Cloth Diapers

We made the plunge a few months ago and tried cloth diapers for Olivia. So far so good! My mother in law set us up with a trial at the local baby store and we were able to try ten different styles of cloth diapers for three weeks. After the trial, it was clear which brand and style of diaper we liked and wanted to use. We currently have a set of a dozen cloth diapers made by bumGenius in two different styles, the all in one and the one size diapers.

these all in one diapers are super easy to put on Olivia

these one size diapers fit Olivia great and will expand as she grows

 

The quality of this brand is excellent and they fit Olivia's little bum so nice! We use the cloth diapers part time on the days Olivia is home with either Michael or myself and I wash a load after a day or two of use. The washing of the diapers is my least favorite part, but it saves money and isn't too bad with a great washing machine like ours. I have found a few resources (listed below) with great tips on cloth diapering and maintaining the diapers long term. Our hope is to use this set of a dozen cloth diapers for the next 18 months or so and then possibly again with the next baby. I hope by using them part time, we can save some money and do our part to help the planet at the same time. Here are a few links and resources if you are interested in cloth diapering your little one...

• How To Strip Cloth Diapers - a great instructional on stripping the diapers from the cleaning/detergent residue and getting them brand new clean.
• Cloth Diaper Routine - this mom of six gives a step by step routine of how she does cloth diapers for her kids. I have learned some great tips from her! 
• Colorado Baby - this is the store that we bought the diapers from and the owner has been a huge help in answering my questions and helping me get used to the cloth diaper routine.

Using cloth diapers is a total learning process and I have found some great tips that work for me. The Colorado Baby store sells some liners that you lay in the cloth diaper to catch solids and they easily flush in the toilet. I also use a waterproof zipper bag that hangs on the side of the changing table to hold wet diapers till it is time to wash. It is best if you double wash the diapers (or use a prewash setting on hot) and then I line dry the diapers to help preserve the velcro. 

All in all, it has been a good experience for us and I hope to continue to cloth diaper part time. And because I have a hard time posting without pictures of Olivia, here are a few pics in her pink cloth diaper :)
 

Tips and Tricks to Make Life Easier

I have been back to work for about 3 weeks and the transition has had its good moments and not so good moments. I could have never imagined how much I would miss Olivia during my work day. It has been good for me to get back into a routine and back to work, but it sure makes life a bit crazy. Over the past few months, I have found some great tips and tricks for myself and our family that sure make life easier.

Wunderlist is a great app for the iPhone that my husband and I share for our to do lists. It is so much easier to upload the 'honey do list' to this app and then Michael can check things off as he gets them done. The app also lets you keep your own personal to do list, which has come in handy for me.

PostalPix is a photo ordering app for the iPhone that allows you to order prints straight from your phone. It is super easy to pick photos from your camera phone and photo stream albums and then they are mailed directly to you for a great price. The ability to quickly order photo prints in a variety of sizes has been a great way to print photos without having to leave my house or buy an expensive photo printer.

Mint.com is an easy to use financial website that allows you to keep track of all of your accounts in one place. In our household we have several accounts including our mortgage, car loans, investments, retirement, and savings for Olivia. This app and website allows you to keep track of everything in one place. There are also features you can utilize such as creating a monthly budget, tracking your investments, setting financial goals, and finding ways to save money. This app has been great for Michael and I to use and helps keep us on financial track with little to no time and effort.

Other tips and tricks that we have implemented in our house over the past few months have included:

• cooking meals in double batches to allow for leftovers and food for lunches
• setting the timer for one hour and seeing how much cleaning and chores we can accomplish
• sorting the mail daily to avoid a buildup of paperwork
• tackle laundry every other day to avoid a massive pileup
• order birthday gifts online with free shipping codes
• clip coupons and meal plan around the weekly grocery ad
• and use every app possible on my iPhone to save me time, money, and energy!

Life is only going to get busier and feel crazier the older Olivia gets, but my hope is that we have plenty of time saving tricks in place so that we can spend as much time with her as possible. It is also important for me to feel less stressed and more focused on her, and these things are just a few ways to help me do that!