Category Archives: life

12/14/12

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I’ve been debating writing anything about the tragedy that occurred in Connecticut this past Friday. Although I don’t feel like my words can do it justice, it also doesn’t feel right to make no mention of something that has caused so much suffering.

The news brought us to our knees on Friday afternoon and now, two days later, we go to bed with hearts that are broken and anger that lingers.

The feeling of  “what the f, world?!” remains, and the reality that we are living in a world where our kindergarteners know too much weighs heavily on us.

I spent most of Friday in the depressing mindset that this must be our lowest point. This has got to be mankind at its worst.

But I’m sure this has been said before. I’m sure we thought the same thing in Colorado in 1999, or in Virginia in 2007. After all, they’re all somebody’s babies.

And then, you start to hear the stories about what took place in Newtown. They aren’t stories of hate. They are stories of genuine, unselfish love. Stories of a community who loves each other, and stories of teachers who love their students; teachers who remind us why we send our kids off to kindergarten in the first place.

And cautiously, ever so slowly, our faith in humanity is being restored.

 

 

On Your First Birthday

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Today is your first birthday.

Can’t believe it has been a year since we first met you. The nine months we waited for you felt like forever and now your first year has gone by in what seems like an instant. It’s all a little fast for me. You have changed our thoughts on just about everything and these days the only “good times” we talk about are those that include you.

Thank you little one, for showing us a different kind of happy and a new kind of love.

Happy birthday sweet girl!

Bum Genius Cloth Diaper Review

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Sadly, I am not really a “green” person. I love paper towels and use them much too often, I didn’t start recycling until I first lived with Andrew and he made me, I prefer AC to windows and I almost always prefer driving to walking.

Don’t judge.

Despite the fact that my daily life would probably make most environmentally conscious folks cringe, I am a huge fan of cloth diapers. My motivation for cloth diapering was more economical than environmental, but it is still a nice little bonus to know that we are not contributing to the billions of pounds of diaper trash that sit in landfills each year.

Originally, I was skeptical about this business. I pictured the saggy looking cloth diapers I remember my little sister wearing, which consisted of giant pins (for real) and a rag, and I wasn’t feeling it.  After doing some research and seeing my sister cloth diaper her little one, I found that for me, the pros (saving $, better for baby’s skin, never having to worry about not having diapers etc.) outweighed the cons (more work on our part, and literally, more poop on our hands.)

A few months before Reese was due I added bumGenius 4.0 One-Size Cloth Diapers to my shower gift registry. I was attracted to these diapers because they were one-size-fits-all so I could use them from birth until she was potty trained, thanks to the adjustable snaps. I’ll have to see how well they hold up but I hope to use them for future children as well.

Here they are.

And these are the inserts that come with them, a newborn insert and a regular sized insert. These get stuffed into the pocket at the back of the diap. At night we use both inserts, but during the day the regular sized insert works fine.

These bad boys aren’t cheap at $17 a pop (diapers.com) but when I decided that I was going to do this, I was committed.  I made up my mind made up that we would not be using disposables at home if we could help it.

I received about 10 diapers as gifts and bought seven more on my own. The website recommends having 24 diapers for one baby, but that is crazy expensive and in my opinion, definitely not necessary. With 17 diapers, we have to wash them about every other day in order to assure that she always has a clean diap.

Reese has been wearing these diapers for about a year now and overall we are very happy with them and with the cloth diapering process in general. However, there are definitely some things to think about before making the investment.

Things to Consider

I must confess that I get a LOT of help with the diaper laundering and I know it would be much more difficult to do on my own, so that is something for moms to consider. My mother-in-law washes, folds and puts away the diapers every other day while she is home with Reese so we just have to take care of them Fri-Sunday. The washing process includes a pre-rinse, a wash and then dry in the dryer. I will say that the directions recommend that the covers be line dried but I only do this when time permits, which is pretty much never. Directions also recommend two rinse cycles, one before the wash and one after. I have found that one rinse cycle in the beginning is fine.

When we travel I usually use disposable diapers. It is easier to be able to throw away a dirty diap than to carry it around in your bag all day.

