On the road to cloth

It has begun! We have started using cloth diapers. Now when I say "we" I mean me and when I say "started" I mean, I have dipped my toe into the greener waters of cloth diaper-dom. The cloth diapers I purchased before M was born were different brands of what are called One-Size Pocket Diapers. For those of you not familiar with the new fangled cloth diaper world, "one size" means they are supposed to fit babies from 7-35 pounds via various snaps and elastic means of sizing as they grow. And pocket is a microfiber/terry insert that gets inserted into a pocket at the back of the diaper. I also purchased 6 "All-In-One", or AIOs, one size diapers. That means there are no inserts but extra linings that are a part of the main diaper. M was 7 lbs when she was born but these diapers were so big on that tiny little tushie! So I decided to wait until her tushie grew a bit. Now the one size diapers seem to fit much better! The other thing I was waiting for was to purchase a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet to spray the... poo off of the diapers before putting them in the wash. This weekend mom and I ventured to one of the few "green" baby stores north of Denver called The Giggling Green Bean (cute right?) and mom bought me four "Perfect Size" FuzziBunz to try and I bought the diaper sprayer and two wet/dry bags for transporting clean and dirty diapers while away from home. I've been so excited to start the cloth diaper trial. Because M sleeps through the night I decided to try the diapers at night first. So on Monday night I put her first rumparoo cloth diaper on. She looked so cute!

So we went to bed and in the morning her butt was dry! The diaper insert was wet but she stayed pretty dry! First night success!!

So the trial continues. This week we'll use the cloth diapers during the night and this weekend I plan to try to cloth diaper her all day! We'll see how that goes! And we'll see how Marc likes it because he hasn't changed one yet. After that... we'll have to start them at daycare. I hope they transition into it easily. M will be the only baby in cloth diapers! Who knows, maybe we'll start a trend. But for now, we're dipping our toes in :) I'm still excited about it. Hopefully that doesn't change when I have to come home to dirty daycare diapers! But it will definitely save us money in the long run! I've gotten all of my cloth diapers (except for 2) at a discount from the original prices. I would say I've only spent approximately $200 for 22 diapers. That may seem a lot to most people but if you think about it, we spend $26 for a box of 108 disposable diapers that might last about 2 weeks! So in two months you would spend $208 and that's the same price I bought my 22 diapers for that I can use until she's 35 pounds! 

Our cloth diaper adventure has begun!

3 Months Old

Our baby girl had her 3 month old birthday yesterday! Ms. Sue sang to her when I dropped her off at daycare. Since birth, M’s gained 3 lbs 13.5 oz! She's my little petite peanut. The guy at work who's daughter just turned 1 month has gained 2 lbs since birth! We all grow differently! Today, to mark her 3 month, one day birthday, M let out a full giggle! And she was laughing at the dog of all things! She decided she's going to be a discerning laugher as we tried to make her do it on camera and of course, she wouldn't so much as chuckle! I also broke out the Bumbo Seat today since she's doing so well holding her head up and she sits so cute in it! So many milestones reached and so many more to go! I don't mind being patient for them.

In other news, we got a new faucet in the kitchen! Marc went on a Home Depot bender and got a few things we've been needing. The faucet we had was old, although it was probably one of the few things in our house that wasn't original, and it was leaking. Marc got a beautiful stainless steel faucet that extends and sprays and has a high arch so things don't have to squeeze underneath it. I love it! Alas, now it is nicer than the sink and the counter... but as mom says... a piece at a time!
He also got a new vent fan for the bathroom downstairs. This however turned into quite a project with several trips to Home Depot. First of all, the vent fan we had was original to the house. Well, he had to create a bigger hole in order to mount the new fan in the ceiling. So that meant he had to drywall, mud, sand and paint (a bigger project than he was hoping) but he got it done and it looks great! Now all we have to do is finish the rest of the bathroom around it! Hopefully we can get that done over the summer but we'll see! As things tend to become bigger projects than anticipated, we'll have to take it a step at a time. Repeat to yourself... I love my moneypit... I love my moneypit... Ah... the adventures in home owning! 

