Cloth Diapering

We are pregnant! I am nine weeks today! I'm sure everyone that reads this knows, but it's been quite some time since I've blogged and thought I would include that bit of information.

Since finding out we were going to have another baby, I decided that I would do a bit of research into cloth diapering. In the past the hubs and I have been pretty anti- cloth diapering. I don't consider us to be a typical family that would be into cloth diapering. When I think of cloth diapering families I think of people who have at home births or natural births. Not that there is anything wrong with at-home or naturalbirths. In fact I have a number of friends who have made the decision to go natural. We had Elise in a hospital and I had an epidural. We plan to have this baby in the hospital and although I would like to go longer without an epidural, I am not oppose to having one.

Previously, he told me he wouldn't change any diapers if I chose to use cloth. I've done quite a bit of research since my original comment about thinking to cloth diaper. I decided to approach Eric with my findings and ask him to consider giving them a try.  I knew it would be a hard sell, but went for it anyway. At first he was completely against it. I was frustrated because I had done all this research and felt that he shot it down without even giving it a chance or thought. I told him how his reaction made me feel and he finally listened. Once We headed to a local cloth diapering store. Once we talked with the lady, Eric was pretty certain that we would be doing cloth. We bought a couple of diapers to try and went from there.

Eric has been on board since! I was surprised how quickly he changed his mind and got on board. Once he found out that it wasn't as hard and gross as he thought it would be, he was game.
Yesterday, I went to another cloth diaper store and bought 2 more diapers to try. Thought I'd share what my experience has been so far.

The first 2 diapers we bought we Rocky Mountain Diapers. The reasons we bought these were: we liked that they were not only made in the USA, but in Colorado as well. They are pocket diapers that a One Size diaper. They have an internal adjustment system so there aren't a bunch of snaps on the frint to adjust. The PROS: They are cute, made in Colorado/USA and aren't super bulky on my 23 lbs 2 year old. My print diaper is great! The CONS: These are NOT for overnight use! They leaked everywhere, I even had to wash Elise's pillow! The solid diaper leaks everytime I put it on Elise. EVERYTIME! The internal adjustment systems seems to make for a not so tight fit around the legs. I obviously have mixed feelings about these diapers considering I've had one that works well during the day and one that leaks everytime. I contacted the store and they said that I should try rubbing Tide on the inside because sometimes there's a residue on it that needs to be washed off. We'll see if this makes a difference. I got these diapers at Cloth Diaper Market. They are a local store, but they sell their diapers online. You can visit their site here. These are $18.95 in the store but $19.95 on the website.

Yesterday we bought 2 Thirsties Duo Diapers. The reasons I bought these were: They have bright colors and cute prints! They are made in the USA, they are a top selling diaper at the store we went to, they have double leg gussets (which means extra leak protection around the legs), They have an opening in the front and back of the diaper and the inserts are suppose to agitate out in the wash. Which means, you don't have to touch pee or poo pulling out the insert. The final reason we bought them was: the inserts combine fast absorbing power of microfiber terry together with the stable absorbency of hemp. We've only used one once today so I'll have to do more updating after a few more times of wearing and washing. What I know so far: it didn't leak after wearing for over 2 hours. It didn't really even seem wet, but she pooed so we had to change it. I didn't know she pooed until I opened her diaper. Didn't smell anything like I do with disposables. We plan to try the second diaper overnight tonight. I got these diapers from Baby Cotton Bottoms they are a local store as well, but they have a website, you can visit their site here. This one keeps track of how many diapers you buy and once you purchase 12, every diaper after that you get $1 off! I don't know if it works online, but if you can tell them I refered you then I get $5 off my next purchase. These are $18 for the solid diapers and $19 for the prints.

I bought Rockin' Green laundry detergent. It's made for cloth diapers. It's the only brand I tried. It's a natural detergent, and has fun scents as well as an unscented option. My favorite is Motley Clean. There are other detergents that are cheaper, but so far I really like Rockin' Green. I have read good reviews.

Eric is ready to commit to cloth diapering fulltime after only a week! What turned him on was the savings from disposables. You can save $1500 to $2000  for 1 child and $4000 with 2 children if you use the same diapers. We're not filling landfills with diapers that take 500 years to decompose.

Cloth diapers are so much better these days than in the past. I always imagined it being gross and difficult, but there are options that are very similar to disposables. There are SO many options it can get a little confusing. I would recommend visiting a store if you have that option. Baby Cotton Bottoms has a lot of good information on their site. Here a 2 sites that have really helped me as well: http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/new-to-cloth-diapers/cloth-diaper-systems/ and http://www.paddedtushstats.com/

I'm still new to this, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll let you know if I know the answer, if not I'll find out for you.

Foster Care and Adoption

Did you know that 30,000 kids aged out of Foster Care in 2010?

Colleagues from Chapin Hall have been following the progress of more than 600 former foster kids.


