Adventures in Cloth Diapering

I've been trying to think of ways to save money and it dawned on me recently that cloth diapers might be the answer. I had toyed with the idea of using cloth diapers during my pregnancy. I had a whole going green phase where I was obsessed with recycling and saving the planet. When Kennedy was born that idea got set on the back burner. It seemed like a huge inconvenience that I didn't need to deal with, especially when I faced the reality of bringing a sick baby home and all the extra work it would entail.
Anyway, I did the math and found that by using cloth diapers I could save $40-$50 a month. Who couldn't use and extra $50 a month? So I went to craigslist and found some cloth diapers. Today was my first day trying them out and I thought I should chronicle my adventures in cloth diapering and tell the public the low down dirty truth about cloth diapers. Here it is:

ADVENTURES IN CLOTH DIAPERING

Day1

When Kennedy woke this morning I changed her out of her disposable diaper and into a cloth diaper for the very first time. They aren't the the white square diapers of yesteryear. they are the new fancy all in ones. Basically they look like a regular diaper only made out of cloth, and they use snaps or velcro for the closure. They come in all different designs. I picked the prettiest newest looking one to try first. It was pink camo with bright pink fleece lining. and was super soft and felt fabricy on both sides. I got Kennedy dressed and put her on her blanket to play while I picked up a little. About an hour an a half later it was time for breakfast so I picked Kennedy up and she was sopping wet. As it was sinking in the she was covered in pee I thought to myself, "maybe this wasn't such a good idea". I decided to press on and changed her into a diaper with a plasticy feeling outside this time.

Before I got the diapers I read up a little on cloth and everything involved as far as "solids" go. Most website tell you to scrape the solids into the toilet. I don't know about you, but when I hear the word scrape I think with what? A stick? A spatula? What exactly do you suggest I keep in my house as a stinky poo stick? (Upright Citizen's Brigade anyone?) I think this is one of the huge turn offs to cloth diapers and really I was dreading the first one because I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. A few websites said you could swish it in the toilet, but really sicking my hand in a toilet doesn't sound that appealing either. Ken's second diaper presented me with the solids deli ma for all half a second when I realized, "duh, just use the wipe to push it in the toilet" (I'm boycotting the word scrape) So that horrible, disgusting, gross reason I didn't want to use cloth diapers really wasn't that big a deal after all. Shawn and I opted to put her in disposable for the night. I really don't want to do a sheet change in the middle of the night so for now we will keep disposable for travel and night and cloth the rest of the time.

So my cloth diaper truth for the day is: What I thought would be super gross is really no big deal, and so far they don't seem any less convenient than a disposable diaper for home use.

Capri pants, doctors, and frustration

So yeah, I woke up this morning and all of Kennedy's pants are capris now. Last week I put her jeans on and thought they were starting to look a little short, but now they are mid-calf so we could really use some hand-me-downs size 6 months and up if anyone is looking to unload any.

We didn't make it to the BPD clinic yesterday AGAIN. I called Friday to make sure that everything was in line with the referral and was told it was never ordered. The nurse said from the file it looks like the pediatrician doesn't want me to follow up with BPD anymore. That made no sense to me at all since I had just spoken with the doctor at the last visit and she asked me when I was going to see them again. The doctor was out of the office and is supposed to be back today and return my call so we will see what happens from there.

News Flash!!!!!!!!!

Kennedy got her first tooth today! Lower right central incisor. Boy is she grumpy :(

Quick update

So we still haven't made it to the BPD (Bronchopulmonary dysplasia) clinic yet. We went down for our appointment last month and the drs office never called in for a referral so we had to be rescheduled for the 7th. They did let talk with a nutritionist about Kennedy's food and formula intake. She suggested I start adding vegetable oil to Ken's bottles and butter to her solid foods and we see where she is on the 7th. It sounded like a great plan, but then i went and got sick and even though I wore a mask and used hand sanitizer Shawn picked it up and then Kennedy got it too. Her eating really went down hill so we ended up taking her to the drs on Monday and the doctor said her lungs sounded fine and that it was probably just a cold. We increased her oxygen to 1/4 liter and have been keeping a close eye on her. It seems like today her eating is a lot better than it was and she is feeling much better, almost normal.

Well it’s about time! I am actually going to give you an update in words. Don’t worry there are some more adorable pics at the bottom of the post too. So we have been doing pretty well for the most part lately. We are coming up on two months in the new house already and I only have 1 box left to unpack. We had to move Kennedy to the smaller bedroom, but I actually like the setup better in there anyway. I am currently contemplating how I want to decorate Kennedy’s new room. I don’t know if it will be modern or classic, but I can promise you it will be PINK! Ken (yes I know I said I would never call her that, but its so much easier to type) Was 26 inches long and 13 pounds 2 ounces on the 11th. She is out of almost all of her 3 month size stuff and is quickly filling out 6 months size. I am finding it hard find clothes, especially pants that fit her well. She is 6 months in length, but her waist is still much to tiny to fit 6 months. Any suggestions on where to find tall skinny clothes for babies would be much appreciated. As of her last doctors visit they were not pleased with Ken’s weight gain. We are now adding vegetable oil to her bottles and butter to her solid foods to try and boost the calories. We will see how she does on her next visit to the BPD clinic. Ken’s teacher from inland regional suggested we get her some shoes since she tends to stand on the sides of her feet so she got to wear her very first pair of shoes the other day. They are little pink crocs and she had on her Minnie Mouse shirt that day so she looked like she was ready to head off to Disneyland. Very, very cute!

Random Pictures

March for Babies

Every year the March of Dimes holds a March for Babies in over 900 communities across America to help raise funds for research to help babies born to soon or sick. May 3rd they are holding an event in Loma Linda near the hospital where Kennedy was born. Shawn, Kennedy and I are pleased announce the creation of team Our Baby Kennedy. We wanted to create a team to honor of our beautiful daughter to celebrate her life and how far she has come. Everyday we are grateful that she is still here with us. We know so many other families that didn't get the fairy tale ending like we have. Without the research funded by the March of Dimes Kennedy would not be here with us today. We are asking everyone we know to help us reach or team fundraising goal of $500. I know times are tough right now and money is tight but even a donation of $1 is a step toward making sure that one day all babies are born healthy. So far just the three of us are walking but team Our Baby Kennedy would love to have some company so if you would like to join us use the link below to visit our team page and click on " Join this Team". You can also use the link to make a secure online donation to team Our Baby Kennedy.

Click HERE to view our team page. You can donate securely online, sign up to join team Our Baby Kennedy, or look for a walk in your area.


Help give every baby a fighting chance!