Maybe I will pick this back up...

I stumbled upon my old blog tonight and saw how many pageviews its gotten. Apparently people want to read more about EC and parenting :)

So maybe if I can find time in my busy life I will pick this back up.

A quick update since it is my bedtime...

Sammy is now 2 1/2!! So hard to believe! She is fully potty trained during the day and has been for over a year now. She does wet the bed at night but it started happening when her sister was born.

Which leads me to announcing that Samantha now has a little sister, Dakota who is currently 10 months old! As far as EC is going for Dakota...its good but not going as well as with Sammy for multiple reasons. We have had a few transitions during her younger months like moving. And I wasn't a diligent to potty her as a was with Sammy. My thoughts were that it wasn't necessarily quantity of catches with Sammy as it was quality but that isn't always true. I depended on diapers a lot more with D especially during the move which the whole process took about 2 months. We are working at it but now he cloth diapers have severe amonia build up from the well water so we have been using disposables for night and outings which really hinder us. But she is still on ly 10 months and she knows to go, just need her to cue to me :) I hopefully can post more on this later.

Another transition that hindered D's pottying was my first trimester for our 3rd baby! That's right I am now 14 weeks into my 3rd pregnancy :) Planning on another homebirth. We are in the process of moving yet again a couple of hours away to where my husband has been relocated for work. It is a crazy time right now but we are making the most of it.

This next babe I am planning on keeping it diaper free the vast majority of the time including out and about. Having depended on diapers so much with D it really makes me not want to this time especially after going back and reading how well we did with Sammy from such an early age.

So there is the quick update of it all. We shall see if I can find the time to come back later and add more!!

Dakota 10 months

Sammy being silly- 2 1/2 yrs

Daddy is home!!!

Our Family bed is complete again. He was so sleepy!

I woke up Tuesday morning and had a quick thought wondering if Chris would ever just come home one day and surprise me. Nothing made me think that; I just did. Then later that afternoon he text me saying that he was busy right then but would call me later. I was planning on going to a community group that night at 6 so I was hoping we wouldn't call then so I asked him when. He said he probably wasn't going to work that night and would prob call around 8-9. I thought that was a little odd since he had worked 2 weeks straight with no time off but then again maybe they were giving him time to rest or something. But because I had the thought of him coming him everything he said made me suspicious! So then I asked him what he was doing and he said he was driving. They were sending him all over the place for Union stuff. I reasoned in my mind that that could be true because he had been having some issues with the union earlier that week where he did in fact have to drive all over. But my heart was still hoping. I went to community group and was hanging out with everyone when he asked me when the group would be over. It hadn't even really started yet. Then he sent me a picture of inside our house with a glass of wine and our white lights lit. I immediately knew he was home and I announced to everyone that I had to leave because my husband was home. They were all excited for me and helped me get all Sammy's stuff in the car to rush home to my beloved husband who was waiting for me with M&M's!

She nestled into his armpit and fell asleep. She missed her Daddy!

Needless to say I was very excited and we both cried a lot that night! So I  have my Baby Love home with me at last!

Since he has been home EC has not been going so great haha! I have been a little preoccupied with spending time with Chris that we have just not been paying attention to the potty cues. Oops...sorry Baby Girl! So we ran out of cloth diapers really fast this last week which means yesterday and today she has been in disposables : ( Which by the way are horrible for trying to catch! They have made our catch ratio plummet!  We are probably catching about 20% these last couple of days!! But today is laundry day and I think our family is back on course so this week should get better.

I do have a funny story to tell about parenting. We saw a little boy this week that a family member was baby sitting who was 10 months old. He crawled into the bathroom and when he was pulled out he cried. Not a long cry which he dried up pretty quickly when he saw there were people he didn't know in the room. A comment was made and everyone started "aww" ing to him and he started crying again which was even funnier to everyone else not realizing they were why he was crying. But not because he had been offended; he couldn't even understand what was said. He was crying because he was getting attention for doing so. So after he stopped and was happy again I said, "Watch this" and for absolutely no reason I looked at him and began saying with a sympathetic face, "Aw, poor baby. That is so sad poor baby..." and immediately he started bawling again right on cue. Sometimes I don't think people realize how much children's emotions aren't true emotions but just a reaction to the emotion that is being given to them. Like a hurt child for instance will scream uncontrollably when people are around and especially if they are focusing on their "pain". But when no one is there or even just paying attention, they usually might cry for a second then keep playing. Unless they know someone is nearby who will give them the show they want. Just an interesting observation. Try it at home... for fun of course. Wouldn't want to make it a habit ; )


On another note... I finally made Sammy's 4 month onesie and took pictures today! It a little over a week overdue but better now than never! She is currently 29 inches long and 16.8 pounds! Thanks to Granny for the adorable new flower headbands and tutu!!! Enjoy!

