Making The Switch To Cloth Diapers

A. L. is almost two now and having two little ones in disposable diapers is extremely expensive! Although she is doing very well on the potty training during the day and wears big girl panties, I will switch her over to diapers when we leave the house to avoid any “accidents.” I still have not figured out what the fascination is with little girls and wanting to use public restrooms! It never fails, go to a restaurant, shopping in a store, or church and I hear this little voice saying “mama I gotta go potty!”

Several months ago, in an effort to cut costs on disposable diapers, I decided to try the new style cloth diapers with the waterproof covers.  I started pricing them in the store and they were extremely expensive. I also found websites on the Internet where you can purchase them, both new and used. As luck would have it, we were able to get some off  E-bay really reasonably priced. I was hesitant at first because they were used diapers but figured a good washing with some bleach and the sanitizer cycle on my washing machine, they would be fine. 

The brands that we purchased are called Haute Pocket diapers.
These are the new style where the diaper pad slips inside a pocket in the waterproof cover.  I have a total of four and wish I had more!  If you are considering making the switchover to cloth diapers, I would suggest having at least a dozen covers and inserts to work with. One thing you do need to remember is not to dry the cover part in your dryer.

You can use liners that go over the pocket, between the diaper and baby’s bottom to make it easier to clean up “poopy” messes. It will also help keep the actual diaper pad part from staining so badly. These are sold at various stores like Wal-Mart, Target and even Toys-R-Us or at various sites over the internet.

One thing that I have not tried yet is taking a regular pre-fold cloth diaper and inserting it into the pocket for overnight wear. I need to see if that would be sufficient for handling overnight wetting.

I have not noticed any difference in problems like diaper rash because I use Parent’s Choice disposable diapers. With my first two, I tried several of the well-known brands, but with my children’s allergies and skin sensitivities, I had to keep changing brands until I found one that would not irritate their skin.

I do still use the disposable diapers overnight for both A. L and A. G. Hopefully A.L. will be able to go without diapers at all here shortly. We are in the process of potty training but overnight are still a problem.

During the day, A.G. is cruising in her Haute’s!

Kids Critters and Coyotes

Time has flown by so quickly and in some ways I am thankful and then in others I’m not.  JT and TA were getting “antsy” as summer wore on; the excitement of being out of school dwindled as days went by and there wasn’t much to do except hang out with the kids next door and do basically the same thing every day.  I guess playing baseball and hitting golf balls out in the back yard or riding bikes in the neighborhood gets boring as days turn into weeks.  Of course JT had regular baseball team during the summer, which meant practice sessions and games for him that did help with his boredom some. They seem much happier now that school is back in session.

This leaves the two little girls at home with me and they are getting to where they play together quite well. I still have to do a bit of monitoring but not like I used to. Now that AG is up and walking pretty steadily on her own two feet, not needing to hang onto furniture like she was, the tumbles are a lot less frequent, tears and bruises less frequent, and she is able to keep up with AL as she flits from room to room.  Talk about a “busy” child! AL is constantly on the go! I sometimes think someone wound her springs up too tight!  About the only time she will sit still is for a favorite cartoon and then half way through it she is off and running again. I so look forward to nap time every day!  Just wish I could get them both down at the very same time so that I could rest too.

Our critters, Ranger and Sophie have been encountering coyotes out back for the past few days. Ranger, being the protector that he is, of house, home and all that reside therein, runs out into the back forty barking and chasing after them. At first the coyotes would turn and run, especially if there were just one or two of them, but lately they seem to be getting braver. The other day I heard the worse ruckus outside, all kinds of barking. Ranger was out there running off the coyotes.  I called for him and Sophie to come inside, Ranger came up to the backdoor and sat on the porch but wouldn’t come in.  I called again for Sophie and didn’t see her. I went around to the front door, to check out front and there she was, wedged in between the glass storm door and the front door. Now mind you, Sophie is a little Jack Russell Terrier mix, and would be easily carried off by a coyote! I guess she ran there for safety and Ranger really was keeping the coyotes away from her. It is evident that I really am going to have to bring her in at night.  She is TA’s pup and usually wants up on the bed with her and right in her face, which of course TA doesn’t like. So we have begun crate training her to sleep inside. I’ll have to keep you posted on how well that works out. Ranger is a big dog and lets everyone know that he owns his territory so I don’t worry about him as much. It would take an entire pack of coyotes to bring him down I am sure. He loves being outside and “patrolling” his kingdom, but if we start getting a lot more coyotes around I will insist that he comes inside at night also.

