I keep intending to write a serious entry, but then finding myself worn to the point of total exhaustion out by the end of the day when I finally sit down to write. And so I occupy myself with more triteness, because I”˜m determined at this point to discipline myself into writing at least once a day, until it’s a kind of habit.
So, here’s the “big” news of today: I’ve just ordered the diapers I’ll need to cloth-diaper E and R at the same time. I’m hoping E will be potty-trained soon (c/d’ing should help that along too), but then L should use more diapers than E would ever go through, so it’s not like they’ll go to waste. At any rate, I’m committed to sticking with cloth for both girls now. (Previously I had ordered not-quite-enough diapers for R, which when I tried to use the stash for both R and E left me doing laundry much faster than I wanted.)
I wasn’t really planning to put E back in cloth. It’s not really cost-effective at this point (except that L will use the same diapers) because disposables don’t really cost much for a toddler. But when I started using them with R–and I just feel all the money it’s saving us stacking up and up–I realized that it really is quite a small pain to do one child in cloth and one in disposables. You have to have two diaper pails to empty, an issue of both space and time; two things of wipes/wipe solution, both in easy reach of the changing table; and the worst thing–a ten-month old in cloth diapers doesn’t go through them quite fast enough to create a full load before they get stinky/yucky enough to wash, which meant I was doing a half-load at a time, and still worrying about the time they were spending in the pail and whether the stains were permanently setting in.
I did settle on microfleece liners, in lieu of no liner or flushable liners. I was never very happy with the flushables–they’re so thin they really only keep the really solid solids away from the diaper, and don’t do much to help reduce potential staining, not to mention the fact they cost 1/3 or so what an entire disposable diaper would cost. And while no liner is fine for breastfed poop, I found it kind of gross and difficult to deal with on an older baby. At any rate, I bought some microfleece blankets and cut them up, which was both easier and cheaper than finding it at a fabric store or ordering it online.
I also ordered snaps on the latest pocket diapers. I love the hook-and-loop fasteners, but everyone from the manufacturer to friends to complete strangers are telling me that they won’t last more than a few months. I’m hopeful that my washing routine (I don’t dry them) will hold that off longer–the velcro on my old covers never showed any sign of wear–but there seems to be absolutely no doubt that the snaps will last longer.
I have still not found satisfactory wipes. I like terry, but I haven’t found the “perfect” source for those yet. I like my old wipes, but I can’t find them still for sale anywhere. This is a small wrinkle in the plan, however.
Much more significantly, I seem to have misplaced my “alternate” wetbag! I’m sure it’s down in the basement somewhere, but I think when I packed it away, I hadn’t really planned on ever getting it back out again. So, knowing me, I probably put it in an unlabeled opaque container tucked into a corner somewhere. I apparently put my wedding dress in one such, and it was MIA for six years before showing up a month or so ago!
One day I shall learn to be organized. Hopefully that day will come before heaven (not that I’d put off heaven to learn organization first)!
