Diaper Changes: Part Two

In January I wrote a post about our foray into the world of cloth diapering. At the time, I had signed us up for a $15 one-month trial of cloth diapers from the Changing Table, since we weren't sure how much we would like it and if we would have any skin/rash issues with George's sensitive skin. Several friends expressed an interest in hearing about our experience, so here is parte dos of the cloth diapering decision. Bottom line is: we love it.

One idea behind the cloth diaper trial is to take home several different types and brands of diapers and give each the good old college try. We were given 12 diapers, each different styles and brands, and within a few weeks BJ and I had a pretty solid idea of which ones we liked and which ones ranked right down at the bottom. As our month came to a close, one thing was clear: we loved cloth diapering and had every intention of making this initial investment. Our motivation is primarily monetary, and we figured that these cloth diapers, which cost roughly $20 apiece, will end up paying for themselves before George is officially out of diapers (I plan to begin the potty training process with George between age 22-24 months; Silas was potty-trained just after his second birthday and I know we could have started sooner). Add into the equation that we would be tickled to have a third child, and then it all seems like a definite no-brainer. We would need to buy some additional cloth diapers with a third child since younger babies require more diapers in a day than older babies do, but all in all the cost savings would be substantial.

Three days into the cloth diaper trial, BJ and I quickly realized the futility of trying to use disposable wipes within this process. Using reusable wipes made SO much more sense, it seemed! Take a wet diaper, for instance; I would drop the wet diaper into the dry-bag (a completely adorable dry-bag that hangs on his closet door), use a single disposable wipe to clean him up, and then what? I would have to walk all the way to the trash can and throw away this single dirty wipe. And poopy wipes were a different thing altogether because those smelly things couldn't just be thrown into the trash. They required a plastic sack, which seemed downright wasteful. Wouldn't it be so much easier to just have a cloth wipe that goes right into the dry-bag with the wet or dirty diaper? I'm already doing a load of laundry anyway, so what are a few wipes extra? Then, we realized, aha! They sell these things too! We purchased two types of cloth wipes, one of which is flannel and one which is soft cotton, in packages of 10 at a cost of just under $11. We also bought a bottle of Apple Cheeks cleansing spray, which smells delicious and sprays right onto his bum as part of the clean-up process, and voila! Now I don't have to buy disposable wipes anymore! If you've ever seen the spoof Galaxy Quest, please imagine with me Alan Rickman rolling his eyes and muttering, "What a savings." Savings indeed!

Extra bonus: the diapers are adorable. My little boy is the cutest little muffin running around in these! Our favorite brands were Tots Bots, which has a fleece-feeling interior, and Bum Genius Freetimes. Both kinds are considered all-in-ones, which means they don't have additional snap-in pieces or require any kind of construction after washings. We bought gender-neutral colors and a few patterns too; I simply couldn't resist the London theme Tots Bots!

 Tots Bots on the inside...

 ...and the outside. (You can choose velcro or snaps; we chose some of both.)

 The cloth wipes

 This is one of our night-time diapers, a little thicker with extra-absorbency. The terry-cloth part is what touches his skin, and the polka-dot part is the cover.

 I know this pic is a little hard to see, but it's the inside of one of the Freetimes. Two thick pads line it, one lifting from the front and the other lifting from the back. I like this kind a lot, but it's harder to clean poop out of than the Tots Bots is. We both really like the Tots Bots better, although they were a bit more expensive.

So, do I think this is more work? Yes, a little bit, but the workload is NOT a ton more substantial now that we have the hang of it. I really like the idea of saving money and helping out the planet in the meantime. I bet that we have filled a veritable dumpster of disposable diapers between Silas and George, and that's just gross. I honestly do get a little more poop on my hands through this process, but that really doesn't bother me. Water and soap take care of things like that. And speaking of water and soap, I compared our water and electricity bills and found essentially no difference between one month ago, one year ago, and now. This month, for instance, our water bill went up 41 cents. When I looked at the same month from a year ago, it was down $1.50 though. So far, no changes there, but I will update if I start seeing a difference. And as far as soap, we use Tide Free and Clear, which is safe for the diapers. Lastly, George is not having any skin aversions to the cloth diapers.

Oh! And our house doesn't smell. I guess some people get worried about their house smelling. Just zip up the dry-bag and I can't imagine a problem!

All in all, a great move for our household. Have I left anything out?

