Thursday, November 26, 2009

Excitement!

So today I was talking to a friend of mine, and it was basically decided (and shaken on!) that I will be serving as her unofficial doula during birth. I AM FREAKING STOKED. She feels as though the baby will arrive in February and is hoping for a drug-and-intervention-free birth, which I totally hope I can help provide for her. From the information I learned from MY doula (Becky, you ROCK) and the things I've learned from research and experience, I really hope that I can help her achieve this goal. It'll be her first child, my first experience, and the first birth I've been present for that wasn't happening for my family! I'm so excited I can't even begin to tell you about it! So now I'm seriously considering taking classes to become a certified doula if I really do enjoy this experience with her - perhaps I can ask for payment to go to Chicago to take the classes for my birthday in April. That would be amazing. So I fired off an email to my doula and I hope she doesn't feel I'm stepping on any toes by asking her about becoming a doula.

That's about all there is to report for now - dear hubby has to work at 4 AM tomorrow (Black Friday) until 2 PM, and Gabe is grouchy beyond all compare, so tonight is REALLY not ending well. Sigh. It's always something, isn't it?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to spend it with friends and family, eating good food!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Clothies And Hats

Well, first of all, I have my official first shipment of BG 3.0 OS dipes. So here's my review after about a week of usage:

Pros:
Microfiber inserts hold a LOT of liquid!
Not as bulky as I expected
They fit a 2 1/2 year old on the biggest setting
The colors are true to the website
They didn't bleed color when washed in hot water
Don't hold stains or smell at all
Aplix holds well
Inserts tumble dry quickly

Cons:
Bulkier than sposies for sure
Newborn insert addition makes dipes VERY bulky
Six is so not enough (haha)
Covers take FOREVER to dry (must hang dry)
Stuffing dipes can be time-consuming and awkward/difficult
Doubling the front later will be awkward and lead to lots of bulk
Poop sticks pretty hardcore to the dipe

So far, I think it's about even - I'm liking them, but since I only have six to use (and about a billion Indian prefolds that do me no good without covers) it's really difficult to keep up with the diapers when it comes to washing. I feel like I'm wasting a lot of water and electricity trying to wash them constantly, so that is my only big complaint thus far, but that isn't the fault of the diapers. I think I'm gonna like this.

Also, I'm making HATS.


I made this for Alex for Christmas. I have no idea if it'll actually fit or not, but I've hand-sewn the entire thing. Thus far I think it looks pretty awesome. I'm a little worried that using the fleece will prove to be a bad idea because it stretches so much, and I worry that the stitches will stretch right out, but we'll just have to see - if it ends up not working, so be it. I'm not out much in the long run, and I won't be entirely heartbroken if my first attempt at a hat doesn't end up picture-perfect. As it stands, I think that's a pretty good hat, considering I didn't hem the bottom (the fabric rolls and doesn't fray so I didn't see the point in taking an extra half an hour to do that by hand, too) and didn't use a pattern (which is why it's a bit off-kilter). I figure, for my kids, I'm not too bothered by a little lean, and that makes it more unique, right? Ha, ha, ha.

Now, here's the thing: If this hat ends up lasting, I'm seriously considering making more of them. The cloth that the spots came from literally cost a dollar for a 18" x 20" piece, the fleece was a HUGE yard for almost $3, and of course I honestly don't factor in the cost of thread as it's minimal at best. The yellow felt was left over from a Halloween costume Colin made YEARS ago that somehow floated with him from apartment to apartment, and I found it and decided it needed to be used. So here we have it, the finished hat. I suppose there would be a good market for these, as the cost would be little and the hats would be FREAKING CUTE. The best part is that if I chose to make these and sell them, and used my sewing machine to make the hats themselves, I could make these in like 15 minutes flat, from cutting to the last stitch on the polka dots. I could do stripes of the felt, I could do just about anything anyone wanted, and it would be pretty easy all things considered.

So, my nonexistent not-so-loyal readers, what do YOU think? If it were a little better made, would YOU buy these from a WAH momma?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Desperate for Diapers

I've recently decided (see last post) that I will probably be going with Thirsties diapers instead of the BumGenius diapers. The price was a big factor, however, a little research had also brought up the fact that apparently the BG dipes have a tendency to unravel far faster than what it's worth - which is leading me to the Thirsties route instead. I am slowly saving up bits and pieces of my paychecks, although at this route it will undoubtedly be a very long time (read: several months) before I can even begin to order the six dipes and 20 prefolds that I had originally wanted. I've considered getting a smaller number of each - maybe three dipes and 10 prefolds to start out, as that would halve my spending - but I would no longer qualify for the free shipping, and I would hate to start out on the path to cloth diapering without some sort of stash set up that's big enough to actually make continuing worthwhile.

For now, we're back in the dreaded disposables. We've gone from the moderately expensive Pampers dipers to their same-brand counterparts, the Pampers BabyDry dipers. I absolutely hate disposables - we go through so many that we need a separate trash can for them and the damn thing reeks no matter what I do to it - but Alex has basically outgrown the gDiapers at this point, and I have no ability or desire to waste money I could be using on buying AIOs or OS dipes on more gDiapers that will only last so long anyway. I would have to order online either way, as no local stores carry the gDiapers anymore, so at this point the wait isn't what concerns me in the least.

I do still intend to take a stab at making a couple of diapers, as I do still have the materials, although I'm aware that in order to use them I'll need to pre-wash all of the fabric still, pre-shrink it, and then buy some of those evil plastic covers. That is the cheaper route in the long run than buying premade covers online; they would look better, for sure, but expense is a problem at this point and I cannot afford to put any more money into this than I am already planning to. All I want is to get a decent number of dipes built up so after this I am free to experiment with whatever diapers and combinations of covers/prefolds/inserts/dipes that I please without feeling concerned about their quality affecting the number of diapers I have in my stash (ie buying just one or two now and teasing myself with the idea that I can use these diapers long-term without wearing them out at all).

In other news, we've begun the slow transition into organic and natural food. I have to say, I thought natural peanut butter would taste crappy, but I prefer it hands-down to its processed sibling! A few things I am currently skipping: organic eggs (price), organic milk (oh my GOD that is expensive), organic meats (I know, I know, but damn, that's a lot of money), organic ice creams (most of it seems to be lactose-free and none of us are lactose-intolerant). We did, however, get some vegetarian powdered egg substitute, as a $10 bag is actually cheaper in the long run to use in baking and such than an actual egg.

Will we make the full transition? I have no idea, but I do know this is a GREAT way to start working more fruits and veggies into our diets. One step closer to a better lifestyle.