Cloth Diapering

When we first found out that we were expecting, I wondered what options there were for trying to save money on disposable diapers.  I thought about cloth diapers, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to deal with the hassle.

This is what I remember from my mom using cloth diapers.

• large safety pins
• plastic covers
• pricking my fingers many times while trying to get it through the diaper
• cleaning the poop off in the toilet (or if you had a diaper service, sending large dirty bags away and getting a pile of clean diapers back)

Then I got to thinking....
What kind of cloth diapers are available today?  What are the benefits of going with cloth diapers?  Is is worth it?  Am I really saving money?  Is is going to be worth the 'hassle'?  These are all questions that I ended having to finding answers for.

So, what are the benefits?

1. Healthier for baby.  Cloth diapers are known for less diaper rashes.  You are not putting a chemical filled disposable on their bottom.  It also keeps the baby from becoming as sensitive to chemicals.

2. Cheaper than purchasing disposables! When I figured out the amount and it was amazing.  If you purchased disposables for 2.5-3years (depends on when your kid is potty trained), the amount that you would spend is about $2,000.00 per child!  Now double that with more than one child in diapers.  It adds up very quickly!  Initial investing in a good set of cloth diapers is only $200.00-$300.00 depending on the brand you get.   The cloth diapers can also be used for more than one child, making the savings last even longer.  That is a very large difference in cost between the two!


3. Potty training becomes easier with cloth (so I'm told).  The child can recognize sooner when they are wet verses a child in disposables.  Since my little one is still too young for this, I look forward to being able to train her quicker than it would have been with using disposables.

4. Helps the environment by not only keeping less disposables from going into the landfill, but also reducing the amount of environmental resources using in creating the disposable diapers to begin with.

Diapering nowadays is totally different than it used to be.  I found that out very quickly.  People don't use the large safety pins anymore and the diapers are just as easy to use as disposables.  They can either be velcro or snapped closed in the front.  Also, you can just have lots fun and be creative with all the designs that are available with the different brands out there.  As you can see, my little girl is sporting her little owl patterned diaper above.  At 2 months old, she still looks like she has a really big bum, but that will soon balance out as she gets older.

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2 Months Old!

Our little girlie is 2 months old already!  It is so much fun watching her grow and the changes that happen along the way.  She is smiling more now and trying to 'talk' to you when you talk to her.  She is getting bigger and doesn't fit all her newborn clothes anymore.  She is also starting to create her own schedule for the day, which I now have to take note of or she gets crabby.  I don't blame her, because if I was tired, I would be crabby too. :)

So, here are a few updated pictures that I took of her this morning.  After a night of sleep and getting a full breakfast, this is what I look forward to seeing!  A happy little girl!

Nursing Tank Tops

I love nursing!  I believe it is the best solution for my daughter, as long as I am able to provide for her.  I use a nursing cover which helps to a degree but when I lift my shirt, the cover doesn't necessarily hide my whole midriff section.  So, I had to find some other solutions!  Now, mind you, some of you may have already known about this as you have kids older than my little girl, but I recently picked up a couple nursing tank tops and absolutely love them.  I can't say enough about them.  They are so worth the extra money and can be used for more than one child.

They help me maintain modesty.  They are nice and long in length.  They are decently high in front.  When I wear them under another shirt which I have to lift for nursing, I don't have to worry about showing off my midriff section.

I highly recommend them to others who have not used one before.  You should be able to find them in most regular clothing department store.  I know there are a few different brands out there, so you will have to find the one that fits what you are looking for best.


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Lenelle's Engagement Pictures

I had fun taking my sister Lenelle's engagement pictures a couple weeks ago.  We went to the Old Covered Bridge in Ada and Avery was a trooper the whole time while I lugged her around from spot to spot in her car seat.  I think she slept most of the time, which made it easier on me.  Ian & Lenelle are hoping to be married on July 26, 2012, DV.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Guest Bathroom Makeover

I know some of you have been waiting for these posts.  It is of our bathroom renovation that started at Christmas time with demolition and it slowly grew to be a bigger project than we originally anticipated.  Also, since we had a little one in the mean time, everything pretty much was placed on hold till recently as we finally finished adding the last minute accessories.  We are glad that we did it and that it is for the most part done!

Here are the pictures of the whole process.

Before:

After:

Here is the evidence of all the work that went into the bathroom. :)

We started this project with the intent of just replacing the tub with a stand shower and linen closet in the corner.  Since the bathroom was so small and we have another tub already, we can do without one here and stand to make this bath feel a little bit bigger, or at least give a bit more room.  After tearing out the tub, we found out that we had 16 inches of dead space behind it that is extremely valuable in a really small bathroom.  With that discovery, our project doubled in size.  Now, we decided to tear down the wall and make a new one farther back, but in order to do that, we had to empty all the blown-in insulation that had fallen from the ceiling (since they didn't know there was a whole there).  That little space took bags, and bags, and bags full of insulation.  Poor Andrew was itchy for several days.  We didn't rush too much on it, but simply worked a couple nights each week and Saturdays here and there.  I wonder if the people at Menards recognize us, as we ended up there many times after realizing we need one more item or the item we got, wouldn't work, etc.

Once we were able to clean out the blown insulation, we tore off the rest of the drywall, cleaned out the rest of the insulation, and old subfloor, as it was rotting in a few places.

Here you can see fresh insulation, a fresh 1/4" OSB subfloor, and new plumbing for both the shower and sink.

You can see here that the new vinyl floor is already in.  The new shower stall is placed on top and they are starting to hang the new drywall up.

Here is the beautiful, but not yet complete, shower base and walls.

Taping and mudding all the cracks and corners.

I realized I didn't end up with any pictures of the painting process, but you can see the results in the final outcome.  We do certainly enjoy our 'new' bathroom and also the larger floor space for comfortableness in dressing, etc.  I also have another linen closet to use, which was great a necessity. 

My Brother Dan has Graduated!

Who said you can't have a graduation ceremony even though you are homeschooled?  We certainly do!  I can now say that more than half my family is out of high school.  Dan, who is #5 of 8 kids, graduated from homeschooling high school just a couple weeks ago.  Only 3 kids left!  What are they going to do with all their free time after that?  Play with grandkids! :)

Here is some pictures from Dan's Graduation ceremony.  Sorry about the dark pictures.  It was difficult lighting for picture taking.

The 5 who graduated!

We sang "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" 

Dan gave a really nice speech!  He took speech class and you could really see it in his presentation.  Andrew said that he should become a pastor.  We will see DV what he decides to do.

Right now he is going into H/VAC, studying at Grand Rapids Community College first and then transferring to Ferris State in a couple years.

My parents giving their little background speech on Dan and then presenting him with his diploma - another blessing about being homeschooled, the parents get to present their child with his/her diploma!