Cloth Diaper Delivery

I got my Bum Genius diapers in the mail today. They are so cute!

I love the colors. The Diaper Lab only had the x-small size in white, so I ordered other colors from Thanks Mama. Thanks Mama is only online, but it's a local company, so their free shipping arrives in two days. It will be super easy to get more if we decide we like these.

Cloth Diaper Extravaganza

On Saturday, FB and I went to a cloth diapering workshop. We got to see all of the different types of diapers — there are so many options! — and ask questions about laundry.

I feel much more confident about cloth diapering after actually seeing the diapers. Originally, we thought we might try pocket diapers — either gDiapers or cloth pocket diapers — but the prefolds and fitteds with covers looked so much more straightforward. Perhaps we'll try the cloth pockets when Snapdragon is a little older and wetting more, but for the newborn stage, they just seemed too finicky.

We aren't going to be cloth diapering fanatics — I've got a big box of newborn-size disposables that I plan to use whenever I feel like it, whether it's because we're traveling or behind on laundry, or just lazy.

I imagine that the cloth diapering will get easier as we get more practice and once we figure out what size/style/brand fits our baby and our lifestyle. For now, we bought a variety of kinds so we can try them out and see what we like. For starters, we have:

• 6 conventional cotton prefolds
• 6 organic cotton prefolds
• 4 Thirsties Fab Fitted diapers (2 xs, 2 sm)
• 2 organic cotton fitteds (sm)
• 1 OsoCozy all-in-one (sm)
• 4 Bum Genius all-in-one (xs)
• 3 Thirsties duo covers
• 2 Thirsties sized covers (size 1)
• 2 Bummis covers

Obviously, that is not enough to exclusively cloth diaper a newborn who needs 10-12 changes per day (unless we want to do the diaper laundry every single day), but it should be enough to give us an idea of what we like. If we find ourselves cursing the fitteds or wishing that we had more of those wonderful all-in-ones, we will know what we should invest in. The diaper store is only about 2 miles from our house, so it's no trouble to get more of what we need once we know we need it.

We decided to spring for the newborn sizes rather than trying to go right for the one-size diapers that supposedly fit from birth to potty training. I don't believe that the leg holes that fit a 2-year-old will also fit a newborn's chicken legs and the whole multiple snap system was a bit too daunting for us to jump in right away.

Our current stash (plus whatever we decide to add in the next few weeks and some disposables) should last us through the newborn phase. By the time Snapdragon is 3 months old and ready to move up to larger sizes or one-size diapers, it will be Christmas, and we can ask our families for cloth diapers as Christmas presents. So exciting! But really, a 3-month-old doesn't need anything and has no concept of Christmas, so I'd rather our parents channel their baby-shopping enthusiasm into useful things. Besides, cloth diapers and covers are so cute! It should be fun to shop for them!

Major Purchases

Today, FB and I spent the afternoon braving the wilds of a major local mall to make some major purchases for the Snapdragon. FB got some good driving practice and we were both in good moods, which helped us keep our spirits up.

First, we went to Pottery Barn Kids to look at changing tables. I've been shopping online for a combination changing table/dresser because we have so little space in our tiny house. We considered ordering one from Amazon or Overstock, but most of the reviews for changer/dresser combos complained about the sturdiness of the pieces and the difficulty of assembly, so we finally decided to get a Pottery Barn piece that would be delivered to our house already assembled. We ended up with the Berkeley changing table in a medium color — it was the shortest table available, which made it great for me.

As I have said before, I find malls exhausting. We had to take a little break after the Pottery Barn trip because the whole experience — giant mall, negotiating the price of the furniture, setting up delivery — was so overwhelming, even with the help of very capable salespeople. We got some cold drinks and regrouped.

Next, it was off to Babies R Us for the first time. I have been researching strollers and carseats online, but I felt like I needed to see those things in person before purchasing them. I wanted to make sure that I could fold the stroller and that the car seat would fit in our Prius. We ended up with a Chicco Keyfit Travel System, which was rated very highly by Consumer Reports. I was able to fold and unfold the stroller easily and was pleasantly surprised by how light and small it it. We don't really plan on using the stroller much during Snapdragon's early months, but it was a good deal if we bought the two pieces together, especially since we had a 15% off coupon for a single item.

I am relieved to have these purchases completed. Since we already have the co-sleeper, we are pretty much set on major purchases. From here on in, we only need to prepare small things like clothes and toiletries. Perhaps a breast pump, but I'll probably hold off on that for a while.

It's great to have a carseat and a stroller in the house. Snapdragon is on her way!

Maternity Clothes

This weekend, I finally bit the bullet and went to the mall to buy maternity clothes. My shirts are still fine, but I've been having pants issues. I can still button them normally, but when I sit, they put too much pressure on the Snapdragon and are uncomfortable.

So, I bought some of those pants that look like jeans but have a secret, hidden belly band. I tried on every pair in the store but only found one that fit — they had a very small section for short people. I also got some long tank tops and a couple of pairs of leggings. I think I'm going to like the knee-length dress over leggings look more than the faux-jeans and regular shirt ensemble as the weather gets warmer. I've always preferred skirts.

The whole excursion reminded me how much I hate malls, especially on busy weekends. I meant to look for bras while I was there, but after about 45 minutes, all I could think about was sprinting for the exit. I still have to figure out something about the bras, though — mine are, shall we say, insufficient. I would order them online, but I would just be guessing at the size, so I guess I'll have to go back to the mall — maybe on a Tuesday morning when everyone else is at work/school (I hope).