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When I say that I have gotten into CDs again, I don’t mean music. This time I mean cloth diapers. I started using cloth diapers for Mariana last summer and really liked it. Somehow I got away from it and started using disposables through the fall and winter. Well, I hate buying disposable diapers for a number of reasons and I had a whole stash of cloth diapers here at home, so I decided to get back to cloth diapering and it’s been great again!

I’m willing to bet that some of you reading this are wrinkling your nose and thinking “cloth diapers…ewww”, but it’s really not nasty at all. Long gone are the days when all there was to cloth diapering were white cotton diapers and safety pins. Well, it’s not actually long gone, you can still do that if you like, I suppose, because the option does exist, but there are other solutions. My favorite diapers are called Fuzzi Bunz and they are pocket diapers. What that means is that the diaper has a “pocket” in which to insert a liner for wetness protection. Fuzzi Bunz come in several sizes and colors. They fasten and are adjustable with snaps. Easy and cute. What more could you want in a diaper? The others I often use are called Bum Genius and I have version 2.0 which is last year’s version. This is a one size diaper and also has a pocket for a liner. I don’t like them quite as much as I like Fuzzi Bunz, but they pull up a close second. I’m also looking into other brands and kinds of diapers. A boutique near us just started carrying cloth and I got an email with a $5 off coupon, so I’ll be taking that in soon to see what they have. We have several diapers in Mariana’s “stash” right now - enough to keep her in two days worth of diapers between washes if need be, so that’s nice too. I’d love to have more, so I’m always looking around. It’s hard to believe that diapering can be fun, but with all the options available out there, it really IS a lot of fun. No, really…it is!

There are many benefits to cloth diapering and these are the things that I appreciate most about doing it.

• It’s environmentally friendly. We only use a disposable on Mariana at night right now, so that is far less junk that we are contributing to the landfills.
• Less diaper rash. Cloth is friendlier to little bottoms than plastic and chemicals.
• More cost efficient. Sure, there are start-up costs to getting a cloth diaper supply established, but they are washable and can be used for such a long time. No running to the store every week for a pack of diapers. It’s great!
• They’re cuter than ’sposies. There is nothing cuter than cloth diapers on a little one’s bum. Seriously.

Another reason we decided to go back to cloth is to hopefully help with Mariana’s potty-training. We discovered back when Macey was this age that disposables aren’t the greatest for potty-training at all.  Toddlers can’t feel wetness in the disposables, so it’s hard to teach them about not wetting. With cloth, they can feel the wetness so that can help alert them better to when they need to go. While cloth does wick away the moisture, it’s not the same as disposables. No chemicals to harbor all the wetness. Mariana has shown some potty interest, so maybe (JUST MAYBE) cloth diapering will help guide us in that direction.

So, yea…I’m excited about our re-entry into cloth diapering. If anyone has any diaper recommendations, please let me know. I’d love to know more. And, if anyone has any questions about cloth diapering, please let me know that too. I didn’t go into specifics about diapering, but I’d be happy to share if anyone is interested.

Poor Mariana is sick. She caught a cold while we were away a couple of weekends ago. We thought it was nipped in the bud, but it wasn’t. She has RAD (reactive airway disease) and whenever she gets colds, she always winds up with terrible bouts of coughing, etc. And, she typically develops sinus infections secondary to colds too. The poor girl can’t ever have “just” a cold. So, we’re in the throws of a cold/RAD flare/sinus infection these days. She’s going to the pediatrician tomorrow. I have to hand it to Mariana, she’s being quite a little trooper. Kids are so resilient, aren’t they? I always think that I have so much to teach the girls, but I could really learn from them a lot of times too. Anyway, I just pray that our girl is all better soon. And, if you care to join me in that prayer, we’d greatly appreciate it.

I couldn’t think of anything more original to title this post. So, it’s just “ear tubes.” That’s because our baby girl, Mariana, is having ear tubes put in tomorrow. Last fall and winter she had a rough go of it as far as colds and ear infections, etc. She finally got some relief through spring and summer, but as soon as fall rolled back around this year her health troubles started again. The worst of this year’s bouts started around Thanksgiving. She got sick then and just could NOT shake it for a long time. It’s a long story, but the general gist is that we wound up changing pediatricians and got one that will listen to us. Her old ped was pretty insistent that her colds and such were asthma related and I insisted they were sinus related. The only time she had any relief was on antibiotics and she just can’t live on those, as we all know. Anyway. Cutting to the chase, she is getting tubes put in tomorrow to help with all the ear infections and chronic fluid she has in her ears. The surgery is “simple” as surgeries go. I’m not at all worried about that part. I’m nervous about the anesthesia. But, we will pray our way through it and continue to have nothing but hope that our girl comes through it feeling MUCH better and relieved on the other side.