Time to Breath and Time to Grow

After a few really difficult months, of bed rest to make sure I carried my 4th child to a viable term in the pregnancy and months following filled with the needs of 3 additional children, I finally feel like I have some time to breath now!

As you can see from my prior post, the Doctor told me I HAD to go on bed rest!  There were no ifs, ands or buts about it because if I didn’t, I was taking a big risk of losing this adorable little girl that I am now holding in my arms. I was actually able to make it to full term and now have a healthy baby girl who will be a year old in November.




I learned some great lessons during this time, as to what ones priorities in life are. I had to learn to put my full trust and faith in God, that He was in control and it would be His will that would be done. I also learned that husbands  can and will do many things around the house to help you out with kids, cooking and cleaning and you don’t even have to ask!  As for mother’s, well they do what mother’s always do, come running when their children need their help, even when it does mean rearranging their schedules and getting up in the early morning to get over to give you a hand. Sisters can be called upon at a moment’s notice to help with babysitting the older children so that you can make an hurried up, unscheduled but necessary doctor’s appointment.  Our loving church family was there for months. The women would take turns  helping out, fixing us complete meals, as well as anything else that we might need.

Thanks to a wonderful support group, my loving husband and mom as well as a sister nearby and our church group, they all worked together to keep me down, which was extremely hard to do since I am one of those people who is constantly on the go and am one who used to be a fastidious house cleaner and keeper upper!  It used to bug me when laundry doesn’t get done, clothes folded and put away on a regular basis or the dishes are stacked up in the sink unwashed and not even stuck into the dishwasher but not any more. Life is too short to worry about such things all the time. I’ve learned to relax and enjoy my family.

Pregnancy Ups and Downs

Some background information about what we have been going through since I was told that I needed to go on bed rest in order for our baby daughter to survive.  All is well now, and I will add a post about everything since this date.

This past month has been a roller coaster of emotions and I now feel comfortable sharing with you some of those hills and valleys.

At 22 weeks, I was told that I had no choice but to go on "home bed rest" because there were complications developing and I might not be able to carry this baby long enough for her to survive.  I had started with pre-term labor and was in need of medication to stop it and ordered to stay off my feet.  I could lay down in bed or on the sofa, sit on the sofa or sit in a chair. I was not to do any housework whatsoever, not even stand to cook meals, do any walking except to a place to sit, lay down, or the restroom!

Now to say the least this was heart wrenching news but something that I knew had to be followed to the letter.  Luckily I have a very loving husband who immediately stepped up to the plate and has been handling most of the running of the household, caring for our three children as well as running our business by himself.  We have had wonderful church family who have set up a "dinner brigade" for us where someone from church is preparing and delivering dinner to us so that John doesn't have to cook or stop at a fast food drive in or one of the pizza carryout places.

Of all the chores that John doesn't like to do it is fold laundry! My mom has helped by coming out to the house and handling that chore for him unless she is tied up with projects that she can't get away from. She has also helped with entertaining the children until school started and helped keep the house picked up and tidy.
John now has a routine down where he seems to have everything under control quite well. Now if he could solve my "cabin fever" we would be in good shape!

I am not one who likes to sit still and just watch tv,  play on the computer all day long, stay in bed all day or take long afternoon naps.  This staying down and off my feet has been driving me crazy.  You know how it is when you see a smudged window or the kids have left dishes all over the table as they dash out the door for school? You want to get out the cleaning stuff and clean that window, along with a few more!  You want to pick up the dishes and throw them in the dishwasher, wipe down the table and the chairs. For me to have to ignore all of that or the toothpaste spit in the sink or the unmade beds is very hard on this Type A personality!

We are now at 28 weeks and I continue on my medication at the prescribed intervals without having to take any extra as I did earlier on. I continue to take one day at a time, knowing that each day keeps our little girl safer inside where she now belongs. As each day passes, her survival chances improve along with the chances that she will be born without any physical or mental complications.

I place my trust in God and pray daily.