Washing Your Diapers

Life gets so busy, and I get so wrapped up in my sweet daughter that I just put blogging off. Family comes first!

We have had some fun things happen in my absence...
Our apartment was 'remodeled' by OC and they added a second bedroom!
Adley turned one (and of course we threw a party that was wonderful, because almost all of our friends and family joined us)
Adley had her first nights away from Mommy and Daddy when we went on an anniversary trip to our honeymoon cottage near Branson. (She did stellar and I didn't check up on her more than 4 or 12 times a day. ;))
And we all had several rounds of sickness!

Things are starting to settle down...and one of my friends is researching and trying to get everything together before her little one arrives.

Washing your diapers. First...Pick Your Soap

I bought mine before Adley was born, so I had plenty of time to get them ready.
You first get to pick out your soap...I've done my own research and borrowed from others. My local CD store reccommends:

• Charlie's Soap
• Country Save
• Tiny Bubbles
• Rockin Green
• Thirsties Super Wash

I have personally tried Charlie's Soap and Rockin' Green.

I loved the Charlie's soap, it was reasonably priced at $.12 a load and I could really tell that Adley's diapers were coming clean. All of my friends use Charlie's and they love it. Charlie's Soap Link

I only tried a sample packet of Rockin' Green so I can't tell you what it did to my diapers over time. I bought a scented packet and it was super strong. I wouldn't reccommend the scented one for washing your sweet little ones diapers, it could irritate skin or potentially exacerbate respiratory issues. I hear lots of wonderful things about the unscented Rockin' Green. I do love that they have three different levels of 'rockin', for super sensitive babies, this may be the best way to go. Rockin' Green Soap tops out at about $.14 per load. (To give you an example of price difference, Tide is $.19 a load)

I've found that pretty much all baby friendly, cloth diaper friendly green soaps are cheaper than buying name brand, and they work better!

When choosing a detergent we looked at two main things.
1. How well they cleaned the diapers.
2. How cheap we could get them.

We decided to make our own detergent (even after trying multiple CD soaps).
Here is my CD friendly homemade laundry soap recipe. (It works for HE machines.)
1cup Borax
1cup Washing Soda
1bar of Fels Naptha Soap (grated up)
(I also add in 1cup of Oxi Clean, it really helps brighten up my diapers and eliminate odors.)
Mix together and use 1tablespoon per load. I have found that with my cloth diapers they actually need less. I use 1/2 tablespoon per load.
The cost per load at 1/2 tablespoon is $.04 and the cost at 1 tablespoon is $.08. (Adding the Oxi-Clean makes the load larger and cost a bit more, I haven't calculated the new total, but I add a whole cup and I haven't paid more $2.50 for Oxi Clean for 4 batches of soap.)
Buying 1 box of Borax, 1 box of washing soda and 4 bars of soap lets you almost finish off both boxes and yields approx 4 'batches' of laundry soap.
This stuff (in my opinion) works as great as Charlie's Soap and Rockin' Green and it is cheaper.

Whatever you buy, you will probably need to start washing your own clothing in it as well, because (as I said above) most detergents leave behind residue in your washing machine.
Rockin' Green, Charlie's and most other brands offer sample sizes, or a smaller 30-60 load container. My reccommendation would be to try some different brands out and see how they work for you and your baby. If your goal is to save money, you can always use homemade soap as a known back-up.

*Note:* When you travel, if you forget your diapers, you can go out and buy disposables, (we haven't forgotten our cloth, mostly because we don't want to pay full price for disposable diapers!) but what do you do about laundry soap. I try to bring a little container of my homemade soap with me, but if I forget, my backup is ALL free and clear. It seems to do pretty well, but I wouldn't reccommend it for long term use because even though it is supposed to be additive free, I noticed with long term use my diapers needed to be stripped.

Washing your Diapers. Second...Wash Your Machine


If you have been using name brand detergent (i.e. Tide and basically not one mentioned below), you will need to wash out your washing machine with your new soap.
Fancy name brand detergents (and those with yummy scents) leave behind residue in your washing machine and on cloth diapers.
Charlie's Soap reccommends running an empty load twice on HOT/HOT with your CD friendly soap.
I thought this was silly, but I noticed a huge difference in my clothes when I 'washed' my machine first.


Washing your Diapers. Third...Wash Your New Diapers Several Times

Unless you have wool diaper, you need to wash brand new diaper (or even used ones could use a 'stripping') 4-5 times with a small amount of detergent (1/2-1Tablespoon). After times 2 and 3 you need to stick them in the dryer with a dry towel for 20-30 minutes. This ensures that before you strap this piece of cotton or hemp to your little one that the diaper absorps every last drop (you are welcome to test the theory out for yourself...). This is a great 'nesting' responsibility and it even allows for naps between loads!

Washing your Diapers. Fourth...Washing your newly stained diapers twice

So you have your sweet little one in your arms and then you hear that delightful noise. If they are a healthy breastfed baby, you just throw that dirty diaper in the washing machine and let it do the work. If you are supplementing formula or are introducing solids, the majority of solid waste needs to be disposed of. Throw your diapers in the wash (I wash twice a week.) doing a quick cold rinse (my machine doesn't let me just run a rinse, so I run the Brights cycle). Then do a very hot wash (that would be your whites cycle) with your detergent of choice. (Smell them, sometimes really dirty diapers need a third wash, I've only had this happen when we have gone with a period of sickness). *If you have a fancy front loader HE machine, play with the sanitize cycle a little bit. Most CD'ers don't reccommend it, but I found it got my diapers super clean (my mom has one). The one caveat to the santize cycle is that is is two and half hours long!

Washing your Diapers. Fifth...Dry the Diapers

Dry your diapers on a gentle cycle (don't use any fabric softener), pull out and put away!


