my very own stash! i am so very excited about this! these are all fuzzibunz, mostly mediums, and a few one sizers for longevity.

i will also be getting a few bum genius, a few flips, a charlie banana & some prefolds & a snappi, plus two wet bags (one for the diaper bag and one for home) i will be cloth diapering for less than $200 when it’s all said & done!

i will probably be getting a sprayer, too!

i get it now why people say it is addicting, it definitely is!

I have been researching for months, and months, and months, way before Liam was born about cloth diapers.

Back when you and I were in diapers (imagine that, or actually……no……don’t) it was so common to use cloth, and having a diaper service was just part of life. Not something you thought about, or questioned. Prefolds, diaper pins, and rubber pants were all part of the mix. I have the feeling things were much simpler then.

But now, there are many brands, many types, and many options! Which is a good thing, but can also be debilitating!

We are doing a trial right now, in which I have the opportunity to try many different types of diapers, enough for 12 diaper changes… enough to cloth diaper full time, they tell me!

I’ve come away from the experience with a lot more knowledge and hands-on know-how. I am now understanding many more of the of the types of cloth diapers and how they work, and how MUCH work is required with each.

I have learned that in order for me to be successful I will need to do a combo of prefolds and pocket diapers or AIO’s or AI2′s (see what I mean on the acronyms?)

But then there is the matter of picking a brand, in which there are MANY.

I have a few favorites from doing a trial, and they are my favorite because of the way they fit Liam, and not another baby, and I think when CD’ing that is one thing that is to be remembered. Babies are shaped differently, and so, what may fit one baby, may not fit another.

I have found prefolds + snappi (or without) to be very bulky on L.

I have loved the fuzzibunz perfect fit, but do not love that it’s not a OS (one size).

I love the Flip & it’s versatility.

I have not loved the Kawaii and the Econobum (even though I do love their price tag!)

The bottom line: try before you buy.

I love the thought of using a cover + an insert, but realize that this can be done with pocket diapers, too.

There are many options and I think that is the adventure of it, and also the dauntingness of it.

I do plan on reviewing my faves based on how they fit my baby. Would love to hear your experience on CD’ing in the comments!

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would love to know your thoughts.

i think i say this every month, but the time… is passing… so quickly. i put those elipses there just to extend time for a smidge of a second. because time with you, is priceless to me.

every day is a gift. i am learning so much about you, and i think you about me. i am amazed, often, at how you know who i am, this humbling responsibility wakes me up to the reality of my legacy in you. you are a reflection, an extension of me, and i pray sweet liam that one day you’ll know the Creator that made you in my womb, and that you will worship him with us, freely, by your choice.

five months of absolute delight is what you’ve given us. don’t get me wrong sweet liam, there have been days where we wondered if we would make it out alive. especially about two weeks ago when you refused, REFUSED to nap, so instead of staying home for you to nap, i would go on errands, and you would fall asleep in the car, and i would sit, in a parking lot, somewhere in this town just so you could nap for longer than 30 minutes. it was a trying time, one that i don’t care to relive anytime in the near future. i think they call this wonder week 19, unfortunately, we have another wonder week around the corner, oh 26, i dread you!

that whole rolling over thing at month four really revved you up in your sleep, too, so much so that we didn’t know how to get you to go to sleep… we tried… everything. but now, you’ve settled into yourself a bit, you seem like you’ve got the sleeping on your belly or on your back thing down. and now that you’re consistently sleeping through the night (hip hip hooray!) i wish i could too.

you’ve been HUNGRY like the wolf! at one point i wasn’t enough for you, which made me really, really sad, but you’ve taken back to me now that you started eating rice cereal. learning to feed you from a spoon has been fun for me, and also really messy as opposed to our previous feeding times.

you are also slightly a drool monster, we couldn’t own enough bibs! you soak through three or more a day. it’s quite impressive. niagra falls should be jealous.

our friend laura beth, let us borrow their exersaucer which you just love! a few other things that you really love are the baby bjorn, especially with daddy, road trips, pulling hair, tummy time, milk!, and grabbing mommy’s mouth, nose, or whatever you can get to.

i suspect you are only days away from starting to crawl, you’ve already been in position too many times to count.

you love the sound of my voice and crane your neck to look at me wherever i am in the room, and i just love the affirmation of love that is inside that gesture.

i love hearing the beginning of your learning of language, those little sounds you are making, i love repeating them back to you, and you back to me, i love our conversations.

we’re amazed by you little L, and how you change, grow. we love your little personality, and how you enjoy us. it’s so heart-warming.

i can’t wait for you to read these… one day.

i love you. 

love,

your momma

although somedays are really, really hard, most days are beautiful. and amazing. and you, are 1000 gifts, all in one.

