Little Christmas Helper

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Happy Birthday SeAnna!

Wow - what a fabulous year we have had!  SeAnna celebrated her 1st birthday 2 weeks ago. The day was over just as fast as the last year has gone.  I now know that birthday celebrations are also for mommy's.  I kept remembering back as each of the events of her delivery and entry into the world marked it's year anniversary. Funny how a birthday can bring those mommy-emotions back to the surface. I love my sweet seAnna, but sometimes I miss that tiny little bundle of a baby.  Honestly, I am so sentimental.

SeAnna's birthday was simple and celebrated with just our little family.   I didn't put a lot of effort into her smash-cake.  (Piping 5 million little stars all over a cake is what I call a d*#~ tedious waste of time.)  The smash cake was a large, apple-spice cupcake topped with maple cream cheese frosting.  YUMMY!  

SeAnna and I met Seth for lunch at Dairy Queen - she got to nibble on chicken tenders and french fries.  Following her afternoon nap we played with her fairy princess balloon and bubbles.  For dinner I made Cheesey Broccoli soup.  With her daddy's help seAnna opened her presents.  We got her dressed down to her onsie and set her in her high-chair, ready for smashing!  She swiped some of the frosting before we could start singing "Happy Birthday" to her.  So cute to see those little chubby toddler hands dig into the cake as it was smooshed all over the tray. SeAnna also enjoyed feeding some of her cupcake to her daddy and to the dog, Mazie.  She didn't get to play too long in the cake, as we had to get to church for an Activity Day Girls Talent Show for the girls in my primary class.

SeAnna still only has 3 teeth on her lower jar ...but the 4 front top teeth are trying to make an entrance.
What a great crawler and stair-climber SeAnna is.  Walking is still a ways a way.  She is pretty wobbly on her little feet.  She can say,  ya, uh-oh, nana, dada, doe doe, and mama.  She is happy natured and very patient.  Oh how we love our little sweet seAnna!  

PS - don't miss the video clip in the pictures.

I Licked the Cupcake before the candle was blown out. 

Mmmm, try some cake, daddy.

Love our FuzziBunz

I have been meaning to do this post since February, as you'll see, SeAnna is still quite young in these pictures, about 4 months of age. (What's new! I can't seem to make the time to blog.)

Thanks to one of my friends in Kalamazoo, MI, who is a cloth diaper user/advocate, I decided that I wanted to use modern cloth diapers as well; actually quite early in my pregnancy I chose to go the cloth diaper route.

If you're imagining large diaper pins, bluky cotton fabric, and plastic covers, that's old school!

There are quite a few different brands and models of modern cloth diapers:
BumGenius, Flip, Bummis, and FuzziBunz (to list a few)
      All-in-one or Pocket diapers with inserts
      One-size (adjustable to grow with baby) or Perfect-size (xs,s,m,l,xl)
       Snaps or Velcro

I chose to use the FuzziBunz pocket diaper with snaps, perfect size. They have a waterproof outer shell, with a inner shell of fleece. The middle of the diaper is stuffed with a microterry pad.

Why I like cloth diapers:

• They are so soft against the babies cute little bum
• Super absorbent, which means few to no blow-outs! Honestly, I think SeAnna only had only 1 or 2 blow-outs up the back, and a few leaks out the legs. With paper diapers, the runny poop seems to ricochet off and squirt out the back of the diaper, while the fabric absorbs the impact.
• Eco-friendly!
• I don't have waste-of-diaper/money-GUILT when a freshly applied diaper is only slightly pooped in and has to be changed. 
• I am not throwing money away.
• Cute AND fun!
• No need for a diaper-genie.  The poop gets flushed down the toilet rather than leaving it in the diaper and pail - no stinky stench of old poop!
• Clean-up is just fine. I have a sprayer hooked to the toilet for spraying off the poop. It's my own babies mess, so I don't mind it at all.  I wash diapers every 2 to 3 days.

WARNING - GRAPHIC PICTURES

Milk diet: The cloth diaper holds the mess very well

Clothes fit just fine over the diapers.  I did NOT have to use larger sizes.