Sometimes...You Need to Strip your Diapers...

No matter what you do you will find that you need to strip your diapers, once every 4-6 months. I think this is because we use fabric softener on our clothing, and sometimes we use other detergents on our clothing (when they are cheaper). Stripping is easy (you just have to make sure you don't throw all of your diapers in overnight with only one left!).

The Green Bambino is my favorite go to store and online forum for questions...below is their quick and easy way to strip your diapers...

If your diapers are suddenly leaking, but don't seem saturated, or you are battling stinkies, it may be time to strip your diapers. Stripping your diapers will remove any built-up detergent residue that is holding on to odors and preventing absorbency.
Many websites suggest using original blue Dawn and LOTS of hot water to strip diapers, but after doing this several times ourselves, we've found an easier way.
If you currently use Charlie's Soap to wash your laundry/diapers and can soak things in your washing machine, the process is easy. Wash your diapers as normal, then use twice the normal amount of Charlie's in a hot wash. Allow the diapers to agitate a bit, then stop the washing machine and let the diapers soak for 2-4 hours. Let the cycle finish, then run a hot wash with no detergent to make sure the Charlie's Soap is rinsed out.
If you don't currently use Charlie's Soap, you'll need to use it to strip any residue out of your washing machine before stripping your diapers. A 5-load sample pack will provide just enough Charlie's to strip your machine and strip your diapers. First-time user instructions are included in all Charlie's Soap packaging.
If you have a front-loading high efficiency washing machine, you may not be able to do a soak. In this case, you'll need to soak your diapers as directed in a large bucket or your bathtub.

It seems like a lot, reading all of this, but it becomes routine. The only chore about cloth diapering I begrudge in the super sticky poopy diapers that take a bit of effort remove. Laundry is easy, I just stick it in, start it up and move on, start it up again with soap, and move on, then move it to the dryer and done!

Because Cloth is Cute

Okay, okay, I know I said I would post a blog about how to clean cloth diapers (and I will, soon) but...
I got to thinking about all the sweet pregnant mama's who are on the line about cloth diapers and really just need to be swayed by the cuteness of them all.

*Beware: Cuteness of cloth diapers may cause you to spend exhoribant amounts of money to match them to every little outfit.*

So here...to tempt your little fashionista taste buds are a few of my favorite fun prints from various websites. Dear soon to be cloth mama's drool on.

Owls...they are adorable, it's true. Here is the website for this cutie pie.

The name says it all bumGenius.









This is my FAVORITE brand of diaper so far, Thirsties. And guess what, they also have a new owl print out! Yay! (Can you say birthday present for Miss Adley???) I love their bright 'plain' colors as well. The pink, yellow, purple and bright blue have gone with outfits we were given, which makes her outfit all the more cute!

 

And let us not forget about Etsy...these little diapers were handmade...and this is just one of many vendors.  Click here for the website.

And for my wool conscience friends...(if you don't know much about wool, I will do a blog about it, or have a guest blogger who knows WAY more). Longies...if I have millions of dollars and all of the homeless children had homes and were fed, Adley would wear these all of the time. Check out skirties too!

 

Okay, now, don't say I didn't tell you! I hope you enjoyed looking at these super cute diapers/covers as much as I did!

Guest Blogger Mom #3

Okay, after two crazy weeks I'm back.
Our family got to see my sister-in-law off on a year long mission trip. And our dear sweet baby started really walking on her own (see video on Jason's facebook!).

Here is our next guest blogger Mama whose little guy has been walking for months now and he is just a few weeks older than Adley.

Name: Amy

Number of kids: 1 boy

How many in diapers? 1

Why do you cloth diaper? Mostly to save money, partly for environmental reasons

What is your favorite brand and why? I've only used Green Mountain Diaper prefolds with three different types of covers: Thirsties Duo Wraps, Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, and Kissaluvs Marvels. When it was time to change sizes, I went with all Thirsties because they seemed to fit and work the best.

What is your LEAST favorite thing about cloth diapering? Since starting solids, I've gone with flushable liners, but I've forgotten to use a liner during some changes. This means having to dunk and swish in the toilet (I don't want to buy a sprayer), and that's just not a pleasant experience.

What is your favorite go-to item:
I keep a small stash of Earth's Best disposables for emergencies, like if all the diaper covers are in the laundry, or in case there's a natural disaster.

Any advice for a soon to be momma?
Cloth diapering is a long-term money saver (especially since you can keep them for future kids) with a relatively big up-front investment. If you aren't sure what kind you want, there are many cloth diaper trial programs out there that allow you to try a little of every type before you buy.

Also, Charlie's Soap is the best laundry detergent I've ever used! Rockin Green is also pretty good and quite versatile.


Thanks Amy! Amy and I both love the Thirsties wraps with pre-folds, they work great. Next blog this week with include laundering your diapers (so you will hear more about Charlie's Soap and Rockin Green (which has awesome scents!).

Guest Blogger Mom #2

Here is another awesome Cloth Diaper mom (her little is always so stinkin' cute in his cloth) I know.

Name: Ashley

Number of kids: Just one, for now

How many in diapers: one

Why do you cloth diaper: For the environment. I was a "greenie"while pregnant and had big ideas of helping the Earth while raising our child. I also wanted to spare our baby the exposure to unnecessary chemicals like those found in disposables.

What is your favorite brand and why: Not sure I have a favorite brand , but I am a huge fan of pocket diapers especially when it comes to poo. So much easier to rinse off. AIOs can have multiple layers and crevices for the slimy and sometimes sticky stuff to hide.

What is your LEAST favorite thing about cloth diapering: The bulkiness of cloth diapers. Some pants just won't fit over them! Although they make a cute bum!

