Psych!!!

My son’s had trouble sleeping the last few nights. Or at least, going to sleep. He’s about 16 weeks right now, so I think maybe he’s starting to teethe? This trouble came on the heels of a few really good nights. I thought we were starting to turn a good corner, when Mr. Stinky Pants said, “Psych!!!” He finally fell asleep between Hubby and I last night, but he always wants to squirm up against me. It’s amazing that a baby can take up as much (or more) room as an adult. He squirmed diagonally until his head was up against me, and his feet up against hubby, essentially, pushing both of us up to the edges of the bed. My arm was hanging off.

Go figure! Today’s diaper laundry day, and it’s pouring rain outside. Now, I really do love, love, love the rain. It makes everything green and smell fresh. BUT, I like to dry almost all of my son’s cloth diapers out in the sun. It saves us money while it saves energy. It extends the life of the diaper, since the heat of the dryer can wear down the fabric’s fibers. Did you know that the sun has natural bleaching properties and natural disinfecting properties!?

I don’t have an exact date yet, but I’ll be moving this blog to my own .com address soon. I’m very excited! WordPress is great, but there are some limitations. I hope you’ll follow me to my new address!? Pretty please???

I also made a Facebook page for this blog. I’d like to run some giveaways (and I will have one next month), but it’s easier to run apps like Rafflecopter on Facebook than on WordPress. The page isn’t quite up and running yet. I basically created it, and then did nothing! I need to add photos and make it look attractive, because right now… uhm, yeah. It looks terrible.

I’m debating whether or not I should change the photo at the top of my blog. Yes, me on my butt in my wedding dress is very typical of my life. But it’s just one snapshot. Do you think a photo collage would look nice? I think collages can look really tacky, but I’ve also seen some really neat ones. I could gather photos from throughout my life, including photos with my family, and put them all together as a reflection of my life. Any opinions?

Don’t forget about the free blogging opportunity over at Jenn’s Blah Blah Blog. She has blogging opportunities often, so even if you don’t want to participate in this one, it’s something to keep in mind for the future.

Of course, I completely understand that some of you may not want more traffic on your blog. Blogging might be a way for you to clear your mind, to vent…get your thoughts out there. You may not care if someone reads your material or not. I completely get that. I had another blog that no one knew about. I’ve since gone in and deleted it. I didn’t want anyone to ever track me down or figure out that I’d written it. That was a dark time in my life. I’m someone else now. Praise God for that!

Later today, I’ll post a review on the BumGenius pocket diaper. BumGenuis is a very popular brand in the cloth diapering world.

Last night I started researching infant potty chairs on the Web. This may sound crazy to some of you, but I’m planning on sitting Mr. Stinky Pants on a potty chair beginning at 6 months. I wouldn’t say that I’m starting potty training (or learning), but I want him to get used to sitting on it as part of his daily routine. At his age, I guess it’s more EC (elimination communication)? I’m going to sit him on it for 5 minutes after every nap and feeding. I don’t expect him to be potty trained at some exceptionally young age. I just want to make sitting on it a routine for him. Thoughts? Am I crazy? 🙂

I have another article to write for my Army Reserve unit. The last one was more than 1,400 words and 6 pages long (double spaced). This one, thankfully, only has to be about a page!

TTFN

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Cloth Diapers specifically for Preemies or Newborns

*List Updated Feb. 21, 2013

The average newborn baby weighs 7.5 pounds, but some weigh as little as 5.5 pounds or as much as 10 pounds. Most babies will fall in this range. As a first-time mom, I decided to wait and start my son in cloth diapers full-time when he was almost three months. I thought that dealing with cloth diapers for the first time and a brand new baby would be too much for me to handle. Since using cloth diapers has turned out much easier than I expected, next time, I plan to cloth diaper from birth.

Many one-size diapers are intended to fit 8 or 10 pounds and up. The Rumparooz One Size Pocket Diaper is designed to fit 6 lbs. all the way up to 35 lbs. One-size diapers are a great money saver since the same diaper can be used on most babies from birth to potty training. However, for some newborns or preemies, one-size diapers are just not small enough.

Below is an alphabetical list of cloth diapers (with approximate weight ranges) made specifically for preemies or newborns. Click on the highlighted items to see information on that product or where you can purchase it. If I haven’t linked the item to a Web site, do a simple online search, and you should find a seller. Some links are affiliate links.

Since newborns go through 10-12 diaper changes a day, the most economical cloth diaper option is to purchase a couple dozen prefolds and four or five diaper covers (if you’re washing every other day). Most likely, this will be what I do with our next child.

Are you expecting a little one and not sure how big he or she will be? Many stores like Diaper Junction offer a 30-day trial, and you can return the diapers for a refund!

Did I miss any preemie or newborn diapers? Did you cloth diaper your preemie or newborn? Comments? Questions?

Note: Affiliate links present.

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I didn’t screw up dinner tonight! So I’m really awesome.

And that is always an awesome thing. Hubby looks so dubiously at me sometimes while I’m cooking that it’s nice to produce something not only edible but delectable. 😉 It was lasagna. You may be thinking, “It’s impossible to screw up lasagna.” But if you think that, you do not realize how terrible of a cook I am. In fact, before I got married I determined to not learn how to cook. I avoided it completely. After all, I was an emancipated woman. *sigh* Annnd here I am…a stay-at-home mommy (SAHM) and wife. At least I can always hold to the fact that I’m a decent shot with a grenade launcher. I’m fairly certain the majority of SAHMs can’t say that. Can you feel the awesomeness I ooze?

Image

Yeah, that’s me…being AWESOME. Yeah, that’s not a grenade launcher.

Okay, time to be serious. *snort* Anyone else out there addicted to Words with Friends? When I first started playing, I must’ve been having beginner’s luck, because I was trouncing people, but lately…not so much. I blame it on Mr. Stinky Pants. When I started teaching high school, I got stupider. My flawless English syntax and etymological skill disappeared within a few months. The longer I taught, the worse it got. For example, I didn’t used to use the word “got” all the time. It’s a terrible word! Ugh! And then I got pregnant. And then my brain got even dumber. Now I have to use the dictionary to look up the spellings of even simple words. I thought my intelligence would return after I gave birth, but it’s not happening.

Also, Mr. Stinky Pants gave me gray hairs.

Am I alone here? Who’s with me???

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