From One Place to Another

Some days as a mom, I spend a long and busy day with my kids, somehow finding in the end that we don't have much to show for it besides a few memories. I stay on my feet chasing after them, playing with them, teaching them to be future responsible citizens/rocket scientists, and cleaning up in their wakes. This Tuesday, however, was not one of those days. We had a busy day alright, but in the end we were able to show that we had traveled 1,767 miles and set foot in four states together...just Silas, Georgie, and me. How's that for something?

The life and times of a single traveling parent have to include a couple of mishaps, albeit a humorous one or two to make up for the not-so-humorous ones. It seemed perfectly appropriate that our already-long family restroom trip in the Baltimore airport should be delayed; once Silas had done his business and washed up, he tested the automatic soap dispenser with his hand and then managed to stick his whole head under the soap ejector just as it shot out in a white fluff as I was changing George's diaper. Of course he screamed in horror about this. Rubbing it with wet paper towels only created a scene reminiscent of "There's Something about Mary," so Silas got an actual hair rinsing in the bathroom sink as the next family waited patiently outside the door. 

Sadly, he also woke up from a short nap needing to pee again on the second flight and accidentally wet his pants as the plane was descending, rendering us unable to leave our seats. As the gentleman seated next to me and I agreed, what can you do? The kid insisted he needed to go and wasn't allowed to get up, so good thing the seats were leather.  But we landed, made it through the Manchester airport, got our suitcase and car seats from baggage claim, nabbed our rental car with a free upgrade, installed the car seats, made yet another potty break in the parking garage, and drove the one hour to Amesbury, Massachusetts on a dark and rainy evening...Sigh. We had arrived, and we had done it all in a day!

Believe it or not, I write this post not to toot my own horn. I mean, obviously my kids are cool customers and I was able to rely on the kindness of Southwest flight staff, fellow passengers, moms, dads, grandmas, and single 20-year-olds to help us get to our final destination. I did my part though and I came prepared; I had a mental packing list going weeks beforehand and I was equipped for every scenario I actually encountered, from needing a fresh pair of pants and underwear for Silas to keeping my phone in "airplane mode" so that Adele (turned down so that even I could barely hear her and other passengers certainly couldn't) could serenade an antsy but tired George to sleep on the long flight. I ultimately write this post to encourage you young parents to get out there and do what you want to do even if you have small children. Take your journeys, whether close or far, and bring your kids along! Understandably, life must change when people have kids; however, BJ and I knew that having kids meant that they are going to join into our lives too, and that means them engaging in some of what we love and coming along for the ride. Well, we love traveling and being with far-away friends, so our kids are going to experience these things for themselves firsthand, and what I hope they learn from their days with mama throughout the years is that mama can roll with the punches with humor and patience, encouraging others along the way to do just the same. So I encourage you, and you can also encourage me at times. Let's make the most of this life; there are no years to waste waiting for the kids to get bigger.

The Adele Rule and a Plea for Help!

The intro of Adele's "Cold Shoulder" played through my phone and I cringed. I felt that all hope was lost, and I thought to myself, "Good lord, woman, must you always drive me into the ground?" You see, I have a love/hate relationship with Adele, which of course makes me sound like a lunatic. 99 percent of the time I am pleased when I hear her songs; that pesky other one percent is always when I am jogging and one of her songs (I only put in a couple of her fast ones) comes up on my random playlist. My stated, self-imposed rule is, "Thou must not stop running when Adele is singing." Of course, "Cold Shoulder" began when I was less than a block from my distance goal, so on I trudged well past the lamp-post. I reciprocated the lyrics back to her the whole time though: "You shower me with words made of knives..."

Adele, appearing as though she is in the same pain she puts on me

The Adele Rule is interesting to me because it proves to me that I am capable of some degree of mental fortitude when I am jogging. Typically I feel like a jogging weenie, giving up easily and whining incessantly it seems. When the Adele Rule comes into play though, somehow something kicks into gear and I talk myself into going the distance when I thought I surely couldn't only one minute before...including that one awful time that "Rumour Has It" pushed me beyond my goal and I finally believed I could stop...until "Rolling in the Deep" came on right after that. If you had asked me if I could have plugged on for another three minutes and 48 seconds, I would have flipped you the bird and said no. But the second of back-to-back Adele songs came on and I really did run another 3:48, despite what I thought possible.