What is your favorite go to item: My favorite item has to be the Gro-via Magic Stick. It's now my number one gift I give at baby showers. We've recently misplaced ours, and it's about to be a crisis!

Any advice for a soon to be momma: Don't be afraid to lay your cloth diapers out on the yard for the sun to bleach them. You'll be amazed at how white they can get! I loved putting the diapers outside to dry so much that I asked for a clothes line for Christmas. AND do what works for you and your family. I admit we don't always use cloth. We're probably 50/50, but I'm not going to beat myself up about using disposables. They're convenient.

Thanks Ashley for sharing! And she is SO right, the Gro-Via Magic Stick is amazing. My next post will be Care of Cloth Diapers. 

Bye Bye Dirty Swishy Pail

Ten years ago dirty cloth diapers had to be swished in the toilet or a pail of sick nasty water.
Ten years ago, we put our diaper in the nasty pail till wash day, or in a plastic sack.
Those days are over.

Every diaper (disposable or cloth) needs accessories. This segment will cover some of the different things you would need to cloth diaper your baby.
*I have left out a changing table, and changing pads. We have a tiny apartment and we found it cheaper and easier to change our little one on our bed or on the floor. Changing tables and changing pads don't really vary from disposable to cloth.*

Diaper Pails/Dirty Diaper Collectors
These days stylish and classy disposable diapering mom's use ingenious Diaper Genies. But since you don't throw away cloth, why waste a plastic sack, and why not find something WAY cuter.
I bring you Wet Bags. This is my favorite brand, PlanetWise.

These handy diaper bags are earth friendly (for my granola friends) and come in many sizes and colors.
You can never have too many wet bags. I have several sizes. They also have cloth wipe wet bags, on the go wet bags, medium wet bags and large hanging wet bags (which I use in place of a diaper pail).
They also sell plain wet bags and diaper pails if you prefer that system. Wet bags are made from the same material as cloth diapers PUL, no wetness gets out and they are machine washable.
Check out their wet/dry bags which I love for on the go or travel. The front pocket of the diaper bag is for dry or clean cloth and the back portion is for dirty or wet cloth. These are also great for swimming/gym gear or wet baby clothes.

Diaper Creams
Most diaper creams aren't safe to use with cloth diapers. The cream causes a moisture barrier and won't let the diaper absorb liquid. I've ruined a few AIO's (all-in-one's) testing this out myself.
This is my favorite all natural diaper ointment. And for everyone whose ever put diaper cream on a baby's bottom and no matter how much hand washing you do, you can still feel it on your finger, this solves all problems. At our house we call it butt chapstick. It comes in a neat tube so you don't have to touch it, I love it! GroVia magic stick.

My local Cloth Diaper store recommends...

And believe it or not I still use my back-up favorite (which happens to also be great for marathon runners, in case you were wondering). Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Note: This has ruined some All-In-One's I owned. But on my pre-folds this stuff comes out. I have to use a process called stripping which is basically lots of soaking to get all of the BP out of the fibers of my pre-folds, but I love it. Most CD momma's say this is a BIG no-no.
A few weeks ago Adley has a bad bacterial infection causing lots of diarrhea. (Sorry!) Her little bottom got raw, and for the first time Adley had a diaper rash that lasted more than a few hours. We covered her little bottom in BP and did frequent diaper changes, when the infection had run its course Adley was rash free.

Last tip on diaper ointment: I don't usually use it. 99.99% of the time I don't even use the butt chapstick, why? Because I don't need to. The beauty of cloth is that the natural fibers wick away moisture from the baby's bottom. And since I'm not trying to save money by making her sit in a diaper till it is 'full' I can change her the second she is wet. Most of the diaper rashes that Adley has had up to this point have lasted no longer than one day. When I see the start of a rash, I have a little system.
1. Let her bottom have some air. When she was little I layed her on a chucks or pad of some type, if that didn't clear it then...
2. I put butt chapstick on her and only put a pre-fold on her so I could see when she was wet, I then would change her right away.
3. That would usually clear it up within a few hours and then we were back to pre-folds and covers.
If you had a daycare scenario I would just have them use the diaper ointment at every change.

The Icky Stuff
The part of cloth diapers everyone grosses out over...the poopy part. I have some good news and some tough news.
Good News: I am a huge supporter of breastfeeding for many reasons and here is one of them. If you breastfeed your baby you will not need to remove any poopy before washing until you start adding in solids (which for most babies is around 6 mo.). I'm serious. It won't ruin your washer, and all stains can come out in the wash or in the beautiful sunlight.
Tough News: Yes you do save a lot of money using cloth diapers...and there is a 'catch' I guess. Once you start feeding your sweet little baby solids you need to get rid of the solid waste before washing it. If it isn't solid...then you don't need to dispose. Example: My daughter started on 'solids' when she was 4 months old, but we did mostly pureed fruits, so until we started adding cheerios and such at 6 months I still did not need to remove solids from her diapers.
The ease...
Imse Vimse has these wonderful flushable diaper liners that you can add in at each change. If your little one has a bowel movement, just remove and flush...easy peasy.
Flushable Liners
If however you are a cheapskate like me you can use this. It easily attaches to your toliet and helps you deal with nasty food. Generally I just use dispoable wipes to get rid of poopy, but I don't recommend this since they aren't flushable.
I complain about this part, but honestly I still wouldn't trade my cloth in for disposable, even with this job. (And I make it hard on myself.)

Wipes:
I'm lazy and I use disposable wipes. There, I said it. I usually can find good coupon deals and get them for next to nothing. However if you are a better person than me...check out this. This is a cloth wipe system. I have also seen people make their own disposable wipes, and their own cloth wipes. You can be really cheap when it comes to these. I personally never started, I think I was afraid that I would use too many and run out to fast. I've never really done research on these though, so don't let me be the example.

