Reusable Swim Diapers

Summer has arrived and I've been thinking about how I can finagle some water play time. I'm planning to get a little kiddie pool for Daniel ASAP for fun at home. Then of course there is the sprinkler, which I'm not sure if Daniel will go for that, but we will surely try it a some point. Some friends down the street have a pool that they have graciously given us permission to swim in. I'm super excited about getting Daniel in the water. While on vacation the other week we stayed at a lake front property and Daniel loved splashing and swimming around. He is a true water baby after his mommy's heart!

Along with swimming comes swimmy diapers of course which whether soiled or not must be thrown out. And that is seeming rather wasteful to me, not to mention expensive. Thanks to BB's and Hunter's I sometimes find the swimmy diapers for cheap, but come this summer I'm sure that they will be at a premium and hard to find also. That's why I've been considering cloth swim diapers. Ever heard of them? I hadn't until I started cloth diapering Daniel a few months ago. There are two different kinds that I am aware of, first are Bummis swim diapers which are very similar to the Bummis covers in that they are velcro. And then there are Imse Vimse swim diapers which have snaps. The Imse Vimse seem more convenient to me because frankly Daniel has learned how to undo the velcro and you don't want that happening at the pool!!

So I haven't tried the swim diapers yet, but I'm seriously thinking about it. Also, I entered in the contest above to see if maybe I can win one too. That would be sweet. So check them out and let me know what you think!

The Garden is in!

I am happy to announce that our garden is in! I have been looking forward to planting a garden on our property for some time now. Last year when we moved in it was past time for planting and there was so much else going on that we didn't even try. But this year we were more prepared.


I debated for a long time about where to put our garden since we have so many trees and thus it is difficult to find a spot that gets enough sun to support a garden. The spot we chose is on the left side of the house (garage side, facing the road) and I am hopefull that the sun it recieves will be sufficient. There is one side of the garden that gets more shade so we will see how that end does compared to the rest.

We decided to try "no till" gardening this year. This was a new method for me, my family always tilled the garden in the past to prepare it for planting. However, since this is a brand new plot it posed some challenges, primarily, what to do with the grass? We would have needed a really heavy duty tiller to till in the grass and lifting the sod first was something that we really didn't want to put the back-breaking sweat into! So my dad suggested the "no till" method". So what you do is mark out your plot, then spray the entire area with Round-Up. Which kills everything!! (Eventhough they claim it won't kill the grass.) Let it sit for a day or two and then plant. Within a week all the grass and weeds have died creating (in time) fertilizer for your plants and also protecting somewhat from future weed growth. And then (hopefully) in about two weeks your vegetables start growing.

So this year we have a lovely array of vegetables selected. First off is "Silver Queen" sweet corn. Corn is a bit complicated because you have to have at least four rows for pollination. However, I am (as my husband says) a corn snob, and prefer to have mine fresh off the stalk. I'm always declaring that corn on the cob from the store is "old" and so I decided I must have a least a small amount of corn to satisfy my craving for the freshest available! Then there are green and yellow beans of course, also at their very best when fresh. Roma tomatoes, great for sauces and salads. Green peppers, absolutely a must for the wife of a Cuban husband (most cuban recipes call for green pepper). Also red peppers for salads and other deliciousness! Then yellow squash and zuchinni. Daniel and I are huge, huge fans of squash, Josue meerly tolerates it. So Daniel and I will be eating a lot this year, but that's ok, I'm all for healthy veggies even if I can't get Josue to eat more than a child's serving. Then, let's see, butternut squash, excellent because they keep well, they should last us into the winter. Butternut are great for "pumpkin" pie, you can hardly tell the difference. And then finally, cucumber, which I do not like at all, however Josue loves them and hopefully Daniel will too because there will be a lot of them! The seed packet said that this particular plant is very prolific! Yikes!

So there you have it. Right now, except for the tomatoes and peppers (for which I purchased plants rather than starting from seed), our garden is just a patch of long grass with sticks stuck in the ground to mark the rows. We're super excited to see how it grows and also for all the money that it will save us this summer in produce!!

Do you have a garden? What are you planting this year? (Leave a note in the comments.)

He's officially walking!

So for those of you who don't know, we are currently on vacation at Lake Anna, VA. We're enjoying a lovely time relaxing, reading, boating and playing with Daniel and our nephew, David. Uncle Ryan is home from college and so that has been a wonderful blessing too.

Today Uncle Ryan has been very diligent with Daniel helping him walk around the house and practice his steps. He's been taking steps for some time now, but hasn't really started walking. I thought he would be a early walker as he has always been so active and curious about everthing. But time has passed and he hasn't really shown an interest in it. My theory has been that since he crawls so well, gets around so fast, and is pretty much able to get into anything he wants to, that he hasn't felt any urgency to walk. But with Uncle Ryan's help practicing he has become much more confident in his balance and today has been taking 10-15 steps in a row, and smiling and loving it. He gets this little look of concentration on his face that is so adorable!

So, I guess when we get home from vacation I will be baby proofing to a new level now. Everything will have to go up higher!