My 3 Month Old!!!

Sammy is 3 months old now!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up! She has changed so much this past month and I've been too busy to post about it so this might be a long post!


On the EC front, things are still going great! We have been having a lot more diaper free time and Sammy loves the freedom to move her legs around without any hindrance from a diaper. She is cuing a little different now. It used to be  mostly grunts but now she gives a quick fuss and waits for me to place her on the potty. If I miss the first fuss (or just am not paying attention) she will usually give another as long as she is not maxing out her holding capacity. When she first starting transitioning to this cuing instead of grunting it took me a couple of days to realize and we missed a few more time than normal. But now its usually very easy to tell because she's not a fussy baby. When I hear a fuss I know something is up and its usually that she has to pee!

Her holding capacity has gotten longer. I haven't timed exactly how long she will go but it is definitely longer than before. Sometimes when we are out running errands I am usually quite surprised to find a dry baby! And pottying in public is becoming easier for that reason. I did notice however that she stopped responding to the "psst" cue. I think its because at home we don't really say it anymore because she goes once we set her on the potty. But in public she doesn't sit on the potty so it takes her a little longer to realize she can release. So to remedy that I started using the cue again at home and it seems to be working. I just started this this week so not too opportunities to test have come up yet.

Night time is still the same. Still missing most of the pees. I just can't wake up fast enough and I am even making myself get up the first time i hear her but it apparently isn't the first time she fusses. Occasionally I wake up to a dry baby but not as often as I would like. Nights are when we use most of our diapers. As she gets older and her bladder gets bigger I am sure we will have more success.

I think I figured out nap times though! During naps she stirs but doesn't actually wake up (just like at night). Well I used to just let her stay down and sleep but she would just keep stirring and eventually wake up wet and upset. But one day I tested something new. I gently and quietly got her up to potty and then laid her back down and to my surprise she stayed asleep the entire time! Once she started looking for the boob after I laid her down so I fed her and then back to sleep she went! She had a 3 hour nap which was one of the longest she had ever had! It was awesome! So since doing that she has been napping much better and it hasn't affected her night sleeping. (She still sleeps around 6 hours straight at night!)

She has just gotten so big this month! She just turned 3 months but is about to outgrow her 3 months clothes. So sad! I am not sure how much she weighs because she hasn't been to a doctor. The last time we weighed her on the wii she was 13.8 pounds and that was a few weeks ago right before a growth spurt! She is so much more aware now and she was super aware before! Her face look older and she laughs at things now. She is so curious about what going on around her and she found her voice! Oh boy she loves to talk! But we think she might be shy because she talks almost constantly at home but when we around a lot of people or noise she is pretty quiet and just takes everything in.

 And she is rolling over! It is so much fun, I love it! Here are some pics of her first roll. Enjoy!

And she begins

Lifts her legs

Now to Roll

Bottom is turned.

But my arm is stuck!

Got to get that bag!

SUCCESS!!!

Woo Hoo!

And then she peed from all the belly pressure!

Cost Break Down

So I thought I'd give you all a cost break down of EC (with cloth diapers) vs. Exclusive Cloth Diapering vs. Disposables. Obviously everyone does diapering differently especially in the cloth diapering realm where there are so many different types of diapers. And even with disposables some people buy organic diapers that are probably the most expensive vs. store brand which are probably the cheapest, so keep in mind this is just a general estimate of costs. ( I got these estimates from http://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/cost_of_cloth_diapers.php)

Disposables:
Average cost of diapers per child up to size 6 training pants costs $2,577.35 not including the cost of wipes, or diaper pail.


Cloth Diapering: (all not including the cost of wipes or diaper pails/wet bags)
Average cost using all sizes of prefolds, diaper covers, and the energy costs from washing $381.00

Average cost using all sizes of fitted diapers, diaper covers, and the energy costs from washing $1264.84

Average cost using all sizes of All-in-one (AIO) diapers and the energy costs from washing $1413.48

Average cost using all sizes of Pocket diapers and the energy costs from washing $1677.66

Average cost using combination of all sizes of prefolds, diaper covers, fitted diapers, AIO's and Pocket diapers and energy costs from washing $1468.74

Elimination Communication (for us):
Prefold package from https://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/ (given as a gift) $255.00      
Included:

• 36 infant 4x8x4 unbleached OsoCozy prefolds, 12" x 16", up to 15 lbs
• 24 regular 4x6x4 unbleached OsoCozy prefolds, 14" x 21", 12-30 lbs
• 4 size small Bummis Super Brite or Super Whisper Wrap Covers, 8-16 lbs
• 4 size medium Bummis Super Brite or Super Whisper Wrap Covers, 15-30 lbs
• 1 roll OsoCozy Flushable Diaper Liners (which I don't use)

 Baby Bjorn Smart Potty (from Target) $14.99

Disposable wipes: Seventh Generation refill packages $3.99 (using one package a week) X 52 (weeks in a year, which is when I am guessing we won't need them anymore.) = $207.48

Large wet bag $9.99 (from Babies R' Us)

Small Travel size Wet Bag from https://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/ $9.50

Laundry Mat Washing Costs (We don't have a washer or dryer so our washing costs are more expensive than  most) Average $5 once a week X  78 (a year and a half, I am suspecting that I probably won't be done doing laundry at exactly a year so I am giving a year and half for accidents) = $390.00 (This is an overestimate because we have been line drying a lot lately and don't always go once a week since we catch a lot of pees in the potty and we will gradually catch more and more)

Grand Total: $886.96

Keeping in mind that are laundry bill is pretty expensive at the moment and that I included a lot more into my cost analysis that the prefold diaper costs, Elimination Communication for us is WAY cheaper than just using cloth diapers or disposables. I am not sure if i said this before but the first reason we decided to go ahead and start Potty Training was because we can't afford not to. We needed the most cost effective option. Of course I had always wanted to anyways but the big deciding factor was the cost.

Just for kicks and giggles let's see how much we would have spent using even the cheapest cloth diapering method of prefolds.

Cost of the same prefold package we got as a gift: $255.00
Cost of Large Wet bag: $9.99
Cost of 3 Small Wet bags (Because we would need more without EC): $28.50
Cost of Wipes for up to 3 years using 3 per week (We would use WAY more wipes without EC...are you kidding me! Have you seen the poop smear!): $622.44
Cost of Laundry for 3 years washing 3 times a week due to all potty going in the diapers (the 3 years is the average age American children are potty trained): $2340.00

Total Cost: $3255.93!!! And that is just using prefolds!!!

So doing this price comparison has made me realize that our laundry is stinking expensive!!! I really hope we can move soon to a place with a washer and dryer! Which by the way, Chris just got a new job and it requires him to move to different job sites so we are going to become a gypsy family lol! Yay for getting to experience a bunch of new places!!! Sad for having to be all alone in a strange city with no friends or family. But yay that Chris got a new job!!!

Also I thought I would throw in another picture for you of another poop explosion miss : ( And this was done while sitting in my lap! I was clearly not paying attention to my fussy wiggly baby!!!

Cloth Wipes

Here are my flannel wipes. Super easy to make!

I wanted to mention cloth wipes to anyone interested in cloth diapering or ECing. Originally I intended to use cloth wipes in our cloth/EC usage but it turned out not to be too practical for us. I know other people who EC that use them and love them but they just didn't work for us. And here's why:

Because we potty Sammy we usually don't have too much to wipe since most of everything goes into the toilet and not all over her bum and in her deep rolls! So when I started using our cloth wipes I realized that they were almost a waste of laundry. And then I would have a dry diaper but would have to get up to put the wipe in the wet bag. If the diaper was dirty I wouldn't be making any extra trips but its annoying to get up to put one barely used wipe in a bag across the room many many times a day if I don't have to.

However I love the idea of using cloth wipes along with the diapers. I'm cheap! I made my wipes and I think they are pretty cute! Honestly I would probably try to find a way to make the wipes work if my husband really wanted me to but he likes our system the way it is and doesn't mind spending the little extra money for disposable wipes every week.

To make them I just cut out flannel squares of fabric and hemmed the edges. Then for a wipe solution I made my own out of water, tiny bit of tea tree oil, Aloe Vera, and Castile soap. I just looked up the recipe for it. But I actually like using just water best. I didn't like having the smell of the solution on my hands after using the wipes. Then I saved on old wipes container but about a cup in there and let the wipes soak in the solution. I have heard of some people actually utilizing a wipe warmer so its not so cold on baby's bum. Then for traveling I used my peri bottle from birth to spritz the wipe before using.

So now with our disposable wipes we keep an old wipes container with no lid near her baby potty to throw the used ones in and empty it when we empty her potty. This system works great for us! If anyone wants my cloth wipes that lives near me let me know!