Hope this helps!

First Cloth Diaper Momma and Diaper Circle Meeting

Hey Readers,

I'm blogging twice in my one week, WooHoo!

First off if you live in the OKC area the Real Diaper Circle is having their first meeting. I can't be there...but if you can go and tell me all about it!

Sunday, August 14th

3:30 - 4:30

Stages Health and Fitness

4910 North May, OKC

 

Tuesday, August 16th

7:00-8:00

Moore Public Library, Room B

225 South Howard Ave, Moore

(I also stuck the Moore/Norman one in there for my South of the Border friends!)

 

I have my first Momma up for 'interview'. I asked a bunch of Cloth Diapering Momma's I know to answer a few questions for me and my goal is to have their interviews go in between my posts so that you can see another Momma's perspective.

 

Name: Tiffany

Number of kids: 2

How many in diapers? 1

Why do you cloth diaper? Because it's adorable! But I like the green factor as well. I'd say I like the savings, but with the way I cloth diaper (slightly addicted...), I'm not actually saving anything, lol.

What is your favorite brand and why? For my son, it was Fuzzi Bunz. For my daughter, probably Flips with stay-dry inserts. We use a lot though, Fuzzi Bunz, Flips, and then lots of wahm-made types... Elbees, Dunk-n-Fluff, we use lots of wool, etc.

What is your LEAST favorite thing about cloth diapering? The bulk, it's hard to fit cloth under things like jeans.

What is your favorite go to item? Wool! The cuteness!!

Any advice for a soon to be momma? Don't stock up on one single thing. Most of the time you'd be okay, but just because you like something doesn't mean that it will work for your baby. I'd get a few of few things and then see what fits best on your baby, etc. And it's overwhelming at first (especially if you try things like Diaperswappers.com, etc.) but just keep going back. You'll learn a little more every day and there are plenty of people to talk you through what things mean! 

 

Thank you Tiffany!

Since my main goal for cloth diapering was the cost. I LOVED Tiffany's point about swapping. Swapping or buying cloth used is a cheaper way to try out different brands.

Until Next Time... 

Cloth Diaper Mini Series, Part 1

Cloth Diapers…

If you aren’t super granol-e or green and you come from a generation where cloth diapers were all you had to use…most turn up their nose. I want to do a series on cloth diapers because I have friends ask me questions about cloth diapers. I want to offer a simple resource for basic cloth diapers, things in retrospect I would have like to have known when buying my stash.

I’ve been cloth diapering for just about a year (since Adley was born) so I feel that year entitles me to experience. (hehe) Ten years ago there were pre-folds and plastic pants (yuck!) and now there are hundreds of brands of cloth diapers and they are way cuter, and easier to use. For cost reasons and my sanity I found one cloth diaper brand I liked and went with it. I am planning on having a few mama guest writers who can highlight their favorite brand of cloth diaper.

About me: You sort of already know me (through stalking my facebook and blog ☺). I’m a stay at home mom of one adorable daughter who is 10 ½ months old. I started cloth diapering for how cheap they are. I’m not super earthy or a granola gal, but it is nice to be able to make up for the amount of paper towels and paper plates I go through each week. For me, cloth is CHEAP (and cute), and that is why I cloth diaper! I think my one piece of advice for parents who are deciding whether or not they should do cloth would be: if you are hesitating, if you aren’t willing to just take the leap, then don’t. I don’t mean it harshly, but I’m not here to sell you my great product, just tell you about something I love because it is great for my daughter and saves me money. Jason and I talked it over before I bought my stash and we decided if we bought cloth diapers, we would actually do it; unlike the new diet, workout program and brand new running shoes we bought that we didn’t use. We don’t regret our decision.

This first blog will be about showing you some basic info:

• Cloth diapering basics-what you need to know and some basic terms
• Cost Analysis-This part was what convinced me…when I saw the cost breakdown of cloth over disposable, I was sold.
• And some general FAQ’s off of my favorite company’s website- The ones to really look at are…Diaper Stash Details and Laundry/Wash Routine

Reading this info on these websites might be a bit confusing so I will offer my ‘experience’ after each one so you can see it from a real live mom’s perspective.


Cloth Diapering Basics-
http://www.green-bambino.com/get-started-with-cloth-diapers/
This is a locally owned cloth diaper store in my area and it is full of cloth diapering mommas with great advice. The pdf file in the link gives you basic info to terms, washing info, everything you need and benefits. This may lead to more questions, but that’s perfectly fine. If you have a question for me post it or message me on facebook. Since I’m also planning on this being a mini series I will hopefully answer some questions as I go along.

Cost Analysis-
http://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/cost_of_cloth_diapers.php
I found this website while researching my blog. Don’t let the $$$$ scare you. I did not use just pre-folds and flats and my total diapering cost from birth to potty training for Adley was around $400.00.
If you still aren’t sold this website can help you decide whether or not you are ready to take the plunge. I have a friend who uses disposable diapers and she coupons and watches for sales and can get her diapers as cheap as $.15 a diaper which according to this website is cheaper than anything other than pre-folds (again, I don’t use just pre-folds, so don’t let that fully sway you).

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/03/17/cloth-diapering-a-real-world-analysis/
When I first started researching cloth diapers, I came across this website and I found this momma’s cost analysis very helpful. This lady spent way more than I did, but I found her CA very practical. I make my own ‘diaper safe’ laundry soap for around $.05 a load.

FAQ’s-
http://www.green-bambino.com/faqs/category/laundry
This website some basic answers to questions you may be asking about cloth diapers. Hopefully this info will be helpful in educating you about cloth diapers.

