Cloth diapering and stubbornnes, related...not necessarily.

Since about 2 months old we have been cloth diapering Perrin. We decided to do it before she was born for a couple of reasons. First, because it saves a lot of money over time, and second, for environmental reasons. When I was pregnant it would come up in conversation with people that we were going to cloth diaper. Almost always, they would give me this sweet pitying look that said, they knew just how that was going to go down.  Then they would go one to tell you of someone they knew who tried cloth diapers for awhile, only to give up--just as I would.

It turns out that we are still using cloth, and it really isn't that hard. Of course, I am not working outside the home, so that does play a role in giving me the time to wash diapers every other day and then stuff them with the inserts at night.  At first I thought I might continue with cloth even if it was a pain out of sheer stubbornness, just because everyone seemed to think I would quit.  I have been pleased to realize that I am not doing it out of stubbornness; I kind of like it. Washing and stuffing the liners back in the clean multicolored shells feels like this comforting ritual; you know, because women are just naturally passionate about cleaning, like in those commercials where it looks like the women wants to make love to her disinfecting counter-top cleanser.  Aaaanyway, the point is, it just isn't as hard or time consuming as you might think.  

Here is a quick little run down of cloth diapering in case you are curious how it works or might want to try it on the tiny butt in your family.  

- First you have to choose which ones you want...this is the hardest part.  There are more brands out there than you can imagine unless you have already waded into that world in the last handful of years.  I did tons of research, but sort of ultimately picked the same ones my brother and sister-in-law were going to use for their daughter who is very close in age to ours.  ...tired of diaper research, they are smart people, lets follow suit...  We are using Bum Genius 4.0, which seems to have been a good choice.  Thank you Jodi and Dan!

  
These close with hook and loop (like Velcro) and have a pocket that an absorbent insert goes into.  Also, the size is adjustable, so you don't have to keep buying new ones as your baby grows, which is good because they cost about $18 for each shell (comes with 2 inserts, one small, one larger). 

Generally cloth diapers need to be changed every two hours during the day, ...then it just depends one how often you plan on washing them in order to decide how many to buy...starting with a supply around 20 worked for us. 

-  I have 1 diaper pail for cloth and one lidded trash bin for used wipes and the occasional disposable diaper.  Plus a small plastic bin on top the table to toss the dirty diaper in until I can spray it off in the toilet or just pull out the liner and shove both parts in the diaper pail.

- I wash diapers every other day.  You have to use cloth diaper safe detergent (as well as diaper rash creams); what makes them safe is that they don't have ingredients that cause the diaper to start repelling urine, mostly animal derived substances, and they rinse completely out without leaving residue that can irritate the baby's bottom.

- You want to use a hot wash cycle to sanitize, and running an extra rinse cycle is a good idea to make sure all the detergent is rinsed out really well.  Then the diaper shells need to air dry, but the inserts can be put in the dryer.

There isn't much else to it.  They have come a long way since the white squares of cloth with pins in the sides that our grandmas remember. 

ZEN MOMENT WITH PERRIN..."Oooooo, tassels."

Wow, it is still here.

I can't believe that my blog from years ago is still here.  Who is going to take it down, I guess.  I started it when Joseph and I were living in Clarksville, IN before moving to CO.  So now I am thinking this space could be a good spot to share with family and friends what is happening in the life of Perrin and our family in general, as we start taking steps toward Joseph's first year of med school...and a place for an adult conversation starved mom to blow off some steam.

Walking by the Platte River

As of right now, Perrin is in her crib for a nap, but seems to be trying to tell me, "No thank you, I don't need a nap just now.  But thank you so much for offering."  Joseph just flew back to IN this morning to attend his Grandmother's funeral.  Elizabeth was 97 years old.  Perrin and I are staying in CO holding down the fort till Saturday.

Our Clere-Callis family news right now is that Joseph got accepted to medical school!!  His acceptance is from the school in Lexington, KY.  We have not heard from Anschutz Med School here in Denver yet.  We would really like to stay here, because we love our home, but also because it is a very good school.  They have this amazing display at the children's hospital on campus--it is the hospital in its entirety, made out of legos.  I think this is what really sold Joseph on the school; no, I'm serious.

