oh for all that is not stinky.

i have yet to talk to you about poop. i’ve spared you until now.

but some mornings, honest to gawd i do not know how such a foul substance can come out of a small person. like HOLEEEEE SHITTTT CHILD WHY HAVEN’T YOU LEARNED HOW TO USE THE TOILET YET SO YOU CAN ALL SPARE US AND KEEP THE AIR FRESH AND BREATHABLE. FOR THE LOVE OF THE GOOD GOOD LORD!!

and then i remember that she is only one and wishing that she could use the toilet is maybe getting a little ahead of myself. oh how i look forward to the day,

true story.

on a lighter note, i think she felt bad, because she put away all her toys before she went down for her nap.

but before she put her toys away, she did this.

our own little paper shredder. or paper towel shredder. whatevs. not a scheisster at all.

i never evah said she wasn’t clever. not a-once.

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life in a fifth wheel…ain’t made for bloggin’

i miss blogging.

but when your browser says that it’s timed out while trying to upload photos to make said blog more fun and exciting to read, you have to believe the signs you see when driving to your fifth wheel site that advertise for rural “high speed” wi-fi connections. i’m not even kidding. we are living in the sticks. well, maybe not the sticks, but we’re about as far west as you can go in alberta before you hit the mountains. far enough west that our internet hub doesn’t want to work.

the lack of internet (or should we say, my frustrations with the insanely long uploading times for guilty pleasures like pinterest, ahem.) have been refreshing. my laptop is closed more often than it is open, which is a rare thing for me. but it’s good! i’m finding time to do lots of other exciting things during nap times. like practicing the moksha series so that i’m not so brutally out of shape and hating yoga because my body hurts so much once june comes.

the mud on the truck should be a good indication about what kind of internet we might get in this neck of the woods.

and now that Rob has a few days off, i’ll fill you in on all the exciting things that we’ve been up to. because we’re back in the land of high speed interwebz connected-ness.

this morning, April and i headed out to an event in hopes to set a new record in the guinness book of world records. we joined a group of mamas in red deer in an attempt to see if, by joining in with the Canada wide event, we could set a new record for the most cloth diapers being changed at the same time.  i’m not sure how many other groups of moms there were out there in other parts of Canada changing cloth diapers in their community halls and centres, but we’ll be in the Red Deer newspaper tomorrow! holla! and shit, it’s Earth Day! put a cloth diaper on your baby for heaven’s sake!

the great diaper change 2012 (red deer edt*)

so that was today. after a long night of sleep training. hot damn, do i ever hate sleep training. we were doing soooo well with the sleep up until about a month ago, when April got a cold, and was coughing all night and obvs, snuggled in tight next to mama and dada. except that when April got over her cold, she still wanted to be snuggled in tight next to us, having a midnight snack whenever she could get one, while being sprawled out like a starfish. now that we are rockin’ a king bed in the fifth wheel, it wasn’t so bad because we all had so much room, but on our wee double at home…two of us were hugging the edge of the mattress fearing we’d wake up on the floor while someone did her starfish thing.

and we also don’t want to pave the way to a bad sleeper once she’s two or three and can hop out of her little kiddie bed and essentially remind you of the kids you see on supernanny. no, we don’t want one of those. so last night her crib was moved back to her own room and my dresser was put back in ours. April was in total shock when i put her down for the night in a room that she barely recognized. if three am was the main stage event, the 8:30 event was a sneak peek. it took us an hour of sitting on the couch looking at each other while April hollered from her bedroom. after about 45 minutes we tried to tuck her back in. which was a useless attempt. she would stand up as quick as either one of us could put her down.

she finally wore herself out. at 9:50 pm.

so when i heard her whimper at 3am i hurried in there, hoping it was just a lost soother. but no. April’s 3am wake up is as much a part of her routine as her 10:30 am nap is.

it was 4:17am when she finally quit hollering (i swear, by the end of it, she wasn’t even crying, she was just yelling, as if to say….heeeeyyyyyyyyyy, remember me???? the BAY-BEEEEE?!!! the one you USUALLY feed at night when i cry???? HELLLLOOOOOO? is there ANYONE OUT THERE AT ALL????? i honestly believe these were her thoughts as she hollered out into the night.

she was ticked when eight am rolled around and Rob brought her into bed with us. she looked at me as if to say, i need your milk, but i don’t need you.i don’t even want to imagine what kind of attitude this little peanut is going to have as a teenager.

and now, i should probably go and wrap some pressies for a birthday party that’s due to start in about four minutes. (somebody is still napping) and i’ve learned that kiddie events and birthday parties are a bit of a shot in the dark when you set a time for them to actually kick off.

clapping!

