so the savings would just get better and 2) the thought of all those disposable diapers in the landfill just made me cringe. So why wouldn't the same things apply to other items that I purchase on a regular basis and throw away?
Plus I was willing to touch pee-filled and poop-encrusted diapers and then wash them in my washing machine. I even dunked a few poopy diapers in the tiolet or sprayed them off in our kitchen before finally having Fester make a sprayer to put in the bathroom. So what exactly was so gross about my own blood?
Another factor that contributed to my interest in cloth was that I used to use Always with wings and I really liked them, but the adhesive on the wings was often getting stuck places other than my undies! Then Kotex came out with Velcro wings. This was the greatest invention since sliced bread (at least in my book)! These I used, still hoping that Always would just on the bandwagon. And then one day I opened a new package of Kotex and discovered that they no longer had velcro! BOO! I was pissed! So anyway, fast forward to now, as I was looking at these cloth pads I realized that this would be the answer to my sticky wing problem. These pads just had a snap.
So when I placed my large order for cloth diapers for Erin I also ordered some cloth pads for myself. I've been using cloth pads for several months now and couldn't be happier! They are SO comfortable!! And I just chuck them in with the cloth diapers to wash them.
There are several different kinds that I have looked at, right now I have mostly the Mommy's Touch pads as well as some Happy Henny pads. I really like the Mommy's Touch ones, but I have also been looking at Lunapads. I recently order a special wet bag off their website, which I really like. It's small and discreet (looks like a cosmetic bag) and it has two seperate zipper pouches, one for clean and one for dirty. This works really well at work and now I don't feel like I have to sneek to the bathroom!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Fabulous Life of a Third Shift Worker
Perhaps "fabulous" is not the right word. Maybe something along the lines of . . . exhausted, deprived, or even non-relaxing.
My darling husband, William or Fester, works the vampire shift at the Erie campus of Penn State. He's a janitorial worker. Up until last January he worked for his dad at a janitorial supply/cleaning company. But due to some financial issues, which I won't go into, he decided to look for something that was more stable. Enter Penn State.
As of right now he works 10pm-6:30am Tuesday nights thru Saturday nights. This means that he sleeps most of the day Wednesday thru Sunday, which also means that I don't see him much on the weekends.
And I don't mind that he works third shift. In fact I have a hard time going to sleep on the days he's off because I can't hog the bed! My only complaint really is the days that he works, and that it doesn't leave much room for us to get anything done.
I work at home on Friday so that I can also watch Erin, so I basically have 2.5 - 3 days with Erin all by myself. Which I love most of the time, but every mom knows that there are days when your sweet, innocent toddler drives you up a freakin' wall! I used to do all our laundry on Saturdays, but now I do the laundry when Erin is safely sleeping (since the washer and dryer are in our basement) so it takes me pretty much all weekend anymore.
So why doesn't Fester try to get a job that's first shift? Well, right now my MIL watches Erin 2-3 days during the week, but her work schedule doesn't always mesh with when she watches Erin. So some days Fester goes to his parents house and sleeps there until his mom goes to work. Plus he watches Erin Mondays and most Tuesday. So right now we need that daytime availability that third shift offers.
Now, don't get me wrong, Fester has a great job. He is paid very well, he has the option of getting health insurance (my company current pays all our insurance), he will have a great state pension when he retires, and Erin can go to Penn State at a very nice discount. And his goal is to make it over to a Landscaping position there one day.
I just miss my hubby!
PS. Fester only has to work two more Saturdays and then he moves to working Monday night to Friday night!!
My darling husband, William or Fester, works the vampire shift at the Erie campus of Penn State. He's a janitorial worker. Up until last January he worked for his dad at a janitorial supply/cleaning company. But due to some financial issues, which I won't go into, he decided to look for something that was more stable. Enter Penn State.
As of right now he works 10pm-6:30am Tuesday nights thru Saturday nights. This means that he sleeps most of the day Wednesday thru Sunday, which also means that I don't see him much on the weekends.
And I don't mind that he works third shift. In fact I have a hard time going to sleep on the days he's off because I can't hog the bed! My only complaint really is the days that he works, and that it doesn't leave much room for us to get anything done.
