Cloth Diapers

So early in the pregnancy with Rhett, I toyed with the idea of cloth diapering. The further I got into the pregnancy and the more I read up on cloth diapering, the more convinced I was that I wanted to try it out. It’s a huge expense up front, but in the long run, reusing the same diapers over and over will save so much more money until he’s finally potty trained. We can also use the diapers for any other children we may have.

I purchased one cloth diaper while I was pregnant to try it out. I had a recommendation from an old friend for a particular brand, but the store I went to didn’t carry it so I went with the brand they carried. We haven’t tried out the cloth diaper simply because of the sheer number of diapers that Rhett is going through right now as well as the fact that we have only spent money on one box of diapers – all the ones we have used were leftover from Elle or given to us as gifts. He was also too small, but now that Rhett’s grown quite a bit, I’m ready to try it out and today is our first trial with it.

I met up with an old friend from high school the other day. She has been cloth diapering her now 8 month-old baby boy and has nothing but good things to say about cloth diapering. She even made a cloth diaper for Rhett! So we are trying out the cloth diaper that Susan made which custom made for us to have UT colors – what an awesome friend!

Rhett is taking a nap in it right now so we’ll report back on how it holds up later.

We have purchased more cloth diapers to put in the rotation and I have also looked into using cloth wipes as well. I love the idea that we are saving money AND helping the environment all at the same time. The best part is that I thought that something like this was going to be impossible for a working mother, but the way both cloth-diapering and cloth-wiping have evolved, it is actually convenient for working mothers as well as on-the-go.

I’m really excited to see how this all works out in actual practice. 🙂

Two-Week Check-Ups

Rhett and I both had check-ups today. Rhett’s appointment was to make sure he was putting on weight and boy, did he ever! The pediatrician came into the examining room saying in disbelief, “You must be making Häagen Dazs milk!” She went on to say that they generally like to see infants put on about one ounce each day and in 13 days, little Rhett added on 23oz! We are so glad that he is doing well and growing, growing, growing.

My check-up was just to see how the incision is healing. It looks like everything is going great and I’ve been instructed to not exercise and such for another four weeks.

We went to Target and got a couple more items for Rhett’s room: a little green lamp for his dresser for middle of the night visits and a CD player for music.

Getting Back to Normal

…and whatever that means for us. 🙂

We have gradually been getting back to a regular schedule. Ted went back to work this past Saturday and today Elle went back to daycare. I must say it is quite lonely (and quiet) without that little bundle of energy, especially with as much as Rhett still sleeps. She is having a blast at daycare and according to Ted was so excited about seeing all her friends again. He said she walked through the door and shouted, “Baby Rhett came out of my mommy’s tummy!!”

It’ll be just Rhett and me for the next few weeks until I go back to work. Once that happens, he will be joining Elle at daycare where I know Jennifer will take great care of him as she has taken great care of Elle since she was 9 months old. She is totally a part of their family.

My first weekend experience with the kids by myself was pretty tiring to say the least. Saturday we attempted to get out of the house and were successful although it took me a grand total of two hours and ten minutes to do it. Between getting myself ready, getting Elle ready, timing Rhett’s feeding to maximize our time out, it was a lot of work. Sunday we decided to take it easy and stay home. Uncle B and Brittney came over to visit and Elle had a blast playing with them. Surprisingly, I got Elle to take her first full nap since Rhett was born. It just so happened to coincide with one of Rhett’s naps so lucky me got to catch a few minutes of sleep!

This morning – totally sleep deprived from two, one-hour-long middle of the night feedings, diaper changes, and breastfeeding equipment washing – I woke up at 7:15 to help get Elle ready for Ted so that he could get ready for work. I’m dreading the first morning that we both go into work on a Monday. It’s definitely going to take a few practice runs.

In other news, Ted and I are on a space maximizing kick. We are talking about disassembling our bed frame and replacing it with the original bed frame that Ted had. The platform around our current bed frame is taking up a lot of space and is still causing some ugly shin bruises. Ted also wants to get a few other pieces of furniture out of the master bedroom and we are selling the dining room table to fund the purchase of an entertainment center that would hide all the books and DVDs that Elle owns. This is the piece:

We’re looking forward to all the changes!

Independence Day

Today Ted and I dropped Elle of with my sister’s family so she could spend time with Hayden and so that Ted and I could drive up to IKEA and get some furniture to do some rearranging in our house for the new baby.

I had already driven up to IKEA with Elle on June 26th when we realized we were late to my college friend’s wedding because of horrendous traffic. During that trip, I picked up a new mattress for Elle, a storage unit for her toys, a dresser for Rhett, and a toy chest for them to share.

This trip to IKEA, Ted and I did a little shopping around for a new entertainment center and a new couch, both items we didn’t actually purchase because we needed a larger vehicle to transport them back home and because we need to do some more debt paying and more saving. We definitely know what we would like when we do have the money though and we’re very excited about redoing the living room.

Some things we did pick up were another storage unit for Rhett’s room, just like the one I had picked out for Elle; a desk to move my computer equipment from the dining room table, which we are moving to the garage; a chair for the desk, and we exchanged the mattress that I had previously purchased for Elle’s bed because the one I picked up was for a crib, not a toddler bed. Oops!

After our trip to IKEA, we went to my brother’s house for a little Fourth of July get together where we had great food prepared by my brother’s girlfriend, Brittney. We spent a couple of hours there while the kids and dogs played like crazy and the adults relaxed. 🙂

As soon as we got home, it was all work. I put together the chair, desk, and hutch that came with it (no easy task when also watching/entertaining Elle) while Ted completely cleaned, rearranged, and consolidated the contents of the garage. His shirt was totally drenched by the time he was done because of the humidity and all the heavy-lift he did. The garage looks great now and I’m hoping it stays as organized as he’s made it.

So things we have to look forward to making room for baby are: moving the dining room table and chairs into the garage; moving the treadmill and couch out of the extra room into the dining room; and finally, assembling and arranging three pieces of furniture (crib, storage unit, and dresser) for Rhett’s room. After all of that, he is more than welcome to make his debut.

In the meantime, Ted and I are taking a well-deserved rest for the rest of the night and listening to the neighbors pop fireworks. Happy Independence Day to all!