 

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the truth about cloth (it’s good!)

cloth diapering. it’s about as diverse as the toothbrush section in your drug store. it’s mind blowing as to how many options are out there for one main purpose. you want that sh*t to stay contained. but trying to figure out how the heck to cloth diaper? that’s when the sh*t can hit the fan. meltdowns occur. you’re not alone if this happens to you as a new mom trying to research the very best for your little one.

it can be especially mind blowing when you’re a new mom and you’re trying to figure out which cloth diaper is going to work for you and your little one before they even arrive. there are prefolds, all-in-one’s (or AIOs) two part diapering systems, fitted diapers, pocket diapers, there are doublers with which you can stuff a diaper. what the heck does that even mean???? did your head just pop off there? because i know mine did when i started researching cloth diapers. it gets overwhelming. and you don’t even have the person who’s going to be wearing them there to help you wade through your choices.

there are diapers that are designed to fit your baby from birth until they are potty trained, and there are diapers that come in newborn, small, medium and large sizes. and every diaper falls in a different price range to boot. trying to figure out cloth diapering can get to be so frustrating that you might just say screw it, let’s go but some pampers. but it doesn’t need to be like that! i promise.

i know that before April was born, i spent weeks, months even, trying to figure out which cloth diapers would be the best for her without breaking the bank. (some who opt to use cloth don’t worry about the cost-because even if you spend $20-$25 on a diaper that is going to grow with your baby, you’ll still only end up spending about $600 initially on 24 diapers. it’s a lot of money up front, but considering that you could spend close to $2500 in disposables over two and a half years…it adds up!) i probably changed my mind about ten times before i decided on which diapers would work for us. this was not knowing if she was going to be a skinny baby, a chubby baby, or anything in between. and then she was born. and i pretty much had a heart attack because within four hours i’d gone from having a little person inside me, to one who was crying, sleeping, pooping and needing my attention. and i was so scared to change her diaper. i made the nurse do it for a whole day, until she told me i was going to have to take over eventually. and it wasn’t that bad. but when the day came for us to go home, i grabbed a huge stack of pampers from the cart of goodies in the hallway of the mat ward, because i didn’t think i’d be able to be home away from the little red call button that summoned the nurses if i needed something and start cloth diapering all at once.

and then i ran out of my pampers stash.

so i had to start using cloth. and i did. and i kicked myself for not starting sooner (not that two days is really a long time, but hey.) but when you know all of the scary stuff that they put in disposable diapers, from lines that turn colour when the diaper is wet, to staying suuuuuper dry, or turning baby pee to gel…it makes you think ugh, am i really putting all of those chemicals next to my sweet little baby’s super sensitive skin? not if you’re using cloth, you aren’t.

so to sort through some of the confusion…

keep it simple! i’ve found this to be the best solution. we went for the cheapest way to cloth diaper, with a few cadillacs in there for diaper changes on the fly, and when grandparents want to roll up their sleeves and help out.

prefolds are soooooo basic (think cheap!) and they are also amazing because they are super absorbent. pair them with a PUL cover (thirsties are my faves because they have snaps, therefore making them bomb proof and also toddler proof (cuts down on the diaper removal and potential chucking, but Bummis makes diaper covers too-and one great thing about both of these covers is that they’re made in North America – thirsties are made in the USA and Bummis are from Montreal!) and moms out there…if you start with prefolds, the Daddies aren’t going to know that there are any other kind of diaper out there, i’ve trained Rob on the art of whipping a two-part diaper on April, so it can be done! and really, if Daddies are already doing the diaper change to begin with…they’re going to be okay with cloth. because the mamas tell them so. i get my daily diapers (prefolds and covers) from this really great little family business in Vermont called Green Mountain Diapers. the first order i ever put in with them was totally wrong and dysfunctional, so i got an email from Doug (one of the owners), making sure that we figured things out before he picked the order himself. i love dealing with small businesses. it makes you feel like you’re getting something just for you. with love. their diapers are also so affordable, if they were any cheaper they’d be free. and they offer organic, unbleached cotton dipes. in a time when organic and environmentally friendly products are becoming more and more important to people…you can’t go wrong. did i mention they are only about $2 a diaper? that’s the same as buying a coffee every morning for a month. holy affordable batman.

thirties duo diaper cover and a prefold-nothin' like a little junk in the trunk

my cadillac diapers are also from a small business just outside of Toronto, called grasshopper diapers. (they’re All in one’s or AIO dipes) Lisa began sewing diapers for her munchkins and perfected her design over the years and now has a little shop that sells through their diapers faster than they can be restocked. she lets people know through emails and social media when her diapers are going to be restocked, and if you aren’t on the ball, you miss out. the first time i bought diapers from her, i set my alarm on my phone and was logged in to the website and sat poised ready to hit the add to cart button, sweating as if i was buying concert tickets to a show that was going to sell out within seconds of the tickets going live. i kid you not. once my paypal order processed i breathed a sigh of relief and i checked the website an hour later. sold out. and these beauties are worth every penny. i’d never think that i’d find myself saying that a diaper is beautiful, but grasshopper diapers are. they’re made with organic silky smooth bamboo and organic cotton fabric. they make me want to rub my feet together like a cricket they’re so damn amazing. and they are exactly like using a disposable. just snap ’em up and let your little baby get back to what they were busy doing. they are also a really “trim” diaper, which basically means that they aren’t going to make your baby wear the next onesie size up just so that you can fit their diaper into it. i personally think that huge diaper bums are pretty cute, but when you’re trying to tug a pair of skinny jeans onto your bébé, you’re probably going to want as little bulk underneath them as possible.

