Cute Diaper Covers

Mike gave me some money for Christmas to buy whatever I wanted. Of course I wanted a cute diaper cover or two, but I couldn't find any that justified my spending money on a new one. I rarely get to buy new diapers so I'm pretty picky when I do. I wanted to try a Weehugger since they look pretty cute, but no one had the print I wanted in stock. Thank goodness they didn't 'cause after two days of searching, I finally found Zookies diaper covers. They are the cutest diapers I've seen so far! I ordered a Baby Beluga cover and can't wait to get it!
I started thinking that maybe other mamas are having a hard time finding covers in cute prints so I thought I would compile all the websites that sell cute covers and list them here. I might even make a special tab for them. If you sell cute diaper covers, please let me know and I'll add your site! Here's all the ones I've found so far:

Zookies--http://www.zookiescrafts.com

Cheeky Diapers--http://www.cheekydiapers.com

Olive Jane's--http://www.etsy.com/shop/olivejanes

Weehuggers--http://www.weehuggers.com

Gen-Y--http://gen-ydiapers.com

Cutiepoops--http://www.cutiepoops.com

Fluffy's Diapers--http://www.etsy.com/shop/FluffysDiapers

Fishnoodles--http://hyenacart.com/fishnoodles/

The Green Line Diaper--http://www.etsy.com/shop/gldiaper

Charis Designs--http://www.etsy.com/shop/kdbspace

Pumpkin Pants (cute fleece)-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenoahp

Froggy Girl Designs--http://www.etsy.com/shop/FroggyGirlDesigns

Twinkle Toes Diapers--http://www.etsy.com/shop/twinkletoesdiapers

Swaddle in Cloth--http://www.etsy.com/shop/SwaddleinCloth

Precious Bunz--http://hyenacart.com/stores/PreciousBunz/

My Journey [back] to Prefolds

When I first started cloth diapering Gehrig, he was 13 months and I was doing it to save money. My friend had told me that the cheapest way to do cloth was to use prefolds and covers. So I found a lady on www.diaperswappers.com who said she was selling 26 toddler prefolds for $35. That was the best deal I could find so even though it killed me to spend that much, I went ahead and bought them. Of course my first experience there would be a bad one--when I got them, I couldn't figure out how to make them fit on Gehrig. They seemed so small! Well, after checking measurements, turns out they were infant prefolds.

So I was stuck with 26 prefolds that were too small. I felt like I couldn't quit after spending that much money, but I wasn't sure what to do. I posted on diaperswappers that I was looking for cheap, cheap diapers and explained my predicament. An AWESOME mama messaged me and offered to send me a box full of pockets, fitteds, inserts, and a wetbag if I would just pay shipping. Those diapers lasted through Gehrig being potty-trained.

When Logan came along, I had the opportunity to try out a few different types of diapers. I loved fitteds and covers when he was little, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I continued to use fitteds and pockets with him, but I started to get kind of tired of them. I kept having smell issues for one thing. I was having to strip all the diapers every other week. And for another, vaseline is the only thing that works on Logan's dry skin, but I couldn't use it with fitteds and pockets.

I started trifolding the infant prefolds I had in covers so that I could put vaseline on Logan, and within a few days I was hooked. I've traded almost all of my pockets, All-in-ones, and fitteds for larger prefolds. I've gone old school.

And I'll tell you why. A couple things I've already mentioned--no smell issues and no repelling if I use vaseline or diaper cream. They're also a lot easier to fold than stuffing pockets--and no unstuffing to wash them *yuck*. I don't have to be so careful about detergent. They're waaaay cheaper. They're super absorbent--I put off trying one on Logan overnight, but since I've started using them, no leaks. They're easy to travel with (and I've been doing a lot of traveling lately). And, best of all, you can use cute covers over them! :)

So if you're thinking about starting to us cloth, I highly suggest you go the prefold route. That way once you get addicted, you can buy cute covers to feed your addiction and they're considerably cheaper than pockets, AIOs, fitteds, or AI2s.

Gehrig Snippets v.7

Gehrig's been saying and doing a lot of really cute stuff lately, and I've been meaning to write them all down before I forget. Here's just a couple while I'm waiting for the spaghetti water to boil. :)

Gehrig climbed into bed with Mike and me the other day and grabbed my arm with an icy cold hand. I said, "Wow, your hands are cold!" And he replied, "Yeah. I drink a lot of ice."

This morning Gehrig was reading his Bible in his room, and I laid Logan on the rug beside him while I ran to do something really quick. As I walked past the door, I peeked in to see Gehrig showing Logan the picture of Mary and Joseph and Jesus in the manger. He was saying, "'Member when Jesus was boring?"

Our RSV ordeal

It has been a crazy month or so in our house. My parents came home from Malaysia for a month so we were spending as much time with them as possible. This meant a lot of time away from home for us--including a trip down to Florida to see my brother and his family. The day we got home from Mom and Dad's house for the last visit before they left, Gehrig had a fever and was coughing and sneezing. It lasted for a few days with him just being irritable, feverish, and listless. Then he got better. Logan didn't show any sign of getting sick so I thought we'd gotten off easy. Hah! Was I wrong!
On this past Sunday or Monday (crazy week, I can't remember exactly when it started), Logan started coughing a little more than his normal allergy cough. He started waking himself up at night, coughing and coughing. He even started choking a few times. He had no fever or any other sign of being sick so I figured it was just allergies. We were starting Zyrtec so I thought maybe it would kick in soon.
On Tuesday night he started wheezing and acting like he was having trouble breathing. Wednesday morning I called the nurse at our pediatrician's office, and she said I should bring him in to see the doctor. The doctor listened to his lungs and knew right away that he had developed bronchiolitis, probably from RSV. She said we could go ahead and admit him to the hospital, but she trusted me if I wanted to take him home. She gave me instructions on when to take him to the ER if need be and made a follow-up appointment for Friday.
He seemed to stay the same, and even get a little better on Thursday, but by Thursday evening he was wheezing pretty badly again. On Friday morning, the doctor didn't like the sound of his lungs at all. We tried a nebulizer treatment since she said he was actually starting to sound a little asthmatic. It didn't really help, and when she checked his oxygen level and it was only around 92, she told me we needed to go ahead and put him in the hospital. She was mostly worried about his levels dropping during the night, and she wanted him to be at the hospital should he need to be put on oxygen.
I ran home to pick up Mike and Gehrig, and we all drove downtown to Levine Children's Hospital. The doctor there checked Logan (she LOVED him and threatened to take him home with her), and discovered he not only had the bronchiolitis, he also had a double ear infection. She said they would just hook him up to the monitors and keep an eye on him.
His oxygen level stayed at about 94-96 (dipping to 91-92 while he slept) the whole time we were there. *sigh* He would have been fine at home. And I got to spend the whole afternoon, night, and morning untangling him from wires. I was also not impressed with Levine. Twice the nurses tried to give him too much medicine and I had to stop them, and their food is horrible. The nurses were very nice, and they all loved Logan and took good care of him.
He also had to wear disposable diapers while we were there since they had to weigh his diapers to make sure he was staying hydrated (with the ear infections, he wasn't wanting to nurse very much). They made me realize how much I love cloth! They stink for one thing--Pampers especially. *yuck* I can't stand the smell of sposies--I kept checking to see if Logan had a dirty diaper 'cause they smelled so bad. And they rubbed against his chunky thighs and gave him a rash. We were very happy to get back to our cloth diapers!
So, anyway, the doctor said Logan was okay to go home Saturday morning. We're just keeping a close eye on him to make sure he's breathing okay. He seems to be doing well, but he's been very cranky. I'm assuming it's because his ears hurt. :(
Now we're home trying to get ready for Christmas. And hoping the hospital bill isn't too huge!
Thanks to everyone who prayed for Logan! We appreciate everyone who loves him and us!

