Sunday Funday

Happy Sunday all <3

12 days...

...Since my last post. I thought with being out of school I would be better at updating.. obviously not!

So many things have happened!


I celebrated my first mothers day . The day was spent cuddling on the couch, watching Harry Potter movies, and Colin making dinner. It may not have been considered much by others, but it was absolutely perfect..

We announced our engagement...finally... We have techically been engaged since December. I dont know why we dont just tell people when things happen.. It must be our style or something. But yes, we are planning a wedding for September 2013, and I am so excited and already in planning mode.



Rowen went swimming for the first time. It was so much fun and Rowen did so good. I was terrified that she was going to freak out when we got in the pool but she didnt. She loved it and was very upset when we took her out. Hopefully we will go again this weekend :)

I started a new job. I work 20 hours in my old office, and 20 hours upstairs in a new office. Its not the most exciting, but it pays the bills. I have had nothing to do the past week, so I have been wedding planning :). Maybe I will start writing my blogs instead of wasting time haha.

We are still in the process of unpacking... I dont know if we will ever finish.. nor do I really care haha.

When I get off I would much rather spend time with my family than unpacking... Monday is a holiday, maybe I will get something productive accomplished. But probably not.




Colin and I went on a date :) We went to watch the Avengers. It was awesome. Thanks again to Sarah for babysitting! I am still planning on baking you cookies :)
























 This is what I wake up to most mornings... How Rowen is a morning person, I do not know, but this sure does make it easier to get up :)

I love these two so so much <3

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I am also in the process of typing my first, actual post for my other blog! So keep an eye out for that :)

4 Month Stats

Hey guys!
This is going to be a short post. Just wanted to give an update from Rowens appointment yesterday!

At 4 months, she is 13lbs 4oz, 25in long and has a 16in head circumference! My baby has doubled in size!

Her pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start her on solids. We tried some sweet potatoes, but she didnt seem to interested in them. Thats ok, we will wait a month or 2 :)

She also got shots yesterday, so she has been a crabby monster, but I did manage to get some snuggles out of her this morning :)










On another note, I will be starting a new blog! I have learned so much from my mom group about how to be save money, stretch your budget further, and even be more environmentally friendly. I want to share all of the info I have with everyone, but dont want to take away from this blog. This blog is about Rowen, which is why I chose to start a new one :) Here is the link for anyone interested :)

Its Monday!

And as promised, here is a new blog post!

I know its been a month since my last actual blog. Sorry! Things have been crazy. I have had school projects, work, and house hunting. Thank goodness all of that is about to die down after this week. Finals will be over on Thursday!

As some of you know, we found somewhere to live! Hooray! We actually moved back into our old apartment.. yes the exact same one as we lived in a year ago. You know that feeling you get when you just know you are home? That's the way I felt when we walked in after getting our keys. It was empty, but somehow, I still felt more at home than I have the entire past year. I love it here. This was mine and Colin's first apartment together that we had all to ourselves. The year we spent here was one of the best of my life. I was so upset, I cried the entire time we were moving our stuff out last summer. I am so glad that I stumbled upon the ad about it being for rent again, and I am so excited that Rowen gets to spend the first year of her life in a place that has so many wonderful memories and means so much to me.
We are a little cramped, since it is a one bedroom, but it is so worth it, both emotionally and financially :)

Rowen is 4 months old. When on earth did that happen?! She manages to melt our hearts a little more everday. She absolutely loves watching Top Gear (British version) and the Muppets, sitting in her Bumbo, and the dogs. She talks ALL.THE.TIME. She sings and giggles. She is such an awesome little girl!

She rolled over for this month. That was awesome! And she had her first bubble bath :)
She is growing so fast, it kills me. But it is so cool to see her advance and meet milestones.



I just have to show off my VERY FIRST MOTHERS DAY present :) We did a gift exchange in my mommy group, and this is what I got. I am absolutely in love with it :)

                              

This is the

one and only time that Rowen has let me put a bow in her hair :)

Rowen has her 4 month appointment on Friday :) I will update after!

Singing with Daddy

Hi all!

 Sorry its been so long since the last blog! I have been super busy with finals next week and us moving tomorrow! I promise to have an actual new post up by Monday night :)


 In the meanwhile, this was too cute not to share :)

How to Cloth Diaper Rowen Style

The "I-need-a-change face

Ok!

 So I have a few people ask me how exactly we go about cloth diapering Rowen. So here is a step-by-step visual of how a typical diaper change goes and also a list of what you will need, complete with pictures and links!
I really dont think there is a "wrong" way to cloth diaper. Its really about trying out different things until you find out what works for you.

Dislcaimer: There are TONS of different types of cloth diapers... this is just what we use.

