100th post!

Wow, I can't believe this is my 100th post! Good times... and yet, I have nothing big to report here, no great topic or recap of my 100 posts. In fact the most exciting post I think I've made was my 99th, the video of Jack walking (check it out here)!

What else is new here? Well, today we started our first day of attempting to use cloth diapers. Even more impressive? Matt was the first one to put the diaper on Jack (he was off work today) and he's being supportive of me wanting to try cloth diapers a bit. I am really intrigued by the ability to save a LOT of money, maybe not over 1 child (especially since Jack is over a year old) but we hope to have more children in the future. After spending nearly $40+ a month on diapers for one child, the fact that we may not have to buy diapers ever again is REALLY exciting for me.

So yes, the idea of cloth diapering when I was pregnant was NEVER an option. I didn't even care to do any research about it, everyone uses disposables. Plus, the only thing I imagined using cloth diapers were the ones we registered for to use as burp cloths (single layer cloth diapers). As Matt said "How could anyone expect this to keep ANYTHING in?" After seeing a few FB friends who used them on their kids (saw them in pictures) I was kind of surprised. I started reading up on the subject to see what was going on, sure didn't look like cloth diapers the way I pictured it!

I did a decent amount of research and found a website that will let you make your own sample package! There are this diapers called "pocket diapers," which are pretty close to an all-in-one (cloth version of the disposable style, aka has a waterproof outer layer), but the pocket diapers dry a lot faster (from what I've read). We placed the order and got our diapers this week... only ordered a few different brands, just to try here & there, as well as the waterproof bag & sample of detergent. I washed and dried the diapers last night, and told Matt he could try one today if he was up to it but no pressure!

So far, this is what I've observed/researched (downsides in red, upsides in green, and yellow is for the items where our jury is still out):

• They are "not your mother's cloth diapers"... very cute options and more importantly very EASY options!
• Definitely bulkier than disposables, but all of Jack's shorts (ok, a khaki pair & PJ shorts since its only been one day) seem to fit fine over the diapers without too drastic of a difference in appearance but he definitely looks like he has a bubble butt. I'm definitely going to look into "thinner" cloth diaper brands, or the ones that seem to get good reviews for being thin. Thank goodness it is summer though, because he looks really cute in a cloth diaper & t-shirt! I suppose if we ever had a girl and she's wearing dresses a lot we won't have to worry about it!
• Diaper changes are just as quick, instead of taking the diaper to the Diaper Genie, we take it and put it in the bag. We are still using disposable wipes... it is kind of hard for me to give those up because they do a great job!
• You need to use special detergent to wash the diapers, and of course I thought this is going to be more expensive especially since we have a HE washer. Surprisingly, the prices I've seen on some popular "cloth diaper safe" are the same cost per load or even cheaper! (Yea! for saving more money!)
• The one size diapers (they can be adjusted to fit babies from 8 or 10 lbs. up to 30 or 35 lbs.) will be great for all of our future children at one point, but from most online articles on the subject suggest getting newborn diapers because of how tiny newborns are. This would add to some extra cost for diapers, but again if we have more than one child use them, it would be more cost effective.
• We still haven't changed a poopy cloth diaper... this will be the real test. We got some liners (very thin layer that you place in between the diaper & baby's bottom) that will hopefully avoid the whole rinsing issue. Another option out there is a diaper sprayer (so you don't dunk in the toilet), you just spray it off before putting in the bag. Again, the poopy cloth diaper will be the number one challenge for us... especially for Matt. Jack has pooped through enough disposable diapers on the both of us, but especially Matt, that if dealing with a cloth diaper after poop is too much, we may abandon cloth diapering. I'm really not sure its going to be that much worse than wiping bottoms with the risk of getting it on your hands, or a diaper explosion all over baby & his clothes.

On Wednesday, I went out with the girls to see O.A.R. my favorite band! I've seen them a number of times and only missed last year's concert because it was the Thursday before my due date (Jack's birthday). It was a little step back in time, we pushed our way to be 2 or 3 people behind the gates in front of the stage. I got some decent pictures too, but more pictures that were "ehhh" to "crappy" quality.

Work has still been busy, but I did get out at 3:30 today... we had a company wide early release at 3 so I was able to get out shortly after! Quite a drastic change from the few days a week I was staying til at least 8... one time past 11 pm. There have been others working longer hours and more on the weekends then I have had too, so they deserve a ton of kudos! The group doing this work did get some recognition today at a department wide meeting for all of the long hours and hard work we've done, so it is nice to get recognized when you do work really hard on something.

Tomorrow is a friend's bridal shower! I'm in her wedding in September. We're going to lunch at a restaurant then to her grandma's house for festivities! I love wedding season and feel so honored to be in her wedding!