I work at home on Friday so that I can also watch Erin, so I basically have 2.5 - 3 days with Erin all by myself. Which I love most of the time, but every mom knows that there are days when your sweet, innocent toddler drives you up a freakin' wall! I used to do all our laundry on Saturdays, but now I do the laundry when Erin is safely sleeping (since the washer and dryer are in our basement) so it takes me pretty much all weekend anymore.
So why doesn't Fester try to get a job that's first shift? Well, right now my MIL watches Erin 2-3 days during the week, but her work schedule doesn't always mesh with when she watches Erin. So some days Fester goes to his parents house and sleeps there until his mom goes to work. Plus he watches Erin Mondays and most Tuesday. So right now we need that daytime availability that third shift offers.
Now, don't get me wrong, Fester has a great job. He is paid very well, he has the option of getting health insurance (my company current pays all our insurance), he will have a great state pension when he retires, and Erin can go to Penn State at a very nice discount. And his goal is to make it over to a Landscaping position there one day.
I just miss my hubby!
PS. Fester only has to work two more Saturdays and then he moves to working Monday night to Friday night!!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Welcome to Post #2
Okay I figured I should probably do another post since it's been over a month since I started this! Today I'm going to give a little insight to the wonders of modern cloth diapering, since that's what motivated me to start this blog (more on that later).
It all started several months ago when I was bored at work one day and began searching online for cloth diapers. Don't ask me what craziness was going through my head that made me actually consider those gross things that you have to fold, pin, and then stick in your washing machine (at least that's all I knew about cloth diapers at the time). Boy was I in for quite a surprise!
So I ended up on a website called Kelly's Closet. And here I began my journey into the wonderful world of cloth! I found that there were literally dozens of different styles to choose from. I found one-size diapers that will fit your baby from birth to toddler, meaning that you will only have to buy diapers once. Another thing I found was that these new-fangled cloth diapers don't require any folding, some need an "insert" put inside, while others were as low maintainence as disposables.
What finally made me decide to take the plunge, well actually it was more of a toe in the pool, was the fact that Kelly's Closet offered a 30 day money-back guarantee on the two different kinds that I was considering, BumGenius and FuzziBunz. So I placed my order for two of each kind, plus a wet bag to put my used diappies in.
The BumGenius diapers are great because they have velcro closure, just like disposables, and my husband liked that. Plus they are one-size so I could have them a little smaller since Erin was only 7 or 8 months old. They included two inserts, one for regular use and one for use on newborns, which we ended up using for extra nighttime absorbancy. Plus they came in some really great colors. The only thing that I ended up not liking is the darn velcro. After a while it has gotten worn looking, it still works fine, it just looks funny. Plus in the summer when it was warm and I didn't put anything over them Erin learned that she could undo the velcro!
Now the FuzziBunz I also like and I actually think I like these better. They have snaps for closure. And while they aren't one-size, the snaps offer four different size adjustments. These diapers also came with inserts and they are much easier to get because the opening at the back of the diaper is much bigger.
So after using them for a few weeks I did decide to get a full supply and completely switch to cloth, at least while at home. I ended up saving more money by buying second quality FuzziBunz too! Of course I also had to get a few supplies to go with my new cloth diapers, like another wet bag or two, a diaper sprayer, some spray to use on Erin's bum, and since Erin's going cloth I figured so would I (more on that some other time).
While we still do use disposables at both Grandparent's houses and when we go out (although I'm trying to use cloth for these too), I don't buy diapers very often. And I have to say that washing cloth diapers isn't really as bad as you think, especially with a diaper sprayer. And it's even easier now that I have two large wet bags/pails that hang on the doorknob of the bathroom door, they easily hold plenty of diapers until I get a chance to wash them.
So to anyone that has heard the stories of what cloth diapers used to be, or who used them (I'm looking at you Sue and Dianne), these are NOT your mother's cloth diapers. They have come into the 21st century and I think, with so many people wanting to be "green", cloth diapers may just be making a come back!
It all started several months ago when I was bored at work one day and began searching online for cloth diapers. Don't ask me what craziness was going through my head that made me actually consider those gross things that you have to fold, pin, and then stick in your washing machine (at least that's all I knew about cloth diapers at the time). Boy was I in for quite a surprise!