Is time flying? Or is it just me? Regardless, you, little bean (which I affectionately call you, along with a myriad of other names) are growing up at a rapid speed, faster than the speed of light, it does seem. You are causing my heart to grow, and the capacity by which I knew what love was. You are redefining a lot of things in life for me, which is causing some growing pains (for me & you) both. I am thankful that you have learned to stretch your sleep out at nighttime, and even naptimes.

Many things are getting better, including me as your momma getting used to you being in my life. For the longest time I would wake up in the night and remember, “oh yeah, we have a baby!” but I don’t seem to really do that anymore. I remember that it’s you, and you in all of who you are. I know you now. That’s the biggest difference of this month from the prior 3 months. I know your cries and what they mean, I know your smiles, your laughs, your snuggles. I view the hardest times as gateways into the best of times with you. I know that these little mental leaps and learning that you are doing, are leading into the next thing. Which for you this month has been pulling yourself up, supporting your head, and the biggest one, rolling over! Your rolling over had caused the most difficulty. Your daddy says it’s like a super hero with a brand new power, that he does not yet know how to control. It’s exactly that, your superpower.

I love you sweet Liam. I love all of you. I love being your momma.

love,

your momma

dear liam,

my sweet sweet smiling baby. there is so much to say, and so many things i want you to know about that happened in this 3rd month, but this is just a letter and not a novel, so i’ll try to keep it brief. you are such a sweet baby, you smile at the sound of our voices, and it just warms my heart. this month was the month that things seemed to click with you and i. from the moment you were born i knew that i loved you, but it was in this month that i really felt it.

i can’t get enough of you in fact. your daddy, can’t really either. there are times, in fact, where he’ll say, “don’t you want to just go wake up our son and watch him do tummy time?” to which i say, “no.” but in my heart i really want to see you, and cuddle with you, and watch you smile.

you dressed up as a glow worm for your first halloween, to be honest, i’ve never seen such a cute glow worm in my life.

today is thanksgiving and i must say that you dear liam have brought my heart to a whole new level of thanksgiving. i can’t even imagine loving you more than i do right now, but i am sure that you will show me how.

around 8 weeks was when we crossed our threshold with you. you are now starting to sleep longer at night, which is giving both of us better sleep, and for that we thank you. your on a little schedule now and for the most part you take fabulous naps now. we also starting swaddling you with one arm out, then both, and that’s how you are sleeping right now as i type this. you’ve started talking to us and laughing so sweetly as we tickle your belly. you are much more aware of things around you, and i think this helped calm your crying. although, don’t get me wrong, you still have your cry fits but, you seem to redeem those quickly by your smiles and little laughter.

you also hugged me for the first time this month, or what i translated into a hug with your little arms around my neck.

i love having you in my life, i’ve loved getting to know every ounce of you. thank you for coming into our lives and warming them up, and for bringing us so much joy, laughter and love. my heart is full.

i love you sweet baby liam, i can’t wait for you to read these letters, one day.

love,

your momma

These words are so helpful. Progress is a Spiral. 

Much more helpful in fact than, “just when you think you have the hang of it, they change!” Even though, they pretty much mean the same thing.

There is this post on Val’s babywise blog that says,

“…acquisition of new skills never proceeds in a straight line. Progress is more like movements along a spiral, which sometimes advances toward and sometimes recedes from the goal while oscillating upward until mastery is achieved…both [success and failure] are a part of the upward progression leading to mastery” (p. 86).

(from another -wise book)

I love that sentiment. It is so helpful, especially as we’re trying to reach this colossal mile-stone of sleeping through the night! It’s so funny because we really do oscillate between 2 middle of the night wakings and then just one, then back to two, and then just one. I’m hoping and praying that means that we are getting closer, since there really isn’t any habitual waking.

I had no idea how much I would learn in these first 12 weeks, but I’m so thankful for an online community through the babywise google group, to help get me through!