Getting it to stay on...

As I have been cloth diapering Daniel I have had a few learning curves. One of them has been figuring out how to put on the diaper snugly enough that it stays on! I've been using a fold called an angel fold which has kind-of worked, but the bootie comes loose easily and sometimes the front wings work their way out. I realize that some of this may be resolved with practice. I feel that I haven't been doing this long enough to really get the hang of it. However, my sister-in-law (to whom I go to for much of my advice if you hadn't figured that out already) suggested that I might try this fold. This lady claims to be an expert" at getting a trim fit - we'll see - that would be nice though b/c I have had issues with his pants fitting!

Encouraging Potty Use

Many people use candy or some other type of edible reward for going to the potty. We're no different. We use Craisins as a reward. Daniel doesn't eat candy and so Craisins are a really yummy treat for him. We generally don't give them to him at other times so it remains something special. Tailor the treat to you're kids taste, candy is by no means a necessity!

Since we have just started potty training, Daniel gets a treat for just sitting on the potty. I actually give it to him while he's sitting there to hopefully better make the connection that he only gets it when he sits on the potty. In the future we'll just give it to him when he goes etc. So far he just sits there for a few seconds, 10-20 maybe. So we'll work on increasing that.

We've also been teaching him the sign for potty, holding your fist up in the air and shaking it back and forth. He has actually started doing it some, though he just holds his hand up and shakes it at the wrist, he hasn't figured out how to make the fist yet.

If you've started potty training or have potty trained your children young feel free to post any tips or suggestions in the comments area. I'll try to post some pictures soon of Daniel in his new dipes!

And so it begins...

I've been cloth diapering Daniel for 3 days now and have to say that I am liking it so far. He doesn't seem to be bothered at all by the additional bulk. I've been letting him run around in just the diaper and a shirt and he looks so, so cute with his little diapered bootie. I think he likes being generally less encubmered by clothing too!

It's a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to put on the cloth diapers, my first attempts wer falling off! But I think that I'm getting the hang of it now. The Bummis Super Whisper Wraps are great and the Snappi's are amazing too. I'm so glad that I don't have to use pins! You do have to change the diapers mkore frequently than disposables. Babies are more prone to rashes if you don't b/c a cloth diaper does not wick away the moisture as well as a disposable. So far I'm happy with the switch!

Diaper Rash Creams and Cloth Diapers

So I am now learning about diaper rash creams with cloth diapers. Some are apparently better than others. Here's a great listing of various types and their compatibility with cloth diapers. Angel Baby Bottom Balm, Baby Bottom Butter, California Baby, Claymazing Powder, Grandma El's, Northern Essence Better Butter Cream or Diaper Salve have the highest recommendations. I've also read that Palmer's Bottom Butter is safe for cloth diapers.

Potty Training here we come!

I've been planning to start potty training Daniel around 1 year old for some time now. Originally I thought that it would work best if he were already walking on his own. However, since he doesn't seem interested in taking more than a few steps right now I've decided to start right in, walking or not.

I placed my order for cloth diapers and accessories today. The theory is that since he's young and has only ever been in disposables we need to teach him what it means to have wetness on your bum. So hence the cloth diapers. I've spent a lot of time talking with my sister-in-law about this and she has had success with this method with her son. And, I don't have any desire to wait until he's older and then be handling potty training as well as the "terrible twos" battle for independence at the same time!

Daniel has had a potty since Christmas and has learned to sit on it. Actually, he sits on it for a minute or so to play with a toy or read a book, and then he uses it as a stepping stool to attempt to climb on to whatever is nearby that he normally can't reach -- such as the papers/books on the table, or the candle atop the toilet. :-D He is a boy after all and climbing is definitely in his genes! {BTW - We love this potty, it is the perfect size for little booties and no frills which means easy to clean and less distraction from the TP, lid, shield etc. while attempting to learn to use it!)

So here is what I've ordered as my starting kit for cloth diapering:

1. 24 Chinese premium prefolds, 4x8x4, bleached white
2. 4 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (diaper covers)
3. 3 Snappi's (great new invention that eliminates diaper pins!)
4. Diaper pail deodorizers

I found a great website, softclothbunz.com, that has Chinese prefolds on clearance right now so I got a good deal. And if you sign up for their newsletter you get a 10% off coupon code so that offset some of the shipping costs.

I still need to collect a few things such as a diaper pail (i.e. 5 gallon bucket and lid from Dad) and appropriate detergent, but then I hope I will be set to begin this new adventure.

I'll let you know how it goes and how Daniel (and I) respond! Yeah :-)

Inagural Post

Last week I suddenly got the urge to finally start our family blog which Josue and I have talked about doing since Daniel was born over a year ago. Well, I've never really felt up to it, but I had sudden motivation, so we created the blog. Two days later I promptly forgot about it. :-) So here I am now trying this out. We hope to post about family happenings and events, all the funny things that Daniel does, and about our lives in general. We hope that you will read, enjoy, comment and be encouraged through this forum.