Hopefully this was helpful. I'm excited to share more info with new momma's. My goal is to have this completed in less than a month. Feedback and questions would be greatly appreciated.

Prayers

It has been almost two months since I last blogged. A lot has been happening in our family and we've been busy.

I've been praying over the past few weeks on what to write about...and my day-to-day seemed trivial.

I found out yesterday that a sweet family from my home church in Lincoln, NE gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and have had some major complications.

Troy and Katie Baker are their names. They have three children, Josie their youngest is in the NICU in Omaha, NE and the EEG scans of her brain aren't showing much activity. Please keep this wonderful family, the nurses, doctors and their church family in your prayers. Pray hard.

I'm going to pray for peace and healing. Peace for little miss Josie who is hooked up to a bunch of machines and has trouble breathing, peace for her parents as they deal with the shock of this situation and peace in the hearts of her big brother and big sister as they don't fully understand what is happening. Also for healing. I pray that God heals this beautiful little girl and gives her the chance to be a witness here on earth for Him.

Thank you for taking time to pray for this wonderful Christian family.

Updates

Our life has been busy crazy this past month and so blogging has been at a minimum.

Jason graduated from college. Exciting and busy! He will start his MBA in the fall.

Adley turned 7 months on the 30th. I didn't get a picture of her that day (sorry!), but this is about what we are doing right now.

She is almost walking. She can walk behind her little walking toy without any help and can self stand for 5-10 seconds. She also realized that she can lift her little legs so she is now trying to climb everything. (Dear God, why did you give me a climber?) And she finally last week started her bababa's and dadada's and today she said MA, twice. Once was when she wanted more oatmeal and her daddy wasn't shoveling it into her face fast enough, so no worries she isn't lovingly calling for her mother or anything like that.

Did I mention Adley gives the best Mother's Day presents??? I got mine early.
Okay, let me preface this by saying that I read some really cute fashion/cutesy blogs. I love reading about cute shoes, dresses and home decor. I have come to a full realization that I am not and will never be that kind of person. Why? Because I got exactly what I asked for, for Mother's Day.

These!!!! And my fishing license. I actually only asked for my fishing license, but Adley and Jason picked these out for me as well. If you really want to think poorly of me, I already had planned a fishing trip on Mother's Day (without even knowing I had my own fishing poles.) I cannot wait to get out to the lake (this will be Adley's first fishing trip), relax, catch some fish and then eat them...yum!

But...to satisfy any cravings you may have for cuteness...here is my piece.

My cousin informed me that these cute shoes were on sale at Target for $5 last night. That is my fashionista for the year my dear friends...shoes on clearance, at Target. Now if you will excuse me I need to go pick them up before they are gone.

Stop Praying

My faithful readers know that I love using EchoPrayer. I get text messages reminding me to pray about a specific request different times during the day. I love it.

I recently started reading 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan. I'm taking it slow, letting the words and the message sink in. Watch this video...

In the first chapter of this book Francis challenges us to stop praying. Here is a quote...'What if I said, "Stop praying"? What if I told you to stop talking at God for a while, but instead to take a long, hard look at Him before you speak another word? Solomon warned us not to rush into God's presence with words. That's what fools do. And often, that's what we do.'

R.C. Sproul- Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.

I too often forget to remember the majesty of God everyday. He is awesome.

Heather

Sophie?!?

Today Adley and I participated in the Great Cloth Diapering Challenge.

Internationally cloth diapering fanatics were trying to set a Guinness World Record for most cloth diapers changed, ever.
The numbers haven't been tallied yet, and with over 400 locations, that is a lot of tallying to do. We had fun seeing some old Bradley friends and now Adley will be able to say that she participated in making a Guinness World Record.

I got entered in a drawing for a goody bag (which I won) and a prize pack too!
Here are a pics of the goodies (for Adley really) that I won.

 Wipes Case, 2 pairs of Babylegs, two hair bows, a super cute snack bag, and a woolie car air freshener!

 Goodie bag with a water bottle, free samples of soap and more fun stuff!

And...

Someone had pity on poor Adley.

Let me clarify, my little rant about Sophie was truth, but in jest. At the event today a friend of Adley's, Corbin shared/gave his Sophie to Adley. His mommy explained that their Sophie had laryngitis so Adley and their sick Sophie would be a perfect match. How sweet! How can a selfish mother turn down a sweet gift like that? We graciously accepted his sweet gift and since then Adley has been gnawing on her Sophie and she loves it. Did I fail as a mother, no, does she have the best friends, yes.

Crazy Love posts to come!

Poor Sophie

I am the worst mother ever...
Okay, that is an exaggeration, I know, but let's just say I am selfish.

Adley has at least three friends that have a Sophie the Giraffe

(see, cute little thing)

And she LOVES it. It doesn't matter if there are a pile of toys sitting on the floor, she will always go for Sophie.
So cute!
In fact, I think she takes after a dear friend of mine who LOVES giraffe's. Because Adley has 'Ribbons' (her plush giraffe) and backup 'Ribbons' (in case former Ribbons dies, of course) that she loves, but she seems to like Sophie more.
So, what's the catch??? Well first off, Sophie is a $15.00 toy and I'm not normally akin to buying ONE toy for $15.00. But, you say, you can find them online for cheaper. Yes, yes you can...the price isn't my biggest issue.

Sophie is made of rubber. If there is one thing I hate (yes, actually hate) in life it is wet, squeaky rubber. Call it a pet peeve of mine. Squeaky rain boots, bad windshield wipers, doormats, and even Sophie make me want to grind my teeth. And trust me, I try not to. I don't enjoy the feelings I get when I hear my sweet daughter chewing on that lovable toy.
I love Adley and Sophie is a great teething toy, but I can hear Adley gnawing away on Sophie's adorable little ears from across the room...
NO CAN DO...yuck. Selfish, yes, but with my SANITY intact I will call this mothering acceptable. I love Adley and instead of her giving all her attention to a cute, little, adorable, RUBBER giraffe, she can crawl all over and love on her mommy instead.