So I ended up on a website called Kelly's Closet. And here I began my journey into the wonderful world of cloth! I found that there were literally dozens of different styles to choose from. I found one-size diapers that will fit your baby from birth to toddler, meaning that you will only have to buy diapers once. Another thing I found was that these new-fangled cloth diapers don't require any folding, some need an "insert" put inside, while others were as low maintainence as disposables.
What finally made me decide to take the plunge, well actually it was more of a toe in the pool, was the fact that Kelly's Closet offered a 30 day money-back guarantee on the two different kinds that I was considering, BumGenius and FuzziBunz. So I placed my order for two of each kind, plus a wet bag to put my used diappies in.
The BumGenius diapers are great because they have velcro closure, just like disposables, and my husband liked that. Plus they are one-size so I could have them a little smaller since Erin was only 7 or 8 months old. They included two inserts, one for regular use and one for use on newborns, which we ended up using for extra nighttime absorbancy. Plus they came in some really great colors. The only thing that I ended up not liking is the darn velcro. After a while it has gotten worn looking, it still works fine, it just looks funny. Plus in the summer when it was warm and I didn't put anything over them Erin learned that she could undo the velcro!
Now the FuzziBunz I also like and I actually think I like these better. They have snaps for closure. And while they aren't one-size, the snaps offer four different size adjustments. These diapers also came with inserts and they are much easier to get because the opening at the back of the diaper is much bigger.
So after using them for a few weeks I did decide to get a full supply and completely switch to cloth, at least while at home. I ended up saving more money by buying second quality FuzziBunz too! Of course I also had to get a few supplies to go with my new cloth diapers, like another wet bag or two, a diaper sprayer, some spray to use on Erin's bum, and since Erin's going cloth I figured so would I (more on that some other time).
While we still do use disposables at both Grandparent's houses and when we go out (although I'm trying to use cloth for these too), I don't buy diapers very often. And I have to say that washing cloth diapers isn't really as bad as you think, especially with a diaper sprayer. And it's even easier now that I have two large wet bags/pails that hang on the doorknob of the bathroom door, they easily hold plenty of diapers until I get a chance to wash them.
So to anyone that has heard the stories of what cloth diapers used to be, or who used them (I'm looking at you Sue and Dianne), these are NOT your mother's cloth diapers. They have come into the 21st century and I think, with so many people wanting to be "green", cloth diapers may just be making a come back!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Hi, I'm new here . . .
Okay, so I've never "blogged" and I really have no idea what it's all about. But I figured what the heck, why not? So I'll start with a little about me and my family.
My husband and I will be married for 5 years in April. We met in the high school marching band. William was a percussionist, with the nickname of "Fester" (which everyone still calls him) and I was in the Color Guard. We started dating the summer before my senior year and have been together ever since, which was 10 years ago this past September!
In the summer of 2005 we purchased my Grandparent's home. I spent a great deal of time there when I has a kid and that house holds a lot of fond memories for me, so I was overjoyed when we were finally given the offer to buy it. Our house is in the middle of nowhere, and we absolutely love it! Okay, so I'm not thrilled about the 45 minute to 1 hour drive to and from work everyday, but all I have to do is sit outside by a fire on a beautiful summer night, with just the sound of crickets and popping wood, and look up at the billions of stars, an I truly would never want to live any closer to civilization.
On September 20, 2007 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Erin. Yes, some times she drives both of us crazy, but we both love her more than anything.
Well, I think that's about all I can write for now.
My husband and I will be married for 5 years in April. We met in the high school marching band. William was a percussionist, with the nickname of "Fester" (which everyone still calls him) and I was in the Color Guard. We started dating the summer before my senior year and have been together ever since, which was 10 years ago this past September!
In the summer of 2005 we purchased my Grandparent's home. I spent a great deal of time there when I has a kid and that house holds a lot of fond memories for me, so I was overjoyed when we were finally given the offer to buy it. Our house is in the middle of nowhere, and we absolutely love it! Okay, so I'm not thrilled about the 45 minute to 1 hour drive to and from work everyday, but all I have to do is sit outside by a fire on a beautiful summer night, with just the sound of crickets and popping wood, and look up at the billions of stars, an I truly would never want to live any closer to civilization.
On September 20, 2007 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Erin. Yes, some times she drives both of us crazy, but we both love her more than anything.
Well, I think that's about all I can write for now.
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