Diapers, Diapers, Everywhere!

It’s not often that I’m at a loss for words. I want to add a post to the blog, but don’t aim to ramble simply to fill a page. Often throughout the day, I think, “Oh, I should write about this in the blog.” Unfortunately I seem to have a problem with my memory and forget the majority of my good ideas. When a baby enters the picture, the background turns into a white noise of sorts…and to that background flit those thoughts.

There is one thing that I have been wanting to write about for some time. It may seem silly, but I have become passionate about cloth diapers. Those that have lived in the days of old with those square cloths that have now become dust rags, and those of today who generally consider using cloth diapers the most antiquated practice ever would probably see me as a little crazy for saying that I’m “passionate” about cloth. Crazy or not, that’s how I feel.

What’s so great about cloth? Thank you for asking. Well, it’s good for everyone! It is estimated that for each year a child is in disposable diapers, there is one ton of disposable diaper garbage that is put into a landfill? That’s a lot of garbage! There is also a lot of speculation that disposable diapers may be linked to allergies and that the dioxins in disposable diapers may be linked to certain cancers (like a million other things we daily expose ourselves to, but still, why add one more). So we’ve covered why disposables should be avoided for environmental and health concerns, but there is also the pocket book that most people need to be careful with. We will probably spend about $500 on cloth diapers through the entire diapering life with Gwyneth, vs the $2000+ of disposables! For that reason alone, it’d convince us!


I’ve heard all the excuses as to why people don’t like cloth, but cloth has come a long way. The first top reason is that they are a pain to wash. Believe it or not, I spend about 5 minutes every other day tending to diaper washing. Send them through a rinse and spin on cold, send through a regular wash and then pop them all in the dryer. The second explanation I’ve heard from people is that it causes diaper rash. Well, we’ve tested the theory and Gwyneth doesn’t get diaper rash and more in disposables than in cloth. She was in disposables until her umbilical cord fell off and believe it or not, that was when her bottom got really raw. I’ve also heard that daycares won’t deal with them…guess what each daycare I looked at was open to using them. The list goes on and we’ve found that disposables aren’t really better, or even more convenient...especially when considering how often we've had disposable leaks and blowouts.

Yes, we do use the occasional disposable. I’m not THAT die hard, but really, why are we using so many disposable diapers? I personally want an earth that my little Gwyneth can enjoy as she gets older…one that’s filled with dirt and rock and molten lava…not one that has a core consisting entirely of our old, stinky diapers.


Here is a fabulous diaper that we use. We love it for daycare, but when at home, we use the never fail cloth squares placed in a diaper cover.

It's Begun!

Our house is for sale! You want to buy it???

It's begun, the process of selling our house! This morning the realtor came to do a walk-through and left us with a positive feeling that our house will sell, and it will sell for a decent amount. There is a lot of work to be done though before that first open house...paint, paint, paint, and Wes will be making rounds with his power tools. The majority of the house, however, is good to go! In the meantime, it's on the market, waiting for that perfect family, who hopefully shows up soon with a lot of cash!

Where will we go? Well, Duluth of course! We can't wait to be close to our friends and church...and a half hour closer to family. When we move, between the three of us, we will gain about a total of 5 hrs of time on a DAILY basis to be together, get things done, play, etc. I have a feeling our dogs will be more content with that extra time we'll have with them as well.

We've taken some bang up pictures of Gwyneth. I know that most parents think this about their kids, but we've got the best one out there! She's a little dolly - happy, healthy, cute, and on and on...

Here are a few of the best:

Papi! You're Scratching Me!

Relaxed Curiosity


Lance Looking For Handouts Already


Cuddles With Mommy

General Updates

This weekend has gone quickly. It was just Friday and I was about to leave work to pick Gwyneth up from the sitters, and now it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m working on finishing up the long to-do list of chores. I have a feeling that every Sunday is going to be a difficult day of transitioning my mindset so that I can give my little girl away to someone else during work and accepting the difficult responsibilities of juggling work, family and the rest of life. It’s hard.