One Minute Behind

As an addendum to my previous post that describes my daily routine I must comment on the significance of a minute. To some, one minute may seem but a fraction of time barely worth mentioning when it is lost, yet in the world of a parent, it is a very valuable moment in time and once "lost" can mean the difference between late and on time. Case in point... baby has her first cold this week. Poor little thing has a stuffy nose, and when babies have a stuffy nose, every parent knows where to turn. The notorious bulb syringe, or, a more colorful name that I've heard it referred to as the "booger sucker". Yes, disgusting in the visual it presents yet accurate. Well, the ritual nose cleaning of baby must take place before she eats, before she sleeps and basically any chance we can to help clear the airways. So in the morning, before I take her to daycare, I want to make sure she is as clear as I can get her. This can be tricky as M has gotten particularly good at worming away from the "evil" bulb. So inevitably, with the worming and squirming and the adorable "mewing" noise she makes when she's mad and telling me so, I can fall one or two minutes behind and that, well that just throws the whole schedule out of whack! One minute over and I'm late starting and loading the car, which puts me two minutes behind when I would have left, which puts more cars on the road then would have been two minutes earlier, which inevitably leads to running late. So to be clear, one minute is no minuscule fraction of time, in fact, seconds count because they add up to these precious minutes of time. I'm sure many parents can attest to the sacredness of "the minute" and I'm not only referring to the minute that can make you late, I'm also referring to the minute you get home and get to enjoy every second away from work as you can. After all, every minute counts! Late or not, that doesn't mean you have to rush, it just means you'll be one minute behind. No use trying to rush to catch up because once that minute is gone, it's in the past! So enjoy each one!

Laughter

What is the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard? When you read that question, does something immediately pop into your head? Is it the voice of your favorite singer? Or something more like the crashing of waves on the shore or wind chimes chiming in the breeze? For me, it’s a more recent sound. The sound of my baby girls laugh. She laughed for the first time this past Sunday. Now I don’t believe that most people would even qualify it as a laugh or even a giggle. In fact, some might consider it merely a “ha” lacking its fellow “ha”, but to me, it was definitely a laugh and it was the most beautiful sound in the world! It was pure, unadulterated joy. With her little toothless grin beaming at me from the silly sound that had brought on this mirthful moment. I can’t even adequately describe the feelings I felt hearing that and seeing her beautiful face in that moment but my heart sang. This beautiful little angel made music with a laugh. I fully believe that this is the sound that can change the world if you let it. If only the world would listen and know the innocence that exists and take us all back to that kind of joy there might be a lot less to worry about. Don’t you think? Daddy has yet to hear this joyful babble, she’s only done it one other time yesterday at grandma's. I’m sure it'll become more frequent and become even more full in giggling glee. I definitely look forward to the laughter we’ll share with our daughter with each new day.

A Day in the life of this Working Mom

Well, I've been back at work for three weeks. It seems like longer! Work is fine, I'm back in the old routine there, still bored. But my home routine is totally new and very busy! Here is a glimpse into my day:

5:00 a.m. Up to take my shower
5:30 a.m. Get Mila out of her swaddle to start waking up in the crib
5:45 a.m. Blow dry hair, do make-up, eat breakfast
6:00 a.m. Tummy Time for M
6:05 a.m. Give M her Vitamin D
6:10 a.m. Feed M
6:30 a.m. Get Breastmilk out of the freezer, pack breast pump bag
6:45 a.m. Change M
6:50 a.m. Load the car with diaper bag, breast pump, lunch bag and warm car
6:55 a.m. Load M in carseat and into car
6:58 a.m. - 7:06 a.m. off to daycare singing our ABC's
7:10 a.m. Drop M off with Ms. Sue at daycare
7:15 a.m. Drive to Work
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Work
Pump at 9:30 a.m, 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. Drive Home
6:00 p.m Feed Mila
6:45 ish to 7:15 ish - Story for M and down to sleep
7:15 - 8:00 Eat and some sit time
8:00 - 8:45 Clean all bottles, pump parts from daycare and work, make lunch
8:50 p.m. Wake M, change and feed.
9:30 ish - 10:00 ish Put M to sleep
After 10, me to bed, wake M to feed between 2-3 a.m.

... and start all over again at 5!

Luckily, Marc helps with the dog and around the house stuff or else I might drop! But I truly wouldn't trade a moment. I love being a mom. Watching my little one learn new things every day, growing and smiling and cooing and kicking! I would, however, definitely trade moments at work for more moments with my family and my little girl. We'll see what we can do about that!