The Day I Became a Cloth Diaper Addict

The day has arrived.  I am officially addicted to cloth diapers.  I can't help it, I have simply fallen in love.  I am always thinking about ways to improve the cleaning process and have officially set up a clothes line in the back yard.  If you are wondering about cloth diapering-- just do it.  Gone are the days of diaper pins and hand washing in the toilet.  Now, the diaper covers are adorable and the more you do it, the better you get at getting them clean and making the process efficient.

I had wanted to do cloth diapering from the beginning of the pregnancy and I am so glad I stuck with it.  We had a period where Penny couldn't wear the cloth diapers because she had a small diaper rash due to her thrush and it killed me to watch our trash can overflow with diapers every day.  It was more disgusting than washing them out and made me feel guilty about what I was putting into the environment.  To be honest- if you can't handle poop, don't have a baby.  Washing out her diapers takes about 30 seconds for each one (about 5-7 diapers a day) so really I am only spending an extra 5 or so minutes a day on them.

And the best part? At least for my family overall... we are spending about $500 TOTAL on all our diaper needs for all of our kids.  If we had three kids, all using disposables, that total would be around $4,000 or more. That is a down payment on a new car.  So, yes, I love cloth diapering.

Penny's diapers line drying

Enough of that... for now at least! :) On to a Penny Update

Sorry for the days of silence.  We had Ken's younger sisters over to stay for a Wednesday and Thursday and it was so fun having them!  They helped us put our backyard together (it is still a work in progress but much improved).

The new section of our yard!

 Later in the day, Suzanne and I went for a much needed swim.  Ken, Monique, and Penny joined us later and Penny dipped her feet in for a few minutes in her adorable bathing suit and hat (Thanks Pat and Ashley!).

We spent the morning of 4th of July with our friends who were having a little welcoming party for their new baby.  It is SO much fun to be around other babies and new mommies.  They are all so adorable and you can feel the love pouring out. Penny was held by my friends mother and fell asleep almost immediately.  She definitely knows when a mother is carrying her!  Then we headed up to Lake Arrowhead to walk around the lake.  Penny was a trooper in the car but we only made it to Running Spring before deciding to turn around because it was pouring rain!  There was a thunderstorm and it was pretty fun, but not conducive to a relaxing walk near the lake.  We headed back down and made dinner at home and had a quite evening.  We are going to save the firework shows for next year when Penny can actually enjoy them.

I will be back to the grind tomorrow with my runs so I am savoring my last hours of rest day.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th!

Steph