Preparing for A Baby

The week after I returned home from my trip to Georgia, I became adamant about the fact that we needed to start preparing for the arrival of a baby in our house.  I realized that I had reached the point of being 30 weeks pregnant and there were only 10 weeks left until my due date.  When you coupled that fact with the higher risk of complications in an IVF pregnancy in the 3rd trimester, I became astutely aware that we would be bringing a baby home in just a few short weeks.  And then I realized how quickly the last several weeks had passed.  And I began to panic.  And sob uncontrollably cry.

That Saturday morning started off with our cloth diapering class at a local store.  Sensing just how important it was to me to get the ball rolling, Derek suggested that we go ahead and buy our diapering supplies.  So, we picked out the type of system we were going to use and we bought them.  There was also some great incentive to buy since we received a 10% discount on the day of our class.

And then we headed out to the local Tar.get and Toys.R.Us to do some shopping.

Now, let me interject here that when "we" were registering, Derek wasn't really all that interested in helping.  He thought it would be super simple to just register online and he didn't understand why it was taking me so long to register.  I tried to explain to him all of the choices and how hard it was to decide on some of these things when you couldn't touch them or read the box.  Once we got to the first store, he finally understood why I had a hard time registering online.  He was shocked at the options available for bottles, pacifiers, swings, monitors, play yards, car seats, strollers...  When we were looking at swings, he began ruling out swings because they didn't feel soft and comfy enough or because they didn't have an AC adaptor.  He remarked several times that it was confusing to pick the right one.  To which I responded "And THAT is why it took me so damned long to register."

We spent most of the day baby shopping.  We didn't go overboard on the little things - we only bought a couple of bottles and pacifiers - I am hoping to breast feed (pumping a couple of times a day so that Derek can bottle feed him - both for bonding and so that when I return to work and he needs to drink from a bottle, it will hopefully be an easier transition...).  We filled in the holes for the 0-3 month clothes size (gowns, onsies, footed pajamas).  We bought washcloths and towels.  We bought a thermometer and a health/grooming kit.  We bought a changing pad and covers, crib sheets, burp cloths, bibs, and some receiving blankets.  We bought a pack and play and a crib mattress.  We bought a boppy pillow. 

We were on a roll with the shopping and we realized that we had some Best.Buy rewards points that were about to expire, so we rolled on over there and bought a video camera to be able to record Carder as he grows.

We came home with bags and boxes galore.

That Sunday, we made the final determination on the type/style/color of travel system we wanted to buy (of course, it wasn't available in any local stores).  I had some 20% off in store purchase coupons for BRU and wanted to use one of them on the travel system.  Luckily, the BRU rep was kind enough to give me a 20% discount over the phone.  That has now arrived and has been assembled.

I found the crib we wanted to buy online with no shipping and no sales tax.  After a brief detour to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan due to an error with the shipping label, the crib has now arrived and is assembled.  The mattress is inserted and his bed is made.

The swing we picked out wasn't in stock that weekend nor the next.  It was finally in stock this past week.  We assembled it yesterday afternoon and it is now sitting in our living room.

All of the 0-3 month clothes have now been washed, as have all blankets, towels, and washcloths.  Larger clothing sizes are folded and organized in drawers in his room.  All of the cloth diapers have been washed and dried 3 times in preparation for use.  I still have some items that will need to be washed, but I am feeling pretty good about where we are right now and I feel like I still have some time.

I had bought my first bottle of Dr.eft the week before the shopping spree.  At the cloth diapering class, I found out that they don't recommend Dr.eft to launder the cloth diapers (perfumes and oils), so I got a recipe for baby detergent.  I now have made my own baby detergent.  (Super easy to make and much more affordable than Dr.eft).

I bought some wooden letters that spell out his name and I have painted them.  I am hoping that we can hang them up tomorrow.

My projects for this next couple of weeks?

• Finding Cloth Baby Wipes (I know what I want, I just need to either find them online at a reasonable price or see if I can get someone to make them)
• Artwork for above the crib (Originally I was going to go with a wall cling.  I am now thinking of buying a canvas and painting it myself)

Once the artwork above the crib is complete and hung, I think I will feel like the nursery is pretty much complete.  At that point, I will post some pictures of the nursery for everyone to see.

The Diaper Debate

During my first official OB appointment, I was reading a pregnancy magazine as we waited for our ultrasound. One of the stories I read was from a mother/writer who typically used disposable diapers and was trying out the new style of "cloth diapers" and writing a review of several specific types. I read the article and I found it intriguing. I actually wish I had asked for a copy of the article to take with me.

As we are considering purchases for our nursery, I browsed a local store that sells organic/green products, and I noticed they had a selection of reusable diapers. I began thinking back to that article and began wondering if I wanted to consider this option.


After a small amount of research, I found out that almost 18 billion single use diapers are thrown away each year.  Each one of these disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.  Over 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp (a quarter million trees) are required to manufacture these 18 billion single use diapers.

Other studies have indicated that diaper rash has increased drastically since single use diapers were introduced and there is speculation that the increase in male infertility over the last 25 years could also be linked to increased scrotal temperatures caused by the plastic in disposable diapers.

Babies who are diapered with cloth diapers tend to be potty trained more easily.

And on top of that is the cost factor.  If you look at how much disposable diapers cost you (an average of over $2,000 per child) vs. cloth (which has a higher initial investment but a lower long term cost and the cost varies on the type of diaper system you use but can range from $350-$702 total).

Don't get me wrong.  I am not entirely a granola girl - I shave my legs and my armpits, I wear deodorant, I don't dance around a fire singing Kumbaya, and I don't wear Patuli oil.

BUT, I do love to make some choices in my life that are good for the environment.  I recycle everything I can (and I have been a supporter of recycling since the early 90s before it became "cool" to recycle).  I love the idea of alternative/green energy.  I buy recycled products when possible. 

And if the environmental effect of disposable diapers wasn't enough to intrigue me, the cost savings definitely was.  After all, we recently went from 2 incomes to 1 1/2.  And the 1 1/2 we have are a lot lower than the 2 incomes we previously had.  We made a choice to change our lifestyle when we made our move and that has meant changes in how we can spend money.

So, we are strongly considering cloth diapers.  I am not talking about the old cloth diapers you might remember that are hooked onto baby with safety pins and are covered by an uncomfortable plastic cover.  These are stylish and functional  covers that close with Velcro or snaps. 

The covers are used with absorbent liners that are washable (or you can even use the old time cloth diapers as your liner). 

Some of the styles of covers you must buy a couple of sizes to get you from newborn to potty training.  Others have snaps that grow with the baby and are one size fits all.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  This is perfectly FINE for just wet diapers.  But those poopy diapers are pretty darned gnarly and I don't think I would want to be doing anything but throwing those things out.

I hear you.  They also make a secondary liner that is disposable that goes over the top of the absorbent liner.  If the diaper is a poopy diaper, you simply take the liner and throw it in the toilet and flush.  Now I know that doesn't guarantee that you won't get poopy on the non-disposable liner or that you won't have a gnarly stinky mess to clean up.  But it sure does make the idea of cleanup with cloth diapers easier, right?

Derek and I actually went to a store and talked to the salesperson about how the systems work.  He and his wife used cloth diapers on their child and he explained how the different systems worked.  We don't have all of the details figured out yet, but unless something major changes our mind, I think we will be going with this option.  This isn't to say we won't use disposable diapers if we go on a road trip or if there is a situation that would warrant that.  But we probably won't use disposable diapers for our main source of pee and poopy control...