Starting Solids

I started giving Gehrig baby cereal when he was four-and-a-half months old, and I really regretted starting that early. For one thing, solids are a pain! Baby cereal is sooooo sticky and drippy, and once it dries, it's impossible to get off (it's like cement--they could build houses with this stuff!). For another thing, it adds more complications to the daily routine. Instead of just nursing the baby, now you have to get his food ready and spend twenty minutes trying to feed him without making too much of a mess (which is impossible, by the way). So this time with Logan, I was not eager to start solids at all. I had thought that you had to start solids at six months, but some of my fellow Junebug mamas on diaperswappers.com informed me that I could put off starting solids as long as Logan and I wanted.

I was really shooting for eight months of exclusive breastfeeding, but when Logan started waking up at night to nurse again, I realized we probably wouldn't make it. So I decided to try as hard as I could to make it to six months at least. I could deal with the nursing at night (although at 3:30 in the morning I would swear I was buying baby cereal the next day), but then Logan started just acting like he was starving after his evening feeding. Since he'd drunk all my milk, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't stand trying to get him to sleep knowing he was still hungry, and as I rocked my poor screaming baby, I realized something. I was putting off giving him solids because I had an idea in my head of how I wanted things to go--I wanted to exclusively breastfeed until at least six months; I didn't want the hassle of starting solids. What did it matter what I wanted when my sweet little baby was hungry?

The next day I bought baby cereal. Gehrig was so excited for Logan to eat "real food" and was convinced that he would be the one to feed him. :) I prepared myself for forcing the cereal on Logan like I'd had to do with Gehrig, but as soon as Logan saw that spoon coming, he knew exactly what to do. He opened his mouth wide and just gobbled it down. It is more of a hassle adding that into my already crazy day, and he does make a HUGE mess, but he is one happy baby after eating his cereal. And that's all that matters.

Why I Wear My Baby part 2

I just thought I'd share a picture of Logan in my sling since there was a request for one. :)

Baby Beanies

I've started knitting hats to sell! I'm trying to help reduce our debt so please check out the Baby Beanies tab up there ^ and read all about them. Feel free to tell your friends! :)

My Giggle Bug

Logan thinks it's absolutely hilarious when Gehrig throws stuff (I know, I have lots of fun to look forward to). When Gehrig started throwing his toys across the bathtub and Logan started laughing, I had to grab the camera. Unfortunately I just had to aim it at Logan and hope it was getting him. I did pretty good except you have to ignore yucky me in the background. :)

Gehrig's "School"

I firmly believe that toddlers are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. I know kids can learn to read well before kindergarten (without that dumb Your Baby Can Read thing), but I also know they still need to be able to just play before they are forced to spend at least 13 years in school. I wanted to start doing a little bit of "school" with Gehrig each day--just about ten minutes--so that he's learning something but he's not being forced to sit still for a long period of time. I tried to find a book of letters or reading for two-year-olds, but I couldn't. Apparently two-year-olds are too young to learn their letters. Hmph. The only book I could find is kind of old for him and concentrates more on writing (which I know he's not ready for) than I'd like, but I'm just letting him do his own thing on the parts when he's supposed to write. He loves school, and he's really doing well. I wanted to share a few pages that we're particularly proud of--he did all of these by himself (after I explained to him what he was supposed to do, obviously):

Why I Use Babywise

When I first heard of Babywise, I had no idea it was such a controversial book. I was working in a nursery at the time, taking care of infants. It was obvious to all of us workers which babies were Babywise babies and which weren't. The Babywise ones were much happier, healthier, and so much easier to take care of. Nearly everyone I knew who implemented Babywise theories recommended the book to me.
I first read it when I was pregnant with Gehrig. I'm not very into informational books or even, really, anything non-fiction, but I just ate this book up. It just made complete sense to me. I think the people who are so against it, either haven't read it or are just misunderstanding it. Here's how I sum it up--make sure your baby is eating enough and not sleeping too much during the day, and he will be full and sleepy at night. Also being on a schedule is so much easier for you and baby. And, lastly, a few tears in the beginning can prevent many, many tears later on.
The first point is pretty self-explanatory, but most people tell me I'm crazy when I tell them that I wake my babies up when it's time to eat. "Never wake a sleeping baby!" They tell me. Why not? I have always woken Gehrig and Logan up to eat, and Gehrig started sleeping through the night at nine weeks, Logan at seven weeks. Babies have no idea that nights are for sleeping and days are for being awake--you have to train them. I also wake them to eat to make sure they get enough feedings during the day. Why not have a baby eating every three hours during the day and getting in six full feedings instead of letting them sleep during the day and wake up at night to have the same number of feedings? It just makes sense to me.
As for a schedule, I've found that most people who say they are against scheduling, are, indeed, on some type of schedule. I've never really had to put my boys on a schedule, we kind of just fell into one. If Logan is hungry, I don't make him wait to eat (like some people think Babywise encourages--it actually DISCOURAGES feeding by the clock). What I do is make sure he gets full at every feeding; that way he'll not get hungry again until 2.5-3 hours later. Some days he does want to eat every two hours or less, but those days are rare, and I know that he must either be going through a growth spurt or not feeling well. And having him on a schedule is easier for me because I know what to expect. If I need to make plans, I know generally what time he's going to eat and can plan around it. Again, you can't plan your whole life so, as Babywise encourages, you need to have a flexible schedule. I was much more strict about our schedule when Gehrig was a baby, but I've learned to be more flexible with Logan. Perhaps that's why he slept through the night two weeks sooner! Oh, and in answer to people who claim that scheduling makes malnourished babies--my boys have been in the 90th percentile (or higher) for height and weight since their first doctor's appointments.
Perhaps the most controversial point of all is the idea of letting a baby cry it out. I personally don't think Ezzo is encouraging parents to close the door and just let their child scream. I know with my boys, they have a fussy "I don't want to go to sleep" cry and then they have their "something's wrong" cry. The former is not really a cry, it's more of a whiney complaining. Both of them started out doing that when I would put them in bed, but it only lasted a few days. Now ninety percent of the time, I can put Logan in bed wide awake, and he'll go to sleep on his own. Gehrig goes down without crying all the time. They're perfectly happy to go to bed--in fact, if I try to rock Logan, he fusses until I lay him down. And if I try to rock Gehrig, he'll tell me, "I'm ready to go to bed now." Compare that to kids who have always been rocked/nursed to sleep--what happens when you start trying to get them to go to sleep on their own? I bet there's more than a couple days of fussing.
I've heard so many misrepresentations of Babywise, I just wanted to put my two cents out there. You can't just take everything in the book as being the law that can't be broken in any way, but you also shouldn't say everything is completely bad and will ruin your baby. I feel like using Babywise ideas has helped me have to healthy, happy, independent boys who know their mommy and daddy love them more than anything.