My running partner Chanda is kind enough to abide by the Adele Rule too, even though her affinity for Adele's music stops well short of mine. (Chanda and I play the music aloud through my phone speaker so we can both hear, and also talk at the same time.) We have found over time that the Adele Rule pushes us to new heights even when it doesn't come into play. As we near the end of our route, we find ourselves pushing harder and running faster, doing all we can to finish before the next song comes on, lest it be hers. Just yesterday we finished our jog in an all-out sprint for the last hundred yards or so, touching the lamp-post with only two seconds left of Kanye's "Stronger"...only to hear that the next song would have been Florence and the Machine anyway.

This jog today was extremely hard for me. I am by no means a natural runner and I become easily discouraged. Today the problem was that I couldn't keep my left earphone secured in my ear; it requires a twisting motion that I can't manage with my robotic arm, so the earphone kept repeatedly popping out. The motion of it swinging about wildly as I jogged caused the right one to come out too, and I became so frustrated over this very small and simple setback. It was ridiculous! I finally snapped the earphones out and just listened to the music via my phone speaker like I do when I run with Chanda, but the damage was done and my mentality could just not recover. I trudged on, only going past my goal because Adele made me today. What is this about? Fellow runners, please share: how in the world do you instill a good attitude and overcome obstacles? I really need some help! I just ordered this book, which got really good reviews, and I am hoping it can help me. I would love to hear the experiences of friends here though!

Hammer Time!

It's that time of year when I sign myself and four unwitting friends/family members up for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Relay. In case the italics isn't adequate enough to bring attention to the word 'relay,' I'll just go ahead and iterate it here with its own special statement: we are merely running the relay. I say this because each of the last two years some friend who reads this and obviously believes the best in me says in deep reverence, "Wow! You're running a marathon!" No, friends, no. I run marathons in my dreams; I run marathon relays in real life. Nevertheless, a relay can kick a person's bo-hiney into gear if she sets her goals high, and this year I have made a real doozy for myself: a 5K in 29:59 or less. Clearly either I also believe in myself, or else I hate myself. As Silas would say in his lovely, high-pitched two-year-old voice, "One or the other" (usually spoken with the air of a con artist as he gives me two equally preposterous options, i.e. "Mommy, should I eat Thomas candies for dinner, or should I skip dinner and just watch Kung Fu Panda? One or the other.").

This year the relay participants other than myself are BJ (as always), my beloved friend Chanda, her husband Landon, and BJ's brother Matthew. We have a really strong and fun team, and I'm excited. Matthew will take the first leg, which is a 10K and will be a good challenge for him. Matthew will hand off to me, running a 5K leg (in 29:59 or less, mind you), and then I will hand off to Landon, who is running the 12K leg. Surprise, Landon! I haven't told you that yet! Actually, Landon was a cross-country runner in high school, and even though he hasn't run a whole lot since then, this guy needs zero training and easily toasts us on race days. Then Landon hands off to Chanda, who is taking the fourth leg (also a 5K), and Chanda hands it off to BJ, who crosses the finish line for us after completing the last 10K. That's the plan!

My only demand as a team leader this year was that we had to have a cool name. I spent way too much time both trying to think of a great name and simultaneously pleading with my teammates to come up with something fabulous too. The end result was me thinking of nothing and my teammates forgetting to think of anything. So the weekend before last I sent an iron-fist text telling them all that if I hadn't received any cool ideas by Sunday night, I was officially naming us Hammer Time. And possibly creating a t-shirt with a silhouette of giant Hammer pants on it. (Okay, that last part I didn't tell them.) I intended for it all to be a legitimate threat; sadly, however, two of the four of them loved Hammer Time, and the other two were mortified but not enough to do anything about it. Hammer Time it is. At least I have my sight set on an incredible (for me) new running goal. Lucky for my teammates, I'm 2L2Q.

To George

 

To my younger son, my beloved Georgie,

Happy birthday (last month!)! You're a toddler now, a whole year old and exploring everything on foot. I can scarcely believe it. You are a little man with a lively personality, and we all delight in you. You love your grandparents, bananas, music, dancing, bath time, pasta, your crib soother, dogs, being outside, and most especially playing with your bubby Silas. Sometimes all you want is snuggles with your daddy, and you have been that way from the start. You play lots of flirty games with strangers in restaurants, and you laugh out loud when tickled and chased. You refuse to be read to, much to your daddy's and my chagrin. You say words like mama, dada, bubba, nana (banana), and dog. You strongly shake your head "no" when that is your preference.  In your first year of life, you have visited Massachusetts twice, New Hampshire, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. Your mommy and daddy have lots of travels planned for you, including another trip to Massachusetts with tickets already purchased. Still to come someday are California, Minnesota, Florida, and Europe, for starters. You are brave and adventurous, and you push your older brother to new heights. You really are a mama's boy.  I think you will have a personality that is lovely and challenges me because it is different from mine.