Our other, equally notable, news is that Perrin rode in a shopping cart for the first time yesterday.  Ok, it's no going to med school, but it was pretty darn cute to see.  It made her look so tiny, but yet so grown up at the same time.  She sits pretty well these days, but still keels over eventually when she reaches too far to grab something.  But in the cart she did really well and enjoyed her new view and occupation as random stranger shopper charmer.

We just got about 5 inches of snow over night, and this morning.  It is so beautiful outside.  Perrin loves to be out in the falling snow.  She just looks up and around and smiles and giggles little baby giggles.  Well, something new is always going on with little P and writing is feeling really good, so check back with us often; I plan to update regularly. 

Knitting my first sweater!

The news in my world? I have decided to graduate from knitting socks to sweaters! So I have picked out the pattern from the book Stitch 'N Bitch. The pattern is called "Big Sack." The idea is that it is a big bulky sweater, so I figure I will have a little breathing room in the size and I won't end up knitting it too tightly and ending up with a chunky knit belly shirt. Not flattering. I got some 100% wool yarn from a local yarn shop called A Knitted Peace. So the goal is to turn THIS into... THIS.

I like the washing instructions on the yarn. Evidently it can only be washed in 30 degree C water with one hand, not while climbing a mountain, and there is no third rule. Alright, that makes sense. Wish me luck!

The coffee in my cup is cold and it's almost time for work

This is a new post. And that's all I got.
Ok, lets see, what have I been doing? This morning I have been drinking about three cups of coffee and writing a hub recommending a pizza bar here in town that is our current favorite place to eat and drink. They have this sandwich called the Elvis. It is peanut butter, honey, banana, and bacon on yummy bread. It's one of those things that you have to take 2 or 3 bites of to understand it. The first bite you think, huh?. The second you begin to understand what it is trying to do by mixing those flavors. And the third- no more thinking, just pure pleasure. Then you want to come back again the same week for another one.

My mom is coming out to visit at the end of March for a whole week! She, Tara, and I are going to drive to Moab, UT for a few days to hike around and see some crazy desert landscapes. I have never been to the desert. I imagine that it will be kind of like the ocean in the sense that it is sort of desolate and lonely feeling- but in a good way that makes you feel quiet and contemplative. That is what I imagine and it is how I feel when I sit and look at the ocean; I sort of love it, but am scared of it at the same time- you know you can't survive there, but it is so beautiful.

Recently our friend Merry came to visit us this past January! She and her boyfriend Aaron took a train from Omaha, Nebraska into Denver. We went to the Denver Zoo and saw a mountain lion stalk a small boy from its cage. The family and the boy didn't even notice, as they didn't really seem to be looking at the animals; they were just walking through the zoo as though they were going to receive a prize when they got to the end and had walked past every animal. Extra points for hitting more that two snack stands!

Back home from Indiana

I have a love/ hate relationship with getting home from vacation. After being away from home for many nights, I crave my own bed with just the right amount of blankets-a sheet and an afghan- and my shower where there are little shelves for each of my little shower things including my nail brush that I am not willing to fly across the country.
And when I am away from home I miss Simon the cat--and then for the whole next week after getting home he is so loving and under our feet constantly. I like that.

But going from being surrounded by family for a week to our fairly solitary life in Littleton is shocking. It hit me when we were taking the shuttle from the airport to our parked car- sitting there with all of our luggage and a bunch of strangers with theirs, bumping and jolting our way to our cars-I was looking at the open sky and the line the mountains make against that sky. Everything was so big and expansive that it felt a little bit lonely. I knew it would be a passing feeling and that I would be back in the mode that my life requires before long-which I am now--but I hate making that transition. Then going to work the next day--grrr--must put on my LensCrafters self, which means shutting down as many non-essential bodily systems as possible.

Indiana was good to us though--really it was more like our mid-west tour. We were in Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. We kayaked, laid flooring, saw a copperhead, ate Irish food twice and set off a huge illegal firework in a Bloomington alley. Good times.