Side Note: I've been doing these Dear Daughter notes on Facebook as Adley does something adorable or something little that I want to remember. I'm think I'd like to put these in a book or scrapbook so she can have them when she is older, I may even try to write her longer letters on her birthday or something. Any ideas or thoughts on this?

(Adley LOVES the swings and her Daddy is the BEST at getting her to smile...too cute!)

P.S. My husband bought me 'Crazy Love' today by Francis Chan...so be prepared for my rants on how moving this book will be!

Excited,

Heather

6 Month Pictures

Okay...who can really write something serious when their photographer just brought them their pictures?

Lisa Curry at Senior Fine Arts Major at Oklahoma Christian University did our family photos/Adley's 6 month photos. (Let me tell you folks...she is very reasonable!)

Here are some peeks below!

Love, love, love. Enjoy!

Fearless...

If you haven't seen the facebook picture yet, you simply must.

Today my daughter tried walking behind her little walk/sit toy. She has been sitting in front of it for weeks and loving it. I thought she might push it once or not at all and be done. Nope. All she wanted to do today is walk behind it. She is fearless.

And yes, we have experienced this before. When Adley is on our bed she believes that the ground is at the same level. Or she believes that she can fly. I'm not sure which, maybe the flying part?

I'm trying to figure out a balance between letting her learn from falling and teaching her to be careful. I want her to fear things like oh...falling off the bed, but still learn how to walk so I'm not carrying her around when she's 20.
And, once she's mastered walking we will move on to something else...say disagreeing with her mother??? Now that my friends, is something she better learn fear, and in fast.

And yes, as you can imagine I can draw a spiritual application for just about any moment in my life. But, honestly I love that I'm learning more about my Savior and our relationship through raising my little girl. So many things remind me of my failures, of His love, of beauty God created, and His desire for my worship and my desire for a closer relationship. Little things she does have given me so much insight on the work I have in my own life. I will spare you my crazy links and applications, this time. But, if you have a kiddo or when you have one, look for things God may be teaching you through them. I have a list...and I don't have to look hard.

Thank you to God for bringing me my daughter and teaching me so much in the past 6 months. I cannot wait for the next 20 years. (But, I can...I mean I will take them as they come. No need to have her asking for my keys yet, let's give this walking thing a try first, for say, the next 15 years and 6 months, at least.)

There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel

I thought I would update you on my MSPI diet/status with Adley.

Are you excited yet?

You really should be. My life is most interesting. Just kidding. But, seriously. :)

I tried adding back in eggs and they were a no go. They didn't seem to bother her if I ate them in things, but with I ate just eggs for like breakfast she reacted so eggs are back out.

She seems really sensitive to soy, but I was able to add back in butter. Since butter is the fat it is way less likely to have the milk protein.

At this point we are stuck on this diet. I found some wonderful replacements that are making my life so much more fun. I tried chocolate Almond milk and it actually tastes very similar to cow's chocolate milk. I also found a cake recipe that doesn't take eggs or an egg replacer. (It is is the oven now so I'm excited!) I've also started making homemade bread which doesn't have anything bad for miss Adley either.
This diet has been really good for me. I've learned to sacrifice and that sacrifice has paid off for my sweet baby and me. Learning to have self control in my eating and sacrificing for my baby have been lessons I'm thankful for.

My goal right now is to for sure breastfeed Adley until she is atleast one so I will be keeping this diet up until September...maybe longer. For now I'm going to have my MSPI cake and eat it too!

Be Still

I have the hardest time with this one...

I always have an opinion, I'm loud, I'm vibrant, and I want my way.

...I sound very American don't I...

But when it comes to right down to it...I have trouble stopping and listening. One of my hardest personal struggles is personal time with God. I think this is a problem for me because I'm not a sit still person. When I'm sitting down I'm thoroughly engaged in something (even if that is sleep or food, ha!) or several things.

Psalm 46:10 'Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'

Having a baby makes me realize more and more each day how much of a failure I am at being a Christian and how wonderful and amazing and loving and forgiving God is with me. I'm serious. I recommend that everyone should have at least one child to teach them a couple things...
1. How much you can love and sacrifice for something so small.
2. How much you fail at giving God yourself.

I sit looking at my adorable baby girl I cannot imagine that she will one day stomp away angry, disobey or even tell a lie. But, she will. I argue in my head, but I've raised her, I've nurtured her, fed her from my own breast and clothed her, surely she will know how much I love her and she will want to please me and she will do no wrong. But, she will.

And I do. God loves me, all He asks of me is to love Him, and to Be Still. Simple requests really. Love him, enjoy Him, spend time with Him. Be Still, take a break, relax, let Him do the work. And, I stomp my foot, micromanage and lie.

And He still loves me, cares for me, and gives me grace.

And I pray everyday that I will still love her, care for her, and give her grace. I pray that she will come to love God and want to Be Still at His request.

So after I've closed this post, I will Be Still. I encourage you to take a moment as well.

New Toy!

Since I started my MSPI diet for Adley I've been wanting delicious homemade bread. And while I pitched the idea to my husband...let's just say that for him...listing all the health reasons isn't were to start.

Over Spring Break he had some of our friend Cindy's delicious bread and told me I could get a bread machine right away.

Here is a pic of my new toy!