Snaps > velcro. The velcro takes a beating in the wash.

Cloth diapers are extra bulky and they make Reese look like she has a mayjah booty. I think it’s cute but it’s something to consider when buying baby clothes; sometimes she busts out of the pajamas that button from foot to crotch if they aren’t one size bigger.

This part is kind of gross.

We have a diaper sprayer that attaches to the side of our toilet. We use this to spray off the poop diapers after we dump the poop in the toilet. I know this sounds crazy, but it helps with keeping the diapers clean. I have noticed a few times when the diapers weren’t sprayed that the poop stains didn’t come out as well.

Isn’t it beautiful?

$$$. Word is that most people spend $1500-$2000 on diapers for one child before he/she is potty trained. Thus far we have spent (even though some were gifts, I’ll just assume we bought all of our diapers) $289 on diapers. I’m not going to lie and say I actually went back and checked our electric and water bills to see how much they increased since we started cloth diapering, but I will tell you that I pay those bills and I haven’t noticed a major change.

In short, we’re giving them two thumbs up.

First Snow

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A few weeks ago we had our first snow.

After I got home from work we skipped bath time, bundled Reese up in multiple sweaters (still no winter coat yet), and took her outside on our deck to “play” in her first snow.

It was a little, quick thing. Just a few minutes outside in the cold darkness, watching her explore something new and exciting. One of the many “firsts” we are making a big deal about these days.

Lessons I Have Learned Along The Way

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I have learned a lot of things about myself since becoming a Mom.

They’re not all good. But I’m going to be real honest here.

I consider myself to be a nice person, and I really do believe that most people who know me well would describe me that way. However, motherhood has shown me that I have another side. The controlling biatch side.

Now that Reese is almost a year old, I like to think that I have gotten this side of myself in check, but in the beginning it wasn’t pretty. Just ask Andrew.

I was made painstakingly aware of this side of myself when I viewed a video we took while giving Reese one of her first baths. Aside from telling Andrew what to do every step of the way (I continued to say “This is how I do it….”), the killer was when Reese appeared to crack a smile and Andrew commented, “Look! She’s smiling!”  In the background I heard my annoying self say “She never smiles in the bath.”

What a B.

I might as well have said “I know more than everyone about babies, and smiling in the bath is absurd.”

Whether it was hormones or maternal instincts in overdrive, I was probably a little out of control bossy those first few weeks home with Reese.

However, slowly but surely I have worked on letting go and have come to terms with the fact that I  do not do everything right. I understand that Reese won’t be scarred for life if she goes outside without a hat on and more importantly that Andrew and I are in this together and are BOTH first time parents who are equally clueless.

So the next time I find myself about to say “Wasn’t she in that outfit BEFORE her bath?” or “That’s not where that goes”, I will remember the sound of my annoying voice in the bath video, and I will shut it.

On Work and Home

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I am lucky enough to have a job that is sensitive to the fact that I have a small child.

Most of the time, I am out of the office at 4 PM and able to be home by 5 or 5:30. I work from home on Fridays, and if Reese is sick, everyone is pretty understanding about me  taking time off to stay home with her. Aside from my own illnesses, my sick time also covers times when Reese or her caregiver is sick, which is extremely helpful. I get lots of and personal and vacation time and my office closes each year between Christmas and New Years.

But like anything good in life my job also has downsides, and unfortunately for me these include a long and frustrating commute, and the fact that my position is not really aligned with the career goals I have (although these have changed a little since Ms. Reese arrived). Since Reese was born it has become clear that I am more in love with the people I work with, and the environment that I work in, than the work that I do.

I work with some pretty awesome people and enjoy flexibility that I know is uncommon in most workplaces, but I still struggle with the amount of time that I miss with Reese each day.

At the same time, I am happy to contribute financially to my family as well as to relieve some stress from Andrew, who works primarily on commission.

Leaving each morning never seems to get any easier, but I am more aware of the time that I do get to spend with Reese and I value literally every minute, since they always seem to be too few and far between.

Although the feeling of dread that comes on a Sunday evening seems much heavier these days, the excitement of a Friday afternoon now has a whole new sweetness.