Why I Wear My Baby

Before Gehrig was born, I'd never really thought about wearing my babies. I had a friend who always wore her baby, but I thought it was just her thing. When Gehrig was born, though, we didn't have a stroller, and after lugging his carseat around for a month or so, I finally got a sling.
It was convenient and easy and comfortable, but Gehrig grew so fast and we ended up getting a stroller so I didn't use it all that often after he was six months or so.
When Logan came along, however, I fell absolutely in love with my sling. I don't understand how a mother of more than one child can survive without a sling. For one thing, Logan hates his carseat. I cannot take him into stores in it unless I want to spend the whole time treating everyone else in the store to his screams. If I pop him in the sling, however, he just looks around and smiles at people until he falls asleep.
For another thing, I can't imagine trying to push a stroller and keep hold of Gehrig. He moves so fast, and, of course, he's two so I can pretty much count on his not listening when I tell him to stop. With Logan in the sling, I have two free hands so I can keep hold of Gehrig and carry something, if need be.
If I didn't wear Logan, I'm pretty sure we'd be spending most of our time at home. My sling took a bit to get used to, and I had to do some experimenting before I figured out how to wear it comfortably, but now I can slip it on and slip Logan in and out with no trouble at all. I get more comments on it than anything else, and 9 out of 10 times, people either tell me Logan looks comfortable or I look comfortable. And they're right on both counts.

Pictorial Randomness

My daddy walking me down the "aisle."

The most beautiful wedding ever at my aunt's house in the mountains.

Mike and Mini-Mike a.k.a. Gehrig on our trip to Florida a couple years ago.

Gehrig and Daddy making a birthday card for Jesus on Gehrig's first Christmas Eve.

My big brother and me. I just think this picture is so awesome.

My grad school roommate, Adrianne, and me at our graduation. I'm not sure why I was looking at my degree. :)

Me and my sweet boy Gehrig when he was a day old.

On our trip to Florida, Gehrig had to take a turn driving every time we stopped.

One of the best parts of Christmas in Singapore was going to Orchard Road with all the other missionaries to see the Christmas lights. These pictures just fill me with wonderful Christmas feelings.

My brother, sister, and me.

My first and dream car, Blue32. He died in 2007, and I cried for days. I adored that car.

Right Now...

I'm feeling guilty for not updating my blog in forever.

I'm enjoying the quiet fall morning before any of the boys wake up.

I'm wondering if I'll eat dairy today or if I'll stay strong for a few more days.

I'm so happy Logan is still exclusively breastfed even though I came so close to giving him cereal when he was so fussy this past week. (We're holding out for eight months of EBF!)

I'm hoping the boys behave for the Halloween party today.

I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (woo-hoo!) and a tank top (over which will go a warmer shirt before I leave the house--also woo-hoo! for the cool weather).

I'm jealous of my friends who are pregnant but can't imagine adding another kid to the mix just yet.

I'm still trying to think of ways to raise money to go visit my awesome big brother.

I'm contemplating two memoir-type stories for Ordinarily Extraordinary.

I'm super excited that my mom and dad will be here two weeks from tomorrow! I have the most awesome mom and dad in the world!

I'm thinking about fall in Pensacola.

I could be yard sale-ing, but I'm too lazy.

My feet are cold.

I'm still wanting to be the fourth Charlie's Angel but realize now that it's never gonna happen.



Until...
Liz

Rolling Over!

The Terrible Twos

We are in the midst of them, and I am about to lose my mind. I told Mike that I'm ready to go get a job because that would certainly be easier than spending all day with my little terror. I love Gehrig more than life, but the kid has worn me out. He wakes up at 6:30, refuses to take a nap, and is horrible by the evening. He whines about everything and throws fits if he doesn't get his way. I know that's mostly because he's just so exhausted, but I don't know what to do about it. I can't force the kid to sleep. I get maybe two hours of respite by myself at night before I fall asleep from exhaustion, but usually either Gehrig or Logan wakes a couple times during those two hours.
All I want is a little time to myself without listening to whining or crying. But then I read blogs and forums where moms are gushing about how much they love being mommies and spending all day with their toddlers; how they can't get enough of them. And I feel guilty. I must be a horrible mommy to want to just get away from my kid. How come I don't want to spend every waking moment with him? Am I doing something wrong?
I've come to the conclusion that I must not be alone. I know there are other moms out there who feel the same way, and I think some of them might be the ones gushing about spending time with their kids. So if you're with me on this, please comment and let me know! Also if you've been through the terrible twos and have some tips, please share. I'm at my wit's end. :-/

Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.6

Gehrig has my more laid-back personality, but he does get quite a few things from his daddy. Things like not listening (although I'm told that's just a male thing), being contrary just to annoy me (he'll argue that red means go even though he knows green means go), and being completely picky about food. But yesterday he showed me he got another thing from his daddy too--sweetness.
We were in the boys' room, playing, and Logan was just laying on the floor, kicking his little feet. Gehrig laid down beside him, put his arm around Logan, and said, "You're my best buddy, Wogan."
As if that weren't enough to melt Mommy's heart, Logan turned and gave Gehrig one of his slobbery, open-mouth kisses. Gehrig giggled and said, "That makes me happy!"

Why I Breastfeed (and wean at 1 year)

Before I had Gehrig, I was kind of ambivalent about breastfeeding. I planned to breastfeed him because my mom had told me I should and because we were BROKE and I didn't want to spend money on formula. If I'd known WIC pays for formula, I might have decided not to breastfeed. Thankfully I didn't know that!
Once I started nursing Gehrig, however, I knew I could never do anything else. It was hard at first, and definitely painful, but every time I nursed him, I would just feel this rush of overwhelming love for him. And it's the same way for Logan. I truly believe you'll never feel closer to your baby than when you're nursing him. I also like the fact that no matter where we are, what we're doing, or who we're with, when it's time for my baby to eat, he's all mine. I give him something no one else can.
After I had already fallen in love with breastfeeding, I started reading up on it. And breast milk is truly amazing! It gives the mother's antibodies to the baby so if the mother gets a virus, the baby will probably not get it because he already has his mommy's antibodies. It changes as the baby's stomach matures, starting out being completely easy to digest and getting more complex as the baby grows. I even read an article that said studies are showing it can help prevent cancers like leukemia! But then why am I surprised that God-made milk is better than man-made milk?
I know some mothers try as hard as they can and just are not able to breastfeed (I know a mom who pumped for seven months just so her baby could have breast milk since he couldn't nurse), and they have my complete sympathy. I'm definitely not saying if you can't nurse your baby you're not a good mother! But I do think if mothers who aren't even interested in breastfeeding their babies understood how amazing nursing is, they'd reconsider.
I was so sad to wean Gehrig at 13 months, but I knew it was better for him. He had started cow's milk and was mostly eating solids anyway. And he was ready to wean--I thought he'd miss nursing, but he acted like he didn't remember at all. And that's the way it's supposed to be. I feel like it would have been harder on him to wean any later. Now I'm thoroughly enjoying nursing Logan, and I'm dreading next year when I'll begin weaning him.
My boys are huge (both of them are consistently in the 90-95th percentile for both height and weight), and neither of them have ever had an ear infection and they rarely get sick. I believe that's because they were and are breastfed babies. Feel free to share your ideas about breastfeeding (even if they're contrary to mine)!

Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.5

Gehrig can't hear me when I say "stop it" or "don't do that," but he hangs on every other word I say. He woke up at 6:30 this morning, and Logan woke up shortly after. I fed Logan, and then climbed back into our bed (Mike had fallen asleep on the couch, as usual) to snuggle and maybe get a little more sleep. I invited Gehrig to join us, and he proceeded to run back and forth from the bed to the living room bringing me various things. I'd left out all the sale papers from the Sunday paper, and he brought me the Dollar General one so I could "see what's on sale." He lay on the bed beside me, looking through the ad and naming things he saw, then he exclaimed, "Forty dow-ars?? That's 'dic-er-rus!" :)

And here's a bit of Gehrig-ese that I find cute:

Elegator - elevator
Tart-pops - Poptarts (he calls them by their proper name now, and it makes me sad)
The Judsons - The Jetsons (he has a friend named Judson at church)
"I've got fire in my nose" - "I smell smoke"
Donkey-man - Buzz Lightyear (we finally figured out he was saying "star command." I think he finally gave up trying to explain to us and just agreed that he was saying "donkey-man.")
Dora Bora - Dora the Explorer
Cheese grilled samwich - Grilled cheese sandwich
The mall - anything with a playground
'Pecial gum - his special gun (a gift from his cousin Tobie)
"No way, sir!" - No way
"Ahoy ladies!" - "Ahoy maties"
Marshmellers - marshmallows

I know there's more so I'll have to add another list when I think of them.

Until...
Liz

Blog hopping!

I've just discovered blog hopping, and since I'm bored, I'm giving it a whirl. :) Here's a hop or two I'm participating in:






Until...
Liz

Gehrig Snippets v.4

For some unknown reason (other than the fact that he's two and a boy), Gehrig threw his green binky (one of his favorites) into the trash yesterday. Now I am all about throwing away the binkies--we've cut binky use down to only naptime and bedtime and I've decided we're not buying anymore--but I wouldn't have just thrown away one of his favorites. He was quite upset when he realized he couldn't get it back out. He's asked for it a few times, but he already knows where it went; he's just looking for sympathy. :)
Today he asked once again, "Where's my green binky?"
"You threw it in the trash, remember?" I answered.
He turned his big sad eyes on me and said, "I miss it sometimes because I cry." (I'm pretty sure he got his clauses backwards--he's still experimenting with "because")

The other day we were driving somewhere, and Gehrig was busy "shooting" other cars with one of his guns. Then I heard the gun hit the side of Logan's carseat (missing Logan, thankfully) and Logan coo in response.
"Gehrig," I said, "Did you throw your gun at Logan?"
"Uh-huh," he answered happily.
"Don't do that, you could really hurt Logan."
"But he likes it, Mommy!"
And I'm pretty sure he was right.

Why I Cloth Diaper

I mean, really, could you not see this one coming? :) I figured I'd start the series with a pretty non-controversial topic, and by now you've probably learned how much I love to talk about fluff.
I actually wanted to cloth diaper my children before we even had kids. When Mike and I first got married, I worked in a daycare, taking care of infants. I changed more diapers than most people change in their entire lifetime. I figured cloth would be cheaper, and with breastfed babies, you might as well use cloth since their diapers are constantly leaking all over their clothes. But Mike told me I was crazy, and when Gehrig came along, he said no way to cloth.
So Gehrig was in disposables for the first year of his life (a fact that I hate now, thinking about all that wasted money). I had a friend who got into cloth diapers, and I once again brought it up to Mike, but we were on such a tight budget that we couldn't invest in a whole stash at the time. But I was still interested. Another friend recommended a bunch of good sites to me including diaperswappers. You can find some really good deals! And the mamas there are awesome--I wrote that I was really wanting to start using cloth, but we didn't have much money to start a stash. An awesome mama wrote me and told me that if I would just pay for the shipping, she would send me a box of diapers. I wasn't expecting too much since I didn't even know this lady, but when I got the box, I was ecstatic. She had sent me a whole stash--and they were good diapers too!
Mike still wasn't convinced about cloth, but he agreed to let me try it if he didn't have to change any. It was so much easier than I'd expected. And very addicting. The diapers are so cute, and every time you think of all those boxes of disposables you don't have to buy, you feel like a pretty awesome mom.
So the number one reason I cloth diaper is to save money. You can find really great deals, and cloth diapers have great resale value. You can sell them for almost as much as you paid for them. Mike, who, as you will remember, was so against them, now sings their praises to anyone who asks.
Another reason is our house no longer stinks since there are no dirty diapers sitting in the trash can. And they never leak--Logan has not gotten one stain on his clothes. So they're also helping save money on clothes too!
I have to admit that the fact that they're green is pretty low on my list of reasons, but it's still a good reason. We do need to take care of our planet!
And, of course, I use them because they're adorable. I absolutely love dressing Logan in just a t-shirt and a diaper (although those days are pretty much over since it's gotten cooler). I see pictures of babies in just disposable diapers and think, why even bother? Disposables aren't cute. Stick a cloth diaper on that baby--if only just for the picture--and it'll be ten times cuter.
So...does cloth diapering make me a better mother? Not necessarily--it makes me personally a better mother than I would be if I didn't cloth diaper since I feel that cloth is best for us. But it doesn't make me a better mother than another mother who doesn't use cloth. But it does make my babies cuter. :)

Why I Do What I Do

I know every mommy does things differently, and each one does what she does either because she feels it's best for her children (the vast majority, I believe) or because it's easy. Since Gehrig was born, I've made numerous decisions about the way I do things concerning him and our future children. Some of those decisions I've held fast to with Logan; other decisions I've changed either because I learned they just don't work in general or because Logan is a completely different baby than Gehrig was.
The blogs and forums I hang out on tend to be on the "crunchier" side of the spectrum of parenting--"crunchy" meaning different from the mainstream ideas of parenting--so quite often I'm made to feel like my parenting ideas aren't good enough or that I'm a cruel mother. I, obviously, feel that my parenting choices are the best, and I think some people might agree if they can hear (or rather read) the reasoning behind them. Thus this series begins.
I'm by no means telling you that you should share my philosophy. You do what's best for your children because I have definitely learned that every child is different. But researching different parenting ideas never hurt (or rather rarely hurts), and I hope this series will be a help rather than a stumbling block. Please feel free to comment and discuss why you agree/disagree with me, but remember, this is my blog so I'll always have the final word. :)

Until...
Liz

Diaper Lust...

Thirsties has just released their new print covers, and I'm lusting after the blue one. I ADORE Thirsties covers anyway--Logan has never had a leak in his Thirsties. I had decided we didn't need anymore diapers since I've started making my own, but...we could always use another cover. Right? :)

Logan's New Hat

I taught myself to knit a little over a year ago, and I'm pretty addicted. I haven't had a lot of time to knit since Logan came along, but I'm starting to be able to get back into it. I'm definitely still a novice. I have learned, however, that even if a pattern looks super complicated, if I'll just start doing it, I can usually figure it out. One of the best sites for learning how to knit is knittinghelp.com. They have videos and instructions for pretty much everything you would ever need to know.
I kind of made up this pattern because I couldn't find just a plain hat pattern for free. I think it turned out pretty well, although I did make it kinda long. The cutie wearing it makes it look good. :)






You can't see the hat too well in this one (our living room is super dark!), but his smile is so cute, I had to share it. :)












I love the colors! I ended up making it a little smaller than I intended so I'm not sure it'll still fit him this winter, but I do have enough yarn left to make him a larger one if I need to. Now I'm working on a pink one for my new niece due in November.