I have now in my possession...the Bosch compact mixer with Blender and slicer/shredder, and a bread cookbook. We will be getting the grain mill attachment soon so I can grind my own wheat. The bread is currently rising and is about to be put in the oven.
Jason was so excited he wanted to go to the store after dinner to pick up the ingredients so he could have delicious homemade bread. (What did I get myself into?!? :) )

And for those of you....who simply cannot resist the little one...she has a fairly new toy that she loves.
And while mommy was photographing her playing with it, I caught the moment before she spit up!

(sorry, I forgot to rotate them) and yes the spit up went everywhere.

And here's a cute expression...

BTW: Homemade bread costs about 60cents a loaf...cheap than the not so good for you white bread stuff. Yum!

Watch Out

This past week was Spring Break for us. It is a time of renewal. We visit with family and refresh and renew.

I had a wonderful change to visit with a close friend. I really view her as a second mom.
I told her about my spiritual struggles and she offered great advice.

I've started journaling about my struggles and working on giving them to God. I also started reading 'Having a Mary heart in the Martha world.'

I have just updated my echoprayer.com prayer list. I'm getting text messages sent to me 5 times a day so that I purposely prayer at least 5 times a day.

If you are anything like me I find myself getting in a rut. I often lose sight of my goal and I need wonderful friends and a forgiving Savior to get me back on track.

Today while I was reading I realized that I had been disguising my worry as rational day dreaming. Now that I know one of Satan's forms of attacks I'm ready to attack back with full force...prayer!

I love turning around and making a change. It is hard but so worth it.

Keep your focus where it belongs!

Traveling

I used to be the traveling queen....

I used to tell people when they went on a road trip with me three things.

1. I don't stop until I need gas, so hold it.

2. I forget that you have an opinion so if you want the air changed you have to say something.

3. I will play awesome music (aka: all mine).

And now...

I travel like this...

1. We must fill every excess space of the vehicle with baby items. While Jason and I can pack ourselves in one tiny suitcase for 5 days, Adley needs 1 box of clothing, 1 box of diapers, a diaper bag, toys, blankets, chairs and strollers...the list goes on.

2. Every time the baby cries we pay attention to her...we soothe her, entertain her, play with her, change the air for her and if none of that works we pull over (even if we don't need gas) and we feed her, change her, and play with her.

3. A trip that would normally only have one stop now has four or five, and the trip can double in length.

4. A trip that normally would have been relaxing is somehow exhausting before we even go (see #1).

5. And our playlist is now Adley's music mixes, full of children's silly songs, Christian music and soothing lullabies. And, yes...since you were wondering, we sing along for her sake.

And...I LOVE it. My sweetheart is totally worth it. It is amazing how much stuff you need to pack and how much extra time and effort our little munchkin takes. We are headed out this weekend for a quick trip to see friends and family and show off our adorable daughter. Pray for us that we have a safe trip...and if you don't have kids...enjoy short trips and get excited for super cute long ones.

Savings Queen...

Okay...I love finding a good deal and I LOVE saving money. A favorite phrase of mine is, 'buy used and save the difference.'

Here are a few ways that I try to save money in our household.
1. During the summer (when we don't have free food from the cafeteria) I coupon.
2. I take advantage of the local grocery store's sales (I bought about $60 in merchandise and saved about $60 too!)
3. I buy the majority of my clothing either on clearance or at a few of my favorite cheap stores (Ross, Goodwill and Plato's Closet....ooo and garage sales too). It is so much fun to brag when your total outfit cost less than $12. I've even had free outfits!
4. I make my own laundry soap. The name brand soaps cost around 20-30 cents a load...mine...5-8 cents. I do about 10 loads a week. (Total savings is around $60.00 a year...that starts adding up!)
5. I use cloth diapers on my baby....(what this whole blog post is about)...savings there is about $3,000.00 with this child. (Yes, I just said I saved $3,000.00.)
6. I'm about to start using cloth for myself (savings here...I calculated would be about $3,600.00.) I won't post all the details here...but if you have specific questions...feel free to email me!
7. I breastfeed my baby...here is some information about that. (First off, it is better for the baby and it is free!) http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/prepare/bfcostbenefits.html,

Artifical Infant Formula Prices

Prices from Publix Supermarkets, Orlando, FL (April 2005)

Formula prices below are based on an average daily consumption of 30 ounces per day.

Formula Brands	Serving Ounces	Cost Per Can	Cost per Month	Cost per Year
Enfamil Lipil Powdered	94 oz	$12.19	$119	$1424
Enfamil Lipil Concentrated	26 oz	$3.89	$137	$1643
Enfamil Lipil Ready Feed	32 oz	$5.69	$162	$1949
Similac Adv. Powdered	115 oz	$13.69	$109	$1303
Similac Adv. Concentrated	26 oz	$3.89	$137	$1424
Similac Adv. Ready Feed	32 oz	$5.59	$160	$1916
Isomil Adv. Powdered	94 oz	$12.99	$126	$1511
Isomil Adv. Concentrated	26 oz	$4.29	$151	$1807
Prosobee Lipil Powdered	94 oz	$11.99	$117	$1402
Prosobee Lipil Concentrated	26 oz	$3.91	$137	$1643
Nutramigen-Lipil Powder	115 oz	$23.49	$186	$2234
Nutramigen-Lipil Concentrated	26 oz	$6.19	$217	$2606
Alimentum-Adv. Ready Feed	32 oz	$8.29	$236	$2836
Progestimil Power	112 oz	$24.29	$198	$2376
Lacto-free Lipil Concentrated	26 oz	$3.89	$137	$1643

On to the cloth diapers....I'm going to give you some awesome reasons why you should consider cloth when/if you have a kiddo.

1. They are adorable...

example a.: This one is a swim diaper that I got Adley today...but let's be honest it is way cuter than the silly disposable ones (which cost more).