our nighttime diapers are Fuzzibunz. you can’t go wrong with these babies. they have two super absorbent inserts (we stuff three in there) and the legs and waistband are all adjustable so that you get a custom fit. these beauties are the workhorse tank of cloth diapers.

grasshopper diapers turn April into the incredible hulk baby

so, to get started with cloth diapers…

all you need are:

– 24-36 dipes for a newborn. i find you start using less as your baby gets older and i never ever need more than 24 now but if you want to be prepared, go for a few extras. (and by prepared, i mean, are feeling lazy and or overwhelmed some days and only wash your diapers every three days instead of every other day.)

-doublers. these are handy little extras to make your diapers even more absorbent. once your baby gets a little older and starts sleeping through the night (something that i wish would happen, oh how i wish it would!!!) they are in their diapers for up to 12 hours sometimes. and by having a doubler in your diaper, your little one will stay drier, and sleep longer. (yessssss!) you can either get microfibre doublers, or hemp doublers…depending on whether you are opting for natural or synthetic fibres in your cloth diaper stash. Microfibre will actually pull the wetness away from your baby’s skin, while hemp is super absorbent.

– cloth wipes in a container and a solution to clean little bums. cause you can just toss em in the wash with the diapers and reduce your waste! i use kissaluvs diaper lotion potion concentrate. you just dilute it in distilled water, or non-alcoholic witch hazel if you can find it, and voila! put it in a spritzer bottle, and you’re good to go. by using cloth wipes, you can save $500. crazy, non?! also. rather than buy special “cloth wipes” just buy a bunch of baby face cloths and use those. they do the trick. and then keep the odd bag of disposable wipes around for when you go out of the house or travel (because let’s be realistic…bringing a water solution with you is a bit challenging and unrealistic at the best of times. this is coming from someone who is usually putting my key in the front door and remembering that i haven’t put the diaper bag together yet and was supposed to be where I was going, like ten minutes ago.)

-swim diapers. i know these aren’t essential to a basic cloth diapering system, but if you have a baby who loves the water as much as mine does, then you’re going to want to get a cloth swim diaper for those adventures in the pool. i’m not sure how much a swim diaper actually does, but for the sake of following pool rules…Monkey Doodlez has super cute, easy pull-on swim diapers that come in small, medium and large. April rocks a hot pink swim diaper with a zebra on the bum. i wish that i could keep up with her fashionable self.

– a wet bag inside of a pail. and by wet bag i mean a pail liner. i use a “pedal to open the lid” garbage can so that i don’t need to be messing around with lids while i’m holding a heavy diaper that i want to have nothing to do with. for all of my wet bag and pail liners i use wahmies. now you might be thinking, “do i really need a pail liner for my diaper pail, or can i just get away with the pail?” and yes. you can totally get away with just using a pail. but do you really want to be lugging the pail to your washing machine and reaching your hand inside the pail to unload your dirty diapers and stick ’em in the wash? probably not. i just grab the bag, haul it over my shoulder to the washing machine, dump the diapers in, toss the bag in there too every few washes, and i don’t handle a single dirty diaper. because dirty diapers are gross. end of story.

-wet bags. these are life savers when it comes to cloth diapering and being mobile. because when you leave the house, you need to put your dirty diapers somewhere. there are always at least two kicking around the living room or in my purse. these babies come in a small size, and a day size, which means there’s enough room in them for a full day’s load of diapers, and the kitchen sink. i also get my little wetbags from wahmies. (did you know that wahmies means “work at home mommies”? i’m always in support of moms turned business women after having their kiddies.)

-bum cream. for the odd times when your little one might get a bit of a diaper rash (i think we’ve dealt with diaper rashes twice or three times in the past six months) but you need to get a diaper rash cream that won’t wreck your diapers and make them repel wetness. cause then they aren’t doing their job and you’ll end up with a big hot mess on your hands. you need to stay away from zinc based diaper creams, because they will be the quickest way to make your diapers more waterproof than a helly hansen rain jacket, lickety split. i use a wonderful canadian-made organic diaper rash salve called Dimpleskins Naturals Bum Bum Balm. it clears up diaper rashes within a few hours, it seems andit’s so hydrating while it protects sensitive skin. it smells really good too!

-laundry soap. last but definitely not least. i use Allen’s Naturally detergent. it’s biodegradable, and they don’t test their products on animals. it’s scent-free and washes out really clean. it also comes in a super concentrated form, so one bottle will last, and last, and last…..i love this stuff. i actually have started using it for everything because it’s just so damn pure. there are other really great laundry soaps out there, but if there is any concern at all for sensitive skin the way that there is in our household, well, Allen’s is the way to go.

and there you have it. cloth diapering in a nut shell. if you have any questions, or something to add to this little fury of information, i’m all ears! really. i love talking cloth. so don’t hesitate. love, love!

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