What you need (pictures to follow):
All-in-One Pocket diaper: We use Sunbaby and Alvababy, but there are a bunch of other brands out there.
Prefolds: once again many brands and what not, although I recommend Affordable cloth diaper. Affordable, fast, and they have awesome customer service.
Liners/inserts: we dont use these but I will show you how they work
Diaper pail: we just use a trash can with a lid
Diaper pail liner: We use this Planet Wise one
Diaper pail freshener
Wet  bags: optional, but we have multiple, they are awesome.
Cloth Diaper friendly detergent- You can find a list by clicking here
Cloth diaper friendly rash cream- We use Grandma El's because it smells amazing You can get Califorina Baby at Target. Here is a link to a list :)
Diaper sprayer (this is also optional but awesome)

The set up:
We keep our diapers separated in canvas totes, in the shelves, on her changing table. We keep the prefolds on the top, since we change those the most, covers on the second shelf, and the liners/inserts on the bottom since we never use them.

Typical Diaper Change





Step 1:  First you need an adorable assistant in need of a diaper change :)

Step 2:  Remove dirty diaper. We do not change the pocket every diaper change. We change it a couple times a day, if its really soaked, or if poop gets on it.  So if none of these things happen, we just take out the prefold and toss it in the diaper pail. If it is a poopy diaper see step 2a.












Step 2a: Take poopy prefold (and pocket if there is poop on it). Spray it out in the toilet with the diaper sprayer, we have one made by Fuzzibunz. Then toss in diaper pail.


                      

Step 3: Put clean diaper under baby booty. We lay down the pocket first, then lay the prefold flat on top of it:

                  

Pocket first

                   

Prefold on top of pocket

Step 5: Diaper rash cream! You can not just use any kind of diaper rash cream with cloth diapers. But don't fret, there are plenty of options(see link under What you will need) As previously mentioned, we use Grandma El's which looks like this:

Step 5: Fold the prefold. We use the bikini twist method:

                                               

Step 5: Hold prefold in place, 

and button the tabs on the pocket diaper.

 All in one pockets usually have buttons around the

 leg gussets so you can adjust for the perfect fit :)

      And you have a cloth diapered             baby!

Laundry time!

We wash diapers every 2-3 days. Its a pretty simple process.

Take the diaper pail liner out of the diaper pail and dump it in the washer. You can even toss the diaper pail liner in there too and wash it.

Now, you are going to need cloth diaper safe detergent. A lot of detergents can compromise the absorbency of the diaper.

I use Rockin Green, 

They have a lot of scents with a lot of fun names like Lavender Mint Revival, Rage against the Raspberries, Smashing Watermelons, and my favorite Bare Naked Babies.

Hot Pre-Rinse. Wash in hot water, with one scoop detergent, on your washing machine's "heavy" cycle.

When it comes time to dry the diaper, take out the pockets and hang dry them. Putting them in the dryer can wear out the elastic.

Throw the prefolds in the dryer, and dry on high heat

And you have clean diapers :)

How to use pockets with inserts

 As I said before, we dont use inserts. The main reason being that with inserts you have to change the pocket every diaper change, which is why we prefer the prefold method. But since the majority of pocket diapers that you buy come with inserts, I figured I would show you how they work.

The pocket has a little slit/pocket that the inserts slide in:

Just slide the insert in, and change like a disposable diaper.

Cloth Wipes

We also use cloth wipes. Super simple to make, also saves money.

I bought 1/2 yard of plain flannel from Hobby Lobby (<$2 is you use the 40% off coupons you can get online all of the time.)

I cut it up into wipes. Stick the wipes in our wipe warmer and pour homemade solution on them.

Solution:

 Mix together, pour over wipes. You can also keep in a spray bottle, and spray on wipes during diaper changes.

Now to answer some other questions I get a lot:

Doesn't the diaper pail stink?

Answer: Yes, sometimes. But we use Rockin' Green Shake It Up Pail Refresher. 

 It comes in all of the great scents as the detergent. 

All you do is sprinkle a little directly into the pail and Voila! The smell is gone.

Isnt it gross?

Sometimes, but then again so is changing a poopy disposable diaper.

What do you do when you are running errands and need to change the baby?

Remember those wet bags I was talking about? This is where they come in.

Change the diaper as you would normally, then toss it in the wet bag. They

are water proof so you don't have to worry about getting bodily fluids all over

your diaper bag.

Is it really worth it?

For us, yes I sat down and figured out today that we go through roughly 144 diapers/week... A 144 pack of Huggies is $45..that is $180 dollars a month..Cloth wipes save us an additional $20 a month.

Me being a full-time student/part-time office assistant and Colin being a stay-at-home dad, $200 a month is a lot of money

Well, I hope that answers everyone's questions! If you have anymore just let me know :)

Its been a while...

Its been almost a month since I have updated! Sorry guys, we've been busy.

So here is a rundown about what has happened in the last month.

We have been doing a lot of tummy time!
                           

 

                                                         Dreaming about roller coasters

Hanging out on Aunt Jessica's couch

          

                                                             Watching Baby Einstein

Playing computer games

          and reading with dad

                                       

                                                        Reading on our own

Being cute!

  O.. and turning 3 months old today :)