"Many of them are faring poorly," says Courtney. "Less than half were employed at 23, 24. They're much less likely to have finished high school, less likely to be enrolled in college or have a college degree."

In fact, by age 24, only 6 percent have two- or four-year degrees. More than two-thirds of the young women have children. Nearly 60 percent of the males have been convicted of a crime. Almost a quarter were homeless at some point after leaving foster care.

"Those children are our children, the children of society, of the state," says Courtney. "I would argue that we have no business taking them into care and then keeping them until they're in the transition to adulthood, unless we're going to try to do a good job of that."

Check out this article to find out more.

My question is, why are so many people adopting from other countries when there are so many children in the US that need homes. In TX, if you adopted a foster child, you pay very little if anything and if they're over a certain age when they're adopted, you get a monthly allotment until they turn 18.

Someday, Eric and I would like to be foster parents or adopt a foster child. I would ask you to think and pray about becoming a foster parent or adopting a foster child.

Texas Fun!

Mommy and I have been enjoying our vaction to Texas. So far I've seen Amy & Rex (my aunt and uncle), Renka (this is my word for both Grandpa & Grandma, Dana, John & my new baby cousin, Laney (Aunt & cousins) Baby Laney's Elise name is "Babies". Renka's dog is Raskers (Rascal).  Tomorrow we get to see Uncle Brett for the first time this trip.

We got to meet my new baby cousin Laney for the first time. She is just 5 weeks old!

We got to take a cousins picture!

I love baby Laney! I got to help grandma hold her! I took my job very seriously!

Here's a picture of just us girls!

We went to the zoo and had a blast! We went to the petting zoo first and I wanted nothing to do with the goats! I would not let Grandma put me down. Just 10 short months ago I was fearless around them!

Afterward, to help me calm down we went to a little play area. They had this old truck as well as an old tractor and sand area for the kids. I had fun "driving" Mommy around.

I enjoying the sand as well and reluctantly headed out to see more animals.

My favorite was of course the elephants and we were able to see them while we ate lunch. John loved the penguins and I got a little impatient waiting. Right after this picture below, I grabed Grandpa's hand and said "walk"! I know what I wants and I'm not afraid to let you know what that might be!

While we waited for cousin John, I had grandma sit on the floor with me to look at the fish.

Today, Grandma took me shopping at Kohl's! I got lots of new clothes! Afterward Grandma took Mommy and me to a restaurant where they serve breakfast all day! I got scrambled eggs and Grandma even let me take a few bites from her plate! I got to eat some blueberries and whipped cream!

After lunch, we went to the grocery store. I got to help Grandma by pushing my very own cart. It was very sad to leave it, but Mommy said I had to leave it so other kids could enjoy it.

Tomorrow we get to go to church with Grandpa and Grandma, Then we get to go to a cookout and see my Uncle Brett. This will be the first time he's seen me since my 1st birthday! 

Life

It's been a while. I've started several posts and never finished them.

Eric got a job! He's working for a place called Children's Ark. It's a place for troubled teens. He's really enjoying it!

In March, Elise and I will be taking a trip to TX. Well be visiting my family, including my niece who is just two weeks old.

Thought I would share some pictures of my beautiful daughter! She's growing up so fast!

That's all for now.

Failure?

Am I a failure if its January 8th and this is my first blog of the New Year? Well, I'm going to attempt to do better.

So, what's been going on with the Hease family in 2011? Well, we are getting settled in our house. We moved into a rental home just before Christmas. We didn't have much time to get settled before we headed to MI to visit family, then family came to visit us. It seems more difficult this time around to get settled and organized. Pictures to come soon.

Eric has decided to pursue Fire Fighting. Colorado Springs will be hiring several in the upcoming months. Eric had to take a written test and a physical test. He did the written test yesterday and the physical test today. The physical test was pretty intense. There were eight different things he had to do in less than 10 minutes and 20 seconds. He finished in 9 minutes! I am so proud of him! We should find out more information in the next month.

We have an amazing YMCA community here in The Springs. I was working out at our apartment gym until we moved, since we no longer have it, we decided to get a family gym memberships. I don't know if it is like this everywhere, but they have income-based rates. You can get discounted rates if you make under $60,000. They have great equipment, children's area and tons of classes! We can go to any Y's in the Pike's Peak region. There are 5 or 6 Y's that are included in our membership. I would highly recommend checking them out if you are thinking if getting a gym membership.

I am planning on starting a new blog and that is why I haven't posted in so long. I've been doing some research. I'm planning on doing a sewing/crafting blog called "Naptime Threads". I'll be doing tutorials as well as pattern reviews and more. If this is something you would be interested in reading, please let me know what kind of information you would be interested in learning/reading.

I really like ana white (Knock-off Wood)! She recently posted about Google Sketchup. I downloaded it and I'm obsessed! You can design furniture and such. It's tons of fun! Eric recently made this and I painted it. Pictures to come soon. It's still drying. I have a whole list of things to make. Eric and I are going to make them together! I'm really excited!