The breastfeeding journey that you and I have shared was nothing if not dramatic and fun, and I must say that it ultimately was one of the most rewarding journeys I have ever embarked upon. It all began the moment you were first handed to me, and you proceeded to easily latch on and nurse for 50 solid minutes. I finally had to pull you off because your daddy wanted to hold you for the first time too! I remember two and a half months later trying a dairy-free diet in an attempt to ease your obvious suffering, and my surprise when it actually seemed to begin working five days later! I remember the look on Dr. Harmon's face and the tone of her voice when she looked me in the eye and told me that your chances of not being allergic to dairy (AKA delicious) foods forever was greatly improved if I would choose to keep nursing you and just cut dairy out of my own diet; I remember the half-second it took me to agree to that because I am your mother, and I would give up ice cream and pizza for eight months if it meant that you had a better chance of getting to eat it someday with me. And then we were off, you and me; dairy-free buddies, bonded for life. :)

I remember my hardest day of motherhood quite well; I even blogged about it.  You just absolutely weren't having it that day, and you screamed for hours on end. That was the day that I began loving Adele, as I blasted her album during dinner preparations in the house while you were outside with your daddy and bubby shooting hoops. Now that I have some distance from it, I look back on that day fondly. I discovered the next week that you love Adele too, coincidentally, and I think it's fun that we have that in common. Your reactions to her music have ranged from peaceful trance (with the most adorable cocked head and still posture) to all-out dance fest (which I can't decide is better in your car seat or the living room floor), all of which have brought chuckles to your dad and me.

 Georgie, I love you with all of my might. I love your soft, kissable cheeks.  Your daddy and I are crazy about your snuggles, even as they are becoming fewer and further between.  I love the sight of you walking around the corner with that giant doggie pacifier hanging out of your mouth.  I love and already miss the memories of feeding you in the middle of the night by the fire in the living room, and resting with you in the middle of the day on the couch in our bedroom, with "Friends" and  "Everybody Loves Raymond" reruns on as we dozed.  I love taking you and Silas to the zoo, the library, and even the McDonald's play place; seeing you learn and interact makes my heart swell. Georgie, you must know that your daddy, your brother, and I are absolutely crazy about you. We are so glad you are part of our family. Happy birthday once again.
Love,
Mommy

 Some pictures of you lately:

   Tight places can get ugly fast...

 Oh, the poses you strike!

 Living it up on one of your many trips to Elk City!

 The moment before you turned around and shut your brother into the dryer.  Silas still hasn't let us hear the end of that one!

Diaper Changes...

My friend Keri, the lovely gal who donated breast milk with me, is a delightful friend and fellow mom.  I have enjoyed getting to know her better in the last couple of months, and I am also happy for Keri that she is beginning her own business as a massage therapist. She has chosen to advertise herself as a massage therapist for mommies, which I think is totally fun. You can find the Facebook page for her business, Mama Kneads Massage, here!

One of the reasons that I mention this is because a couple of weekends ago Keri provided massage services for a gathering at Green Bambino, which is one of two cloth diapering stores in Oklahoma City.  I had spent a long week with a flu-sick child, an out-of-town husband, and a broken hand that prevented me from putting children into their car seats, so we had been stuck at home for a LONG time. I was chomping at the bit to get out of the house, so I went and checked out her booth and said hi.  I was amazed with all that Green Bambino had to offer, and I found myself asking question after question to Keri, who chooses to cloth diaper her baby.  All of this I mulled around in my mind for a week or so, and then Keri told me that there is a cloth diapering store quite near my home called The Changing Table. She described the owner Kristina as quite friendly, and encouraged me to give the place a visit.

Cuteness abounds in these precious little diapers!