Solid Food diet

So, how do I clean the messy diapers?  No problem at all.  I spray the mess into the toilet, remove the soaker insert and spray again, wring out, and then flush the mess down.

Sprayer attachment to toilet 

Sprayer nozzel

Good powerful spray
I do use rubber gloves when spraying the diapers and pulling out the inserts.  When the diaper is only wet, I shake the insert out of the shell into the diaper pail - so no touching there.  They are dumped into the washer.  

This is the spare bathroom - it needs some updating!

Wall mount to hold the sprayer.

The detergent I use

With the cloth diapers, a natural detergent is used that does not cause build-up.  Only 1 to 2 TBSP per wash and only 1 tsp if using an HE washer. This is my 2nd bag of Detergent.  1 bag washes lots of loads of diapers.

1 TBSP or 1tsp measuring spoon

To wash: pre-wash in cold, a soap wash in hot, and 2 cold rinses. I line dry my diapers so that they will last longer.  Hoping to get to use them on a 2nd baby.  I have not noticed an increase in my water bill, although I'm sure with a 3rd person, more water is being used.

My Sweet SeAnna

Perspective of the size

To keep the diapers absorbent and waterproof regular rash ointment cannot be used.  I purchased an ointment along with the diapers.  SeAnna has not had any rashes, but I still apply once in a while.  It is actually harder to detect/smell the poop through the cloth diaper than through a paper diaper.  A few times I have changed her to discover a littler feller that's been hanging out for a while and causes the skin to redden.  So I'll also apply the ointment then as well.

The shell/pocket: the outer is made of water-proof polyester, and the inner has quick-dry fleece, so the moisture passes right thru and keeps the baby feeling dry.

The diapers come in a variety of colors.  I have 16 diapers, half are white, and the other half colored. I also have a pail liner and a small tote for the diaper bag to hold soiled diapers.  Both of these are made from the water-proof polyester.

The inside of the polyester shell has a waterproof covering on it.  It's a nice smooth soft fabric on the outside.

The insert/soaker is made of a micro-terry fabric and is very absorbent.  SeAnna has been in a size small since December.  The diapers still are nice and white. She is getting close to moving into the mediums.  If I were to do it again, I would have also purchased the XS and used them for the first 3 months of her life, as I went thru so many paper diapers.

A dry diaper

I still use regular diaper wipes in a wipe warmer - I just throw them in the garbage can after use.  Some cloth diapering moms use fabric wipes and make their own wipe solution.

A wet diaper.

Maybe I've piqued your interest in cloth diapers.  Really, I love them and I am so glad that I chose to use them.  My sister uses the Flip brand for her 18 month old.

Backside of diaper

LOVE my lil' Fuzzi Bunz girl!

Just a slight bit more bulk than with a paper diaper

Cost wise: The 16 diapers have already paid for themselves.  I happened to buy the diapers during a promo-sale - I purchased 12 at $15 each ($180) and got 4 free (saved $60).

If you want more information about cloth diapers, here is a blog dedicated to them: www.TheClothDiaperWhisperer.blogspot.com

I purchased all my diapers/supplies from www.FuzziBunzStore.com

Another website about FuzziBunz:  www.FuzziBunz.com
For other diaper brands visit: www.ClothDiaperInc.com

I hope this post has shed some light on using fluffs.  They are super!

If you have questions, leave a comment and I'll answer you.

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Potty-Training?  There are also potty-training pull-ups.

Family Times

First BBQ with Daddy

Easter

Mommy and Me

Chilling Out with Mazie

Camping at Cave Run Lake with all our friends.

Meeting Aunt Kaylynn

First Parade

My Daddy became my Bishop.

Visiting Great Grandma Green

Grandma Crum's Cottage is very cozy

Stopped by the Braithewait Art Gallery at SUU in Cedar City to see Seth's work.  The last time his work was in this gallery was for his BFA show, 7 years ago.  We are so proud of Seth!!!

My cousins in Huricane, Ut

Visiting Great Grandpa Burns

Can find the pink curler?

4th of July parade in Blanding, UT