And while I had the camera out, I had to snap a picture of my handsome (big) little guy. I bought this shirt for him when he was about six months old and couldn't wait until he was big enough to wear it (it's a 3T). Unfortunately he's already almost in 4T so it's just about too small. :( Perhaps it'll be cool enough now for him to wear it a few times before he outgrows it completely.
By the way, he gets the whole not smiling for pictures thing from his daddy. :-/

Yard Sale Finds

Last night was a rough one, but when Logan woke me up at seven, I couldn't resist hitting some yard sales instead of going back to bed like I usually would. It was pretty slim pickin's today, and every yard sale I found was amazingly crowded no matter how dinky it was (where were all these people when I had my yard sale??).
I did manage to find Mike some shirts though. He is so picky about his clothes, but he hates to go shopping. Nearly every time I've bought him new shirts or pants, he's hated them and ends up not wearing them. The result is that the shirts he does wear are completely worn out. So I figured I'd stop buying him new stuff and just see what I could find at yard sales. That way if he doesn't like them, we're only out a couple bucks. So here's what I found:

I got a wool sweater to make a soaker and some longies for Logan, a Chaps polo shirt, a Quest polo shirt, and a Dockers dress shirt all for $4.

I also found a Children's Place sweater for Logan, but I'm not sure if he'll be big enough to wear it before winter's over. If he's not, I can always take it to Once Upon a Child. :) And I found this Leapfrog phonics train set for Gehrig for $4.


It was a pretty successful day, and if Mike likes the shirts, I saved us about $40. And that's what I'm all about! Poor Logan got worn out from everyone exclaiming how cute he was. :)

Gehrig snippets v.3

Gehrig: I want somethin' eat.
Me: What do you want?
Gehrig: I a'know (apparently I don't enunciate very well because this is how he says "I don't know")
Me: Do you want pretzels?
Gehrig: No...
Me: Do you want cheerios?
Gehrig: No...
Me: Well, what do you want?
Gehrig: I a'know
Me: You can have pretzels or cheerios--which one?
Gehrig: Animal cookies!

My little two-year-old was just sitting on the couch, and all of a sudden he said, "I want a real gun, Mommy, please?"

I hate those sinks with the automatic water because I can never seem to put my hands in the right place to keep it on long enough to rinse. Apparently I voice my hatred because when we visited a family restroom and they had one of those sinks for kids, Gehrig couldn't get it to work either, and he kept exclaiming, "Oh, c'mon stupid wa-wer!"

Just You Wait

I'll admit it; before I had Logan, I would look at moms with two or more kids who never seemed to have it together and think, wow, they're disorganized. I was sure I would have no problem adjusting to having two kids. A few people tried to warn me about how hard it was going to be, but I just brushed off their warnings thinking I had things completely under control. I'd been babysitting my whole life, and had taken care of tons of babies and kids in six years of working in daycare. Two kids was gonna be a breeze.
Wow, was I wrong.
I think my first inkling of my wrongness was when Gehrig first visited me and Logan in the hospital. The numbness from the spinal for my c-section was still wearing off so I couldn't move, and I watched helplessly as Gehrig tore around the room being his normal, hyper two-year-old self. He made me exhausted just watching him, and I wondered how I would have time to just enjoy and cuddle Logan like I wanted to.
I spent the first month feeling torn and guilty. I felt like neither of my boys was getting enough of my love or attention, and I didn't have any time to myself. I was exhausted with nighttime feedings for Logan and chasing Gehrig during the day. Logan was nothing like the sweet, calm baby Gehrig had been and spent most of the day screaming. If I was going to get anything around the house done, I had to do it during nap time which meant no nap for me. Mike was working all the time so I felt completely alone.
It seemed like my life of screaming newborns and terrible twos would never end, but at some point it did. I'm not even sure when--and some days it does come back, but thankfully it's not every day now. However, getting out the door is nearly impossible. I, who have been perpetually early my whole life, now run late nearly all the time. I try to only go one place when we go out so that I don't have to keep hefting my huge boys in and out of their carseats. And I have learned NOT to take Logan into any store in his carseat--it's a pain to put him in the sling just to run into Bi-Lo to get bread, but it's worth the hassle to avoid the screaming as I try to check out.
So you may look at me and think I'm completely disorganized and have no clue what I'm doing; that you'd do a much better job than I. That's okay. Just you wait.

Assurance

Since we first found out we were pregnant with both boys, Mike and I started praying for their salvation. We pray that they'll get saved as soon as they're old enough to understand and also that they'll always love God and be close to Him. Those are the two most important things to us. However, having grown up in a good Christian home (which is what we are striving to provide for our kids) myself, I also added on the prayer that they'll always be sure of their salvation. That is something that I struggled with until college, and I've found that many kids who have gotten saved at an early age struggle with that. I know how hard it is, and I really don't want that for my boys.
In case you didn't grow up in a Christian home and don't understand what I'm talking about, I'll share my own testimony. We moved to Singapore when I was four, and our family was involved in many outreach ministries. I heard the plan of salvation so much, I knew it by heart. When I was four, I was at a special children's outing at Pasir Ris park, and at the end of the day, one of the men taught a little lesson and then told everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. He said if you'd never prayed the sinner's prayer before, you should repeat after him. I never had so I repeated after him. I promptly forgot about it for the next week or so.
As we were driving somewhere, I happened to think of it and told my mom I had gotten saved. When we got home, she took me into the bedroom and asked me a bunch of questions. I apparently answered them correctly 'cause she told Dad I knew what I was talking about.
I'm not sure how much later, but probably around a year later, an evangelist from America came to preach a revival. One night he preached about @#!*% , and I sat in my seat and cried because I knew that's where I was going. Everyone thought I was crying because my mom was in the nursery and I normally wouldn't leave her side. But when we got home I whispered to my mom that I didn't think I was saved. She sat down with me at the dining room table and read some verses to me, then she told me to pray and tell God that I wasn't sure if I was saved or not, but I believed that Jesus had died for me and I was a sinner, and I wanted to be saved. Now I truly know that is when I got saved.
But for years I would struggle with whether or not I really did get saved. Maybe I hadn't had enough faith or maybe I hadn't said exactly the right words. I'd get it settled and then a few months later, it would come right back.
When I was home on break from college one summer, I went with my parents' to their church in Virginia. The pastor wasn't even preaching on assurance, but he was preaching from Matthew 14 and as he read verses 30-31, I suddenly got it. It's talking about Peter walking on the water to Jesus and says, "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" I italicized "immediately" 'cause that's what struck me. Peter didn't have to say the right words or even have a whole bunch of faith; all he said was "save me" and immediately Jesus saved him.
I realized that God wants desperately to save us. He hasn't made it complicated that you have to do exactly the right thing in order to get saved; He's made it easy enough for a child.
I pray that Gehrig and Logan will realize this, and when they get saved, they'll know they're saved and they're saved by a God who loves them enough to reach down and save them the second they ask.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering v.2: CJ's BUTTer rocks!