This past week lent quite a surprise to us. The person who was sitting for Gwyneth did an honorable thing, although a scary thing that left us in a predicament. She admitted that she just can’t offer Gwyneth the quality of care that she deserves, and feels she should be with someone who can. We want Gwyneth to have the best care that we can arrange for her while we’re not able to be with her, so we quickly found a new place for Gwyneth…a good place, a better place. It’s not as convenient, but I’m learning that children and the people and things that you love are never that way.

Gwyneth will be taken care of in a Christian daycare that has an educational curriculum that will help prepare her for kindergarten…or maybe someday the door will open up for me to stay home with the little chiquita. Whatever the future holds, for now, she will be well-cared for.

As life flies by Gwyneth flourishes. She’s starting to laugh – or perhaps it’s more of a squeal. Her smiling and states of awareness last longer each day. She’s a general delight! She’s found her hands and is constantly putting them in her mouth and sucking on them, or batting at something with them. It’s adorable, but leaves her hands damp and sticky by the end of the day. It’s already time to teach her the importance of hand washing!

Oh, and I discovered another thing this past week. Those wet wipes used for cleaning her bum are wonderful for dusting and wiping! Because we use cloth diapers, we don’t like to sort out the dirty wipes from the diapers, so I load them all into the wash, and have been just throwing them out once they’re clean…that is until just recently. Cleaned and dried, they’re great for dusting, or wetted, great for cleaning up messes (other than the ones under a diaper wrap). I don’t feel guilty about using disposable wipes when I can use them a few times over.

Terror and Triumph

One wouldn't think that the two words terror and triumph would go together. This morning, they did. Gwyneth set her record for longest uniterrupted sleep. Eight hours (with daylight savings, a false nine)! She slept for so long that when I woke up and realized that it was light outside and saw that the clock read 7 AM, I panicked. I expected to see a cold, blue baby in the crib. I said a quick little prayer ("Dear God, please let Gwyneth be alive".) and dashed into her bedroom. I found a quietly stirring sleeping baby. As soon as my worry was gone, I was elated. I didn't think that Gwyneth would try to sleep through the night at 9 weeks. It was probably just a fluke, but I know she can do it, and it gives me lots of hope for the weeks ahead. However, when she does sleep though the night consistently, I think part of me will miss those quiet middle of the night feedings, where it's just me and her, both groggyily doing our jobs.

Back Into the Swing

We're back into the swing of things - sort of. I'm back at work, Wes is busy as usual and well, now we're figuring out how to manage it all with a baby that we're dying to spend such limited time with.

Being back to work has been tough. I get up at 5:45 AM and then go strong until 9:30 PM with little recess. I'm needing stamina and endurance and I am given just enough to make it through each day. This week I survived, more than survived! I was actually dumbfounded that I made it through. I'm not exactly sure what I thought would happen - the Apocalypse perhaps. The world, however kept on spinning, and my feet stayed grounded. I don't believe that I would have made it without God's help and the prayers that people "sent up."

Even though being back at work is difficult, I'm trying to find the silver linings of it. So far I haven't had to look too far. The best of the silver linings is that when I'm with Gwyneth, I am more able to enjoy every moment of it, even if she's wailing. I can't wait to get off of work and pick her up so that I can smother her with hugs, kisses, and "I love you's." When I spent all day long with her, meeting her every need could sometimes feel more like a job than a joy. With my eight hour break, it's become a joy.

Today has been a fun Saturday of observing Gwyneth. She's learning that she can do things with her hands. She noisly sucks on them to pacify herself and she'll use them to interact with toys (although still working on the gripping - unless it's my hair). This is fun development to watch. It happens so quickly! She's also been gal smiley. I sat her up in one of our easy chairs while I swept the room and she was so quick to smile when I would turn to look at her or say something. Sweet child.


One thing that that's been troublesome is that on Wednesday and Thursday ishe got into crying spells (that lasted up to a half hour) while she was at the sitters and the sitter couldn't get her to stop. When I was at home, the same thing would happen to me and it seemed to be a gas/digestive issue. Please pray that Gwyneth's gut would mature and that the sitter would be filled with patience and love during these times. Thanks!