2. Here are some really good reason with back up. (they toliet train earlier, no chemicals, no environmental issues, fewer diaper rashes)

http://www.diapernet.org/whycloth.htm

3. Here are a lot of great resources on how much cheaper cloth can be for you.

http://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/cost_of_cloth_diapers.php

http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/calculator.asp

http://www.jackbenatural.com/categories/CLOTH-DIAPERS-101/Cloth-vs-Disposable-Cost-Analysis/

Okay...You can spend up to $1,000.00 buying cloth diapers...or as little as $150.00. We spent around $200.00ish.

I love the Thirsties Duo system and works great for littler ones.

 When they are still breastfed the clean up is easy peasy. You simply just throw everything in the wash. Once they get older there are nifty neat-o flusable inserts so you can send the yucky stuff away.

Here are some pics of the diapers...

Total lifetime savings pre-calculated: $16,640.00

(Add with each kid more I have...add about $3,000.00 on to that.)

How do you save your family money?

Crust win, Pie fail

Okay....blogging and my daughter do not go together.
She is teething her little heart out right now. It is funny because after our diet was working and Adley was a happy baby again I joked that she would start teething early...and sure enough...teeth. I'm so grateful that she's not sick and that she is growing up. It is not even like she is getting her front bottom teeth in or her front top teeth. She is getting her teeth in on one side. Weird, right? God must really know I need to work on my patience.

This thought came from Jason and I's devo book. It was the February 11th reading and I thought it was worth sharing. It is based off the scripture 1 Cor. 10:31

Quiet Times For Couples-Wright
'Paul's words speak to us about our motives for what we do. Many of us behave in a way that reflects a Christian lifestyle, but have inner motives which are not consistent with the actions. Often we respond out of fear or desire for recognition. Paul is calling each one of us to look at what we do and to be sure it is being doing for the glory of God. There are no limitations to this call. The way you decorate the house, the selection of new furniture, the way you interact with your neighbors, the way you drive and respond to inconsiderate drivers, how you handle rude clerks in the store all fall under the category of living to bring glory to God. Paul is saying "Do everything to His glory."'

I loved this and it really hit home. 'There are NO limitations to this call.' The way I decorate my home is a testament to how/if I bring glory to God. What a wonderful challenge!

I also made a pie this week! I love baking, but I'll be honest, I'm not the best at it. After three attempts since I got married I made a successful pie crust! This was very exciting for me. All others simply crumbled apart. Here's a pic of the pie I made.

Yum! It is a gooseberry pie. My greatgrandma on my Dad's side used to make all kind of glorious gooseberry desserts and I missed them dearly. I found some canned gooseberries in Missouri and decided to buy some cans and try my hand at my childhood memories.
This one, however was a fail...

One. I was hoping it would resemble pie. I mean I don't need the store bought look, but something similar to a triangle would be nice. I think I need thicken the reserved juice more?
Two. The first few bites tasted amazing! I really remembered the deliciousness, but the rest was too tart! I'm not sure if I needed to add more sugar or omit the butter. (I have to use weird butter because of Adley's special diet...so that may have impacted the flavor.)
Well, now that I can make a successful pie crust I will try perfecting a centerpiece for it. Perhaps cherries or peaches!

One Project Down...365 left to go!

That sounds a bit ridiculous but really I do tend to have a lot of projects going at once. I start on one and move on to another before I finish the next.

With that said I am determined to get through my 'crafty' projects before I continue new ones.
Current projects...
1. Adley's newborn pics ready and up (these are finally done!)
2. My jean quilt (that I started in highschool). The fun of this one is that since I've waited to make it, it will work for our bed and I've incorporated some of Jason's old jeans too. (Pics to come on this one)
3. The ongoing scrapbook. I finally got enough free prints from Shutterfly (have I mentioned I love their service???)  to get more pics for Adley's scrapbook and finish the pregnancy pages I started. This was a newfound hobby (around our engagement) and I love it. I love creating memories and then having a cute way to display them. I don't want to go crazy or spend tons of money so I do little scrapbooks.

Future Projects
1. Family portraits...I have one picture already developed and I a few I want to add...I'm working on slowly decorating my home the way I want it. I want to have a wall dedicated to family photos (just like old people...I love it).
2. Paintings...I'm horrible at this...so I may have to ask a friend to have pity on me...but I want to get some scripture and meaningful quotes up on my walls!
3. Don't worry I won't continue to bore you...but I do have more ideas.

Onward to Adley's finished picture project! Did I mention I only spent $16 on the frames, paint, and brushes!
(I know at least the grandma's will be interested)
*Note: Artist friends I recognize I am not talented in this area...just cheap...thank you*

 The above is the collection that will be above Adley's little crib! I was going for the distressed/antiqued look.

 The big one...The frame was 1.50 at Goodwill (thanks to Hannah for the tip!). (I painted it to have an old wood look.)

 I framed Adley's birth announcement. This frame was .99 at Goodwill. I painted it to have a distressed/antique look.

I finished these three little guys.

So excited for my husband to hang them tomorrow!

Lastly...
Maybe I'm crazy...but if you read this...I have a question.
Have you ever felt like Satan was specifically tempting you in a specific area?
Let me clarify...
Have you ever felt like you have felt his presence during a hard time?
The reason I'm asking is that my husband looks at me like I'm crazy when I mention that I can tell Satan is trying to get to me. Sometimes I feel him or one of his demons bearing down on me, finding that one weakness and digging in.
Am I crazy?
I am so grateful to my parents for such a wonderful spiritual upbringing because even when Satan is trying his best to lead me astray I know that it is him and I know that letting him win is sin and not eternal life.
He may sway my heart for a minute, but the steady faith of a 20 something lifetime allows me to fall back on my first love, God.

Have a wonderful night!