So I tried using both Desitin and Aquaphor (not at the same time, of course) on Logan, but I had to use those with prefolds since they ruin any other type of cloth diaper. And neither of them managed to clear up his rash/redness. Then I got my CJ's BUTTer in the mail yesterday afternoon. After using it yesterday evening and last night, Logan woke up with the rash almost completely gone! Plus I put some on the little spots of eczema on his tummy, and they're gone too! This stuff is awesome. And the best part is, it works great with cloth. I've had no repelling or stains at all so far (I know I've only been using it for a day, but with Aquaphor, the diaper repelled within five minutes). According to Sew Crafty Baby (one of my two favorite cloth stores), CJ's BUTTer is also good for:

*eczema
*rashes
*dry/chapped skin
*rug burns (sore ‘crawler’ knees)
*mechanics’ hands and cuticles
*hang nails
*rub a small amount on your hands and use as a leave-in conditioner for your curls

I've heard wonderful things from everyone who's used it. And now you're hearing wonderful things from me. :)

Until...
Liz

Adventures in Cloth Diapering v.1

I've been cloth diapering for over a year now and still have dilemmas sometimes. Since I didn't start cloth with Gehrig until he was one, I'm experiencing diapering a newborn for the first time with Logan. From the time we started cloth with Gehrig until he was potty trained, he didn't have one diaper rash. So when Logan's "wet zone" became red and sometimes flaky, I wasn't sure what to do. I do know that you're not supposed to use regular diaper creams (like Desitin or vaseline) with cloth because they can make the diaper repel (not absorb liquid).
I'm pretty sure the rash is just really dry skin so I tried putting Aquaphor on it and putting a liner in Logan's diaper (an awesome Thirsties AIO I got in a trade on diaperswappers), but as soon as he peed, it all leaked straight out. So I learned not to do that again.
I asked a few of my Junebug mama friends on diaperswappers what they thought I should do since I don't have any cloth-safe diaper cream. They had some great suggestions, and one awesome mama messaged me and told me she'd like to send me a tube of CJ's BUTTer as a gift! I'm so happy because I really thought I'd have to spend some money on disposables--which I hate to do since we're trying really hard to get all our debt paid off.
So after talking to the other mamas, I'm pretty sure the rash is dry skin/eczema from using PUL covers when it's really hot. Logan tends to scream and squirm in his carseat, and the car I have to use while Mike's at work doesn't have air conditioning so I think that's what our problem is. Hopefully now that it's cooling down we won't have that trouble. In the meantime, I've been putting prefolds and MotherEase Onesize fitteds (also a gift from an awesome diaperswappers mama) without a cover on him when we're home during the day. And I'm looking forward to my CJ's BUTTer to help clear it up completely!
Stay tuned for further adventures...

Until...
Liz

My First Giveaway

The giveaway has ended and the winner emailed. Thank you everyone who entered!


I'm not sure how much interest there will be in this, but I've decided to have my first giveaway. The giveaway is a pocket fitted diaper made from the Rita's Rump Pattern. I did modify it a bit to add velcro because I don't like dealing with pins, and snappis don't work very well with cotton fabric. It's brand new, has the cotton outer and a flannel inner. This diaper does need an insert; I can include one if you're new to cloth and don't already have one. It's also a fitted so it does need a cover. I don't have any covers to spare, but fleece pants work great too!

So here's how to enter: comment on this post for each entry--each entry needs to be in a separate comment. I'll randomly pick a winner on Sunday, September 19th.

1. Follow Pretty How Town--1 entry
2. A post about this giveaway on your blog (please post a link in your comment)--3 entries
3. Tweet about this giveaway--1 entry per tweet
4. Share on Facebook or another public forum--2 entries
5. If you found out about this giveaway from diaperswappers--1 entry
6. If you think my boys are cute--1 entry

Please enter so I can share the cloth love!

Yard Sale Finds and Bathtime

My family has always been crazy about yard sales and thrift stores. I remember when we were on furlough in America when I was a teenager, we would wake up at 6:00 to go out "yard sale-ing." I loved to go to yard sales, but I didn't like waking up that early or waiting to eat or go to the bathroom until we were sure we'd hit every yard sale there was. I'm not quite as die-hard as my mom or my aunt, but I do love to get up at a reasonable hour on Saturday and see if I can find any good ones.
I refuse to pay full price for kid's clothes. It's ridiculous. I generally don't pay more than $1 for any piece of Gehrig's or Logan's clothing (except diapers, of course *grin*). I know we save tons of money by buying their clothes used. Gehrig needs some fall clothes, and I've been hoping to find a good deal on some, and today I finally found a yard sale with 4T fall clothes. Here's some of what I got:

I was super happy to find the Gap sweatshirt with 32 (my very favorite number) on it! There's also a Children's Place shirt, an Old Navy shirt, and a brand new Osh Kosh B'Gosh shirt. And I also got a pair of Old Navy jeans and two pairs of Carter's fleece pajamas. All for $7! I would have gotten more if I'd taken more than $10 with me.

Another of my finds was this awesome toy in perfect condition for $.75!

I haven't bought batteries for it yet, but Gehrig's had a blast all day, carrying it around and singing into the microphone. This was the kind of toy the rich kids had when I was little. :)

And now...bathtime. Logan has decided he loves baths (as opposed to screaming the entire time like he did up until a few weeks ago), and he's so cute splashing with his little feet. Unfortunately, as soon as I started recording this video, he got fascinated by the dishwashing liquid. And his little washcloth didn't keep him completely covered *blush*. This is my first time putting a video on here so I hope it works!

Gehrig snippets v.2

I try to get Gehrig out of the house to a playground or somewhere he can run around as often as possible. He loves trying to play with the big kids, but mostly they just ignore him (which makes mommy very sad). However the past two days we've gone to the mall playground, older kids have included him in their games. It's funny to watch because, since he's the same size as them, they expect him to understand how to play hide-and-seek or tag. His version of hide-and-seek, however, was to cover his eyes for a couple seconds then run and hug the little girl he was playing with. And his version of tag is to push the nearest person and yell, "TAG!" The poor kids get frustrated, but I find it quite amusing. :)

Today we drove past a car lot that had balloons tied to every car. Gehrig loves balloons and immediately started listing the colors of balloons he saw ("I see green balloon, red balloon, green balloon, lellow balloon..."). Then he got really excited and yelled, "I can have those balloons! I can hub 'em! And Queeze 'em!" Seriously, I have no idea where he gets this stuff from!

Every night since he was tiny, I've sung "Jesus Loves Me" to him before he goes to bed (Mike sings along when he's home). The past two nights, Gehrig has held an imaginary microphone to my mouth as I sing. Not sure where that came from either.

To shelter or not to shelter?

I'm a missionary kid and grew up in a pretty sheltered, very conservative home. Singapore (where I grew up) is more conservative than America anyway so it wasn't too hard for my parents to keep us kids sheltered from the world.

I actually never thought of myself as being sheltered. We knew what we believed, what we did, and what we didn't do. I was not unhappy or didn't feel deprived in any way. I only realized I'd been sheltered when my husband informed me of it. :)

Now, as a relatively new mother, I'm trying to figure out what my parents did right. So many of my peers have gone insane now that they're out on their own--some of them come from extremely conservative, sheltered homes and some from liberal, unsheltered homes. That scares me because I want my boys (and any other children we might have) to always be good and be close to God. I want to be best friends with them while still maintaining parental authority--I think that's part of the key to my parents' success.