I went and met with Kristina on Monday, and she introduced me to an offer that The Changing Table makes, which is a one month trial for cloth diapering that costs $15.  The trial includes 12 diapers of Kristina's choosing, all different brands and types, with the idea that the customer can peruse different options and get a feel for if cloth diapering will work for them and their baby before they spend beau coup money on it. At the end of the month if you don't like it then you give it all back. If you do like it, then you can buy whichever diapers you want at a discounted rate. This seems like the perfect situation to me!  Kristina was so friendly and helpful; she spent probably an hour with me on Monday explaining different diapering systems, and then told me to come back on Thursday to pick up my trial. When I went back today, she probably spent another half hour with me, all the while allowing my children to run amok in her kid-friendly store and play in the play place.  Here is what I ended up with for the month:

I am really hoping that we get the hang of this and that this all works out. In the long run, I envision the investment of cloth diapers as saving us quite a bit of money (and waste), as we have approximately another year of George in diapers and then a hopeful third child who could use them as well.  Many of the diapers are a one-size-fits-all purchase, accommodating children from 8 pounds all the way up to 35 pounds.  I truly have no idea how I got BJ on board with this.  He has always been awesome at allowing me to make seemingly-insane decisions, having faith in me that it will all go as I envision it will. Usually it does; sometimes it doesn't.  I will keep you updated on the process!

The Dropoff: Modern Day Wet Nurses

Keri and me:  a couple of modern-day wet nurses!

Today was the day!  Keri and I have been working hard, and now our hard work got to pay off.  She and I agreed to meet at OU Children's Hospital this morning to drop off our breast milk stores, and we scheduled a celebratory lunch afterwards.  I was definitely emotional about today; I found myself crying as we neared the hospital, the same one into which Kristen Smith walked with her baby Aiden all those months ago, and walked out four weeks later without him. He was the reason for all of this work, after all. It began with him, he has lived on in our efforts, and his life was not in vain. I cried again later when I posted a picture on Facebook of George and me handing over the milk, and then I cried again when I checked Facebook later and saw the outpouring of support from friends and strangers.  Having Keri there today was extremely important to me;  this decision has been meaningful for me all along, and Keri's addition has helped to make it fun as well. I was very much anticipating our trip to the hospital together with our three boys.

Before the boys and I left for the hospital today, I contacted the Lactation Center where we would be dropping off our milk.  A lady named Samantha kindly assured me over the phone that I could stay in the parking lot and she would come to get the milk so I wouldn't have to get out of the car.  For Milk Mama's like Keri and me though, staying in the parking lot would surely not work! We wanted to make the trek up to the lactation center, and we wanted to see where our milk was going. We wanted to put it in the freezer ourselves, and spend time talking to consultants who work with these babies.  Of course we got lost about six times on the way up to the lactation department, because that is always how things seem to work when you have two gallons of frozen breast milk, two babies, a toddler and a giant arm cast (not to mention a  somewhat disgruntled and misinformed hospital employee who is serving as the information booth attendant).  :)  The wonderful ladies of the Lactation Center were there to greet us when we did finally arrive however, and these included my dear high school friend Kellie whom I had not seen in years and who was spending the day working as a nurse on the unit. These ladies patiently answered our questions and were quite kind to tolerate our excitement on what must have been a routine day for them. It was clearly anything but for us.

  I couldn't believe that Kellie was there!  Never mind the blurriness of my inept phone.

Keri and I were able to see the breast milk storage room, and we got the satisfaction of seeing our milk go straight into the lovely freezers. We also got to meet with Keri's lactation consultant and ask questions to our hearts' content. And finally after having been greeted so warmly, we left with hearts full and arms empty. Keri donated a solid gallon, 128 ounces. She intends to donate more as she continues to pump for her son since she works full-time. I donated 116 ounces, which was 16 ounces higher than my original goal, but is now short of my final goal of a full gallon. Twelve ounces to go, and then I will call my body my own for a bit again before we try to have a third child. There is no doubt that I will donate milk again with the third child if I can, and this time for much longer. Can you tell that I am gladly embracing the role of a modern day wet nurse?

 George isn't sure about letting all of this go!

If this post can help others to consider the possibility of donating breast milk, time, money or anything that might be within their power to give to help critically ill babies, I would be grateful forever. Thank you, dearest family and friends, who encouraged me in this goal when I first set it in November.  You have truly blessed me. And while I have your attention, I will slip in a kind reminder that the CDC is now recommending pertussis boosters regularly, particularly for pregnant women, who are now encouraged to obtain the vaccination with every single pregnancy they have (article here). Much love to you all, and particularly to Aiden.