Mike and I have discussed this extensively because I worry about it every time I see a disgusting commercial, a gross new movie, or even homosexuality on Nick Jr. The world is such a horrible place--how do I protect my babies from it without making them run wild after they leave our house? We've come up with a few ideas, but I'd welcome more from you more experienced parents!

1. Be a good example of being close to God. How will kids know how to be close to God if they don't see their parents close to Him? I personally had the most amazing examples in the world.

2. Be consistent. If you have standards for Sunday that are different from your standards for the rest of the week, kids are going to get confused. You should have the same standards no matter who's around. Now, you also have the keep the stumbling block principle in mind so it can get kind of sticky, but you can explain that to them.

3. Be genuine. Don't have standards "just because." You need to have reasons for why you do what you do. What's wrong with women wearing pants? What's wrong with going to the movies? What's wrong with rock music? Kids will test you on everything, so make sure you know why your standards are so high.

4. Make church more important than anything else.

5. Keep bad influences out of their lives as much as possible. This is the thing I worry about the most--we're so surrounded by evil today, how can I catch all of it before it gets to them? I'm already planning ways. Thankfully technology has made it easier. :)

6. Pray!

So...to answer my question, I would say shelter, definitely. But don't go crazy and disallow everything under the general heading of "appearance of evil." Too much unfounded sheltering can push kids even further away.

We are potty trained!

After a long and grueling process, Gehrig is finally fully potty trained! We've made numerous trips out in underwear (yesterday we were in the car for about an hour), and he has stayed dry! Woo-hoo! I know he'll still have accidents, but he really surprises me how long he can hold it. He's just like his mommy, he doesn't like to use public bathrooms so he'd rather just hold it until he gets home. :)
He has been wearing pull-ups to church, but we just ran out and as I was at the store debating which brand to spend $10 on, I realized, he doesn't need them. So tonight will be his first time going to church in underwear, but I'm sure he'll do an awesome job.
So, what have I learned from potty training?

1. You can't dilly-dally about it, you have to just do it.

2. Pull-ups are truly a waste of money--I just bought them for church, but he knew he could pee in them. They were just like diapers to him. He wore underwear at home and did much better.

3. You can't force it--if they're not ready, it won't work.

4. Pee and poop happen. If you'd told me how many things in my house would get peed on before we started potty training, I would have freaked.

5. You feel like a pretty great parent when you see your little two-year-old running around the playground with the waistband of his Diego underwear peeking out just a little above his shorts.

A Little Understanding

Before Logan was born, everyone asked me if I was ready or if I was worried, but I quickly answered that I didn't think I'd have any problems adjusting to two kids. I'd been babysitting my whole life and had worked in daycare for over six years; I figured adding another baby to our house would be no problem. Hah! Little did I know.

Adjusting to having two little boys is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Nearly every day I just felt like collapsing in a heap of tears--I was so torn between the two of them that I felt like the worst mother in the world. I felt bad for Gehrig because he no longer had all of my attention, but then I also felt bad for Logan because he would never have all my attention like Gehrig did. I just wanted to be able to curl up and cuddle with my baby, but I couldn't 'cause I had Gehrig to chase. It really didn't help that Mike was working all the time. Even when he was home I felt like I didn't get to see him because Logan spent all day screaming.

One thing that really helped was knowing that what I was going through was normal. My mom and my brother called me numerous times to check on me 'cause they remembered how rough that transition was for them. Their understanding made me feel so much better. And then one night, as I was doing my devotions while rocking a fussy Logan, I discovered that God understood too. I just happened to be reading Isaiah 40, and as I read verse 11, I almost started crying.

"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

I'm so glad I have a God who understands how hard being a young mother is and Who gently leads me when I really need Him to.

Learning a Language

I remember that for years when I was growing up, my parents tried to get us kids to learn Chinese. We had numerous teachers with numerous approaches, but we never seemed to learn to say anything other than "I want a hamburger." So I can personally attest to how hard it is to learn a language--yet do we even realize how smart one- and two-year-olds are for learning English, possibly the hardest language of all?

I read in a book (I don't remember which one, but I think it was for a class) that we constantly correct children for saying things like "taked" instead of "took", but do we even stop to think how smart it was of them to realize that you put a "d" on the end of a word to make it past tense? Or to realize they needed to use past tense at all? Once you think of it like that, it's pretty amazing what two-year-olds know.

So the other day when Gehrig ran up to me and said, "I doed it, Mommy!" I said, "You did it? Good job!" But I was thinking, boy, what a genius.

Gehrig Snippets v.1

As I was hurrying to get the boys in the car to go to church tonight, I managed to accidentally scratch Gehrig's back with my keys. He, of course, acted like I'd mortally wounded him. I apologized profusely, and he finally settled down. He turned his sad eyes on me and said, "You have to be gentle with me, Mommy. Please don't hurt me anymore."

Gehrig has always loved baths (Logan is the complete opposite), and he'd stay in there playing all day if I'd let him. This evening he was splashing around, playing with his toys, and his rubber ducky floated towards him. He got down so he was eye-to-eye with it and said, "Hey Ducky, I'm Gehrig. You're cute."

I know there's more, but I just can't think of them right now...

A cool giveaway on a cool blog

I just found this cool blog Penniless Parenting. It fits right in with my love of saving money--plus she's having a giveaway sponsored by Sew Crafty Baby, one of my favorite cloth diaper sites. The giveaway is for a Bumgenius 4.0--a diaper I have yet to try but am very eager to. The new colors are so cute! So check out her giveaway!

My Cloth Diaper Addiction

If you know me, you know I'm absolutely addicted to cloth diapers. As my mom says, I never do anything halfway. If I like something, I become obsessed. Through the years I've been obsessed with numerous things: ER, skating, Roswell, and yoyos to name a few. However, cloth diapers do seem to be a strange thing to be addicted too--even I realize that when I take a step back. The strange thing is you will rarely find someone who uses cloth diapers that isn't addicted to them. Weird.

Logan has only been in two disposable diapers since he was three weeks old (I had to wait that long for his umbilical cord to fall completely off since I hadn't invested in more than one newborn diaper). I'm loving using them on him for a few reasons. Number one being the money! He goes through diapers so fast, we'd be spending at least $20-$30 a week on diapers. That much more money can go towards paying Logan off. :) Another reason I love them is that they never leak. I used disposables with Gehrig until he was a year old, and when he was Logan's age, his diapers leaked constantly. I was always getting him out of bed soaking wet or changing his clothes because his dirty diaper leaked all over them. Logan has not had one dirty diaper leak, and he's had very few wet diapers leak (it's either because I waited too long to change him or the diaper itself wasn't good). And lastly I absolutely adore them because they're so cute! I'm totally enjoying Logan being little enough to go out in just his cute diaper and a shirt.

While taking a break from potty training, we've gone back to cloth with Gehrig too. Though, sadly, not completely. I don't have any nighttime diapers for him right now, and we've also been using disposables for church. But I've decided I'm not going to buy any more disposables at all. I've ordered some Thirsties AIOs for Gehrig for nights (I LOVE Thirsties!), and I'm gonna start sending him to church in cloth. We're getting back to potty training tomorrow anyway, so hopefully he'll just be wearing underwear before too much longer.

So with a two-month-old and a two-year-old in cloth, here's my run-down of my favorite diapers.

For Logan:
- Bumgenius Bamboo fitteds are wonderfully trim and absorbent. Unfortunately they've been discontinued. :(
- Thirsties covers do not leak at all! And the sized ones run big which is great for my boys. Logan's small covers still fit great and have room for him to grow.
- Bumgenius All-In-Ones stuffed with a Pish Posh Applesauce doubler are our nighttime solution right now. Logan, the supersoaker, can go all night in that with no leaks. Unfortunately he's outgrowing the small ones we have. I can't afford more BG AIOs, but I did find a good deal on some Thirsties AIOs. I'm hoping I like them as well.

For Gehrig:
- Fuzzibunz perfect size pockets fit great and never leak or wick. Gehrig is wearing both mediums and larges so they have a wide range too. And they're super trim. I'd have these for my whole stash if I could afford them.

Can I brag a little?

I think I just have the best, smartest boys ever. Logan has turned into a little angel--he's been sleeping through the night since he was seven weeks old, he goes to sleep in his pack and play with no screaming (most of the time), and he will now just lie on the couch for quite awhile when he's awake. He's like a completely different baby from the one who screamed every time I set him down and had to be rocked until he was deeply asleep before I could lay him down. Yay! Here's my adorable chunky monkey:




Gehrig is somewhat of a stinker, but he's amazingly smart. We've been working on his alphabet, and he's doing very well for a two-year-old. He can now identify nearly half of the letters, and can almost completely sing the alphabet song. Of course, his rendition goes like this: "A, B, C, D, E, ET, G, Q, R, S, T, U, B, W, X, Y, N, Z." He also loves to sing "Twinkle Wittle Tar" and "Jesus" (Jesus Loves Me). He's rather shy about singing--he does not get that from my side of the family! I'm trying to get him to sing more often so he'll be able to sing in the children's choir at church next year.

He's still watching more TV than I would like, but we've managed to cut it down now that Logan's not so needy. His two favorite shows are Dora the Explorer ("Dora Splora") and Ni Hao Kai Lan (I highly approve of this one, of course--nothing like hearing your two-year-old say, "Ai-ya!"). He loves to act out Dora, and will frequently assign Mike and I different roles. His favorite scene to act out is the Swiper the Fox scene (since it's basically the same in every episode). He's gotten in trouble for taking things he knows he's not supposed to touch, and when I tell him to put them down, he throws them, yelling, "You're too late! You'll never find it now!" To which I'm supposed to reply, "Aw, man!" like Boots.
So, all of that to lead up to this story: I've been trying to work on obeying right away with him. He tends to take his time when I tell him to do something, and if I'm in a hurry, I'll usually just do it for him. Of course he will then freak out, "I wanted to do it!" So I tell him, "If you want to do it, you need to obey right away." Last night Logan was screaming as I was trying to get Gehrig out of the bath. I kept telling him to pull the stopper out, but he kept dawdling so finally I just pulled it out. Of course he cried the whole time I was getting him dressed, and he kept saying over and over, "I wanted to pull the thingy out!" And I kept trying to explain in different words why he didn't get to--in case he just wasn't understanding. Finally I said, "You were too late, Gehrig." Suddenly the tears were gone and a grin spread across his face as he exclaimed, "Aw, man!"

Here's my handsome stinker:



These wonderful pictures were taken by my friend Meredith at Black Oak Photography.

I have an idea

I'm not sure where Gehrig picked this phrase up, but he says it randomly and frequently. Today we were playing with his blocks and his little wooden "block train" (I'm not sure what else to call it--it's a train that has pegs that you can stack blocks on to make the different cars). Gehrig is very picky that the blue blocks go on the blue pegs, and the red ones go on the red pegs, but the last car has yellow pegs and there are only green blocks to go on it. He said, "Oh no, there's no green car." We've had this discussion many times, but he refuses to accept the fact that he's just going to have to put the green blocks on the yellow pegs. I was going to explain it yet again when he said, "I have an idea!" He began digging through his other blocks and pulling out green ones. "I build another car!" He declared.

On a different note, he's been very whiney lately when he wakes up from his nap (probably because he plays around in his bed for an hour and a half before he goes to sleep thus getting less than half of his normal nap), and he's been wanting lots of snuggles. It's very hard to tell him no, no matter what I'm doing, when he comes to me and says, "You wanna hold me, Mommy?"

A couple Gehrig tidbits

Since Logan was born, Gehrig's been obsessed with being a big boy and doing stuff "all by himself." He always says, "I did it all by myself!" The other day as I was sitting on the couch feeding Logan, Gehrig came running through the living room, slipped on the rug, and fell. He popped up and said, "I fell down all by myself, Mommy!"

I'm sure he has lots of friends at church, but the two I hear most about are Judson and Noah. I asked him what he had learned in church last Sunday. He thought for a minute and said, "Judson's boat." I said, "Judson's boat?" And he thought some more before saying, "Yes." He sat there thinking for another minute or so and said, "Judson...Noah..." "Oohh," I said, "Did you learn about Noah's boat?" His eyes lit up and he very decisively said, "Yes!"

Some randomness

Life has been pretty insane for the past seven weeks or so as I've been getting used to being a mother of two, but things finally seem to be settling down. Gehrig and I have both learned to be a little flexible with our routine, and Logan (who apparently takes after his daddy and is not a schedule person) is starting to get into somewhat of a routine. He no longer has to be held all the time or rocked to sleep--he's been doing pretty good at going to sleep in his bed. And he's been sleeping at least six hour stretches at night with only one feeding and then straight back to bed. I credit this to Babywise, of course!

They're also really easy to take out by myself too. Logan loves to sleep in his carrier or sling, and Gehrig is very obedient and holds my hand the whole time. I'm thankful for my good little boys!

Yesterday we had a pretty big storm here, and although Gehrig's never been scared of storms before, I was kinda worried the amazingly loud thunder might scare him this time. I didn't need to worry--as thunder shook the house, Gehrig was happily running around the living room, yelling, "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" He did get a little frightened when the power went out, but then he enjoyed just sitting on the couch with me and watching the rain through our wonderful picture window. He obviously inherited his mommy's patience, though, because he kept saying, "We'll NEVER watch TV, Mommy!"

And Logan, my stinker-turned-angel, slept through the whole thing.

Will I really keep it up?

Well, the plan is to keep this blog updated with stuff going on in the boys lives. Gehrig is 27 months now and into so much stuff, I really should keep a record. Logan is six weeks and smiling occasionally, but that's pretty much it for now (besides being a stinker) so for a little while Gehrig will probably be the dominant character.

Having two kids is quite the adjustment (more so than I had expected), and it seems like Mike and I never get time for just the two of us. Yesterday I had the boys all ready for church, and Logan was strapped into his carseat in the living room when Mike and I happened to cross paths in the kitchen and paused for a hug. I heard Gehrig talking to Logan in the living room and thought I should probably check on them. Good thing I did. Gehrig had Logan's carseat flipped all the way back so Logan was completely upside down. He was messing with the straps on the bottom of the seat and saying, "I fix your seat for you, Logan." *sigh* I guess I probably shouldn't have let him see